Grains of grandeur

"Do you fancy yourself an Alice in wonderland?'' my friend remarked when she saw me peering through a magnifying glass at an exhibit. The remark probably did contain an element of truth, for the glass revealed an exquisitely carved `Sita Kalyanam', looking so beautiful and dainty.

Appreciation transforms into amazement when one glances at the medium of this artefact. It was a rice grain! The artist's magic touch had indeed transformed a quotidian commodity into the sublime.

"It was my paternal grandfather, M.P. Vaidyanathan, who pioneered the art of rice carving'', says the artist T. K. Murthy. ``One day, he chanced to see an art piece scooped out of a seed that was the size of a marble but containing ten or more elephants in its hollow. He mused as to the possibility of making something surpassing its smallness and landed on the idea of carving on rice grains.''

Does this novel art form find no mention in our hoary tradition? "Well, the practice of inscribing letters and painting on rice grains has been there but our family is certainly the torch- bearer in carving on rice'', declares Murthy.

Certainly, as Vaidyanathan's exceptional skills have found a place in the Mysore palace and in the collection of the Nizam of Hyderabad. However, in the 1970s, a significant occurrence took place that set a chain of new events rolling. "My friend saw a notification in a newspaper announcing that awards were being given by the Government to outstanding objets d' art. My father, V. Kalastry, sent a Ganesha carved out of rice grain".

The entry won Kalastry the National Award. With the passing years, the art also underwent refinement. Simultaneously, Kalastry began carving miniatures on sandalwood and one day... The young lad, Murthy, all of 15, tried his hand at creating a mandapam out of some sandalwood shavings. It was only in the final stages of its completion that Kalastry noticed it. Recognising his son's innate talent, he decided to train him. The mandapam won the third prize at the Mahatma Gandhi centenary exhibition at the Victoria Technical Institute. Murthy was just 18 then!

Talking about the rice carvings, Murthy says, "The carvings are done on boiled rice, because of its comparative sturdiness.'' Given the fact that the grain spans a length ranging between three and five mm, how does he manage to carve human figures on them? "I use fine micro-tip needles to carve. First, the grain is rubbed on emery paper to get the requisite thinness. It is then mounted on a stand and then the carving begins.'' Sometimes, two or three grains are joined together to complete a figure.

A close look at `Sita Kalyanam' reveals a kamandalam in Sage Viswamitra's hand, the folds of Rama's dhoti, arrows in the quiver and even the kunjalam at the end of Rama's bow! Such is the artist's eye for detail!

The art requires special skills, dedication and is time- consuming. "Sometimes when the piece is almost near completion, it chips or breaks,'' admits Murthy.

The artist and his talented family have been recipients of the Mahatma Gandhi award for miniature carvings for the last 23 years. Murthy's latest creation is the miniature replica of the granite statue of Thiruvalluvar.

LAKSHMI DEVNATH

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