This artist creates wonders on pencil lead

S Nanjundaswamy was 18 years old when a pencil lead with a face-like image left a profound imprint on him. Today, the 39-year-old has transformed thousands of graphite pieces (pencil leads) into beautiful miniatures through his ‘Krishna Kale’ -- micro artwork on pencil lead.

Nanjundaswamy, also a painter, noticed a face-like image, when he was sharpening a pencil lead using a blade in 1999. Thus, he started to work on lead, to create sculptures.

Using simple tools like a surgical knife and a needle, over the last 21 years, Nanjundaswamy, a native of Mandya district, has carved over 1,700 miniature sculptures on pencil lead. Faces of former president of India A P J Abdul Kalam, Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime ministers H D Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, actors Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Darshan among others have been carved.

Nanjundaswamy has also created a model of Veerappan, the infamous bandit who was active for 36 years in the forests of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. He had kidnapped Dr Rajkumar for ransom.

Nanjundaswamy takes hardly two hours to create a face on pencil lead now. “Initially, I used to take weeks together to come out with a work,” he said. Nanjundaswamy uses a magnifying glass to carve images on 0.5 mm pencils and no eye tool is used for working on 10B and 12B pencils.

To spread the message of ‘unity in diversity’ Nanjundaswamy has carved the religious symbols of star, moon, Jesus and an idol of Ganesha on a single lead. He has carved models on the Indian Independence movement, including those of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Indian National Flag, and Amar Jawan Jyoti. The face of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Gandhian Anna Hazare, on opposite sides of a single pencil lead, and faces of all eight Jnanpith awardees from Karnataka are other attractions.

The faces of all eight Jnanpith awardees from Karnataka — Kuvempu, Da Ra Bendre, Shivarama Karanth, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, V K Gokak, Girish Karnad, U R Ananthamurthy and Chandrashekar Kambar — on a single pencil lead, was a challenge for Nanjundaswamy. “It took lot of efforts to create the miniature of the awardees. I would rework on the whole project, if there was a minor mistake at any point of time,” he said.

Nanjundaswamy, a businessman, with a home appliances centre, has never used his Krishna-Kale for commercial purpose. Although his works are unique and are in great demand, he never sold them. But, he has gifted some valuable works. “For me, my works are priceless. I do not want to sell my talent. I practice it as a hobby. I have gifted hundreds of my works to well-wishers and friends on special occasions,” he said.

Nanjundaswamy’s had created a model of Chamarajendra Wadiyar Circle, using 7,300 pencil leads, which is recognised by the India Book of Records. “It is one of my biggest works. But, it is made of 7,300 leads and not carved on a single piece. It took almost 28 days to develop it,” he said.

Even though Nanjundaswamy has created thousands of art works, he has never wasted a single piece of pencil lead. “There were mistakes on artworks. But, I never wasted or threw a single piece of work. I used to convert them into other works. As pencil leads are very delicate, it takes a lot of efforts to handle them,” he said.