Micro art opens new vistas to this Tirupati techie

Tirupati: Durbha Moulesh, an engineering student had an unusual surprise when he started earning with his favourite pastime activity. A native of Tirupati and studying B.Tech 3rd year in Kanchipuram, he has a penchant in arts and crafts from his high school days. His interest in micro art led him to carve small letters and pictures on pieces of chalks and improved his skills gradually.

Moulesh could not settle with his expertise in chalk piece carvings but wanted to do more. He tried with pencil carving during his B.Tech 1st year holidays and never looked back. In fact, pencil carving is an incredible technique which needs the heart and soul of the micro artist. As the pencil would be fragile and tiny, the micro artist has to put in his concentration and creativity on it to complete the task.

But, this young boy had no dearth of talent and finds extreme joy in pursuing his passion. "It took some time to get perfection in pencil carving. It requires a lot of focus or else the pencil will easily break out. Once I learnt the techniques, I started carving pictures and names on pencils," said Moulesh.

Instagram has provided him a platform to showcase his talent. He maintains an account in it with @moulizzmicro which attracted many. When some people contacted him to get pencil carvings with the names of their friends to gift them, Moulesh found the business opportunity in it.

"Presenting such art pieces on important occasions like birthdays and marriage days would be a memorable one which the near and dear can cherish for long. I started accepting requests and so far carved 180 plus art pieces on getting such orders. Each work may take 3-4 hours for me. I charge Rs 500-1,500 depending on the craftsmanship involved in it," he explained.

Based on the orders, he makes the photo frames with the art pieces he carved and even inserts the names in bottles in an attractive way. "I have purchased a second hand car with my own earnings on micro art," said Moulesh with satisfaction.

On the occasion of Independence Day this year, he carved the national anthem on rice grains which fetched him Kalam's world record. "I have made several art pieces other than orders I received on various important days and events. My ambition is to carve a human face on a pencil which I may fulfil in the near future," revealed an elated Moulesh.