When 19-year-old Ajay V John earned a spot in the India Book of Records 2021 for sketching the Father of the Nation inside an egg shell, he was not just aiming for a unique artwork, but also cost efficiency and optimum resource utilization.
The second year BCom student at Nirmala College in Muvattuppuzha of Kerala's Ernakulam district received a confirmation from the India Book of Records last week for sketching Mahatma Gandhi inside an egg shell with a black refill.
“He coloured the picture with tricolour using orange and green refills, without a magnifying glass as confirmed on September 5, 2020,” a letter issued by the India Book of Records stated.
“After the busy schedule in college, whiling away time during lockdown was a challenging task. I took up egg shell painting to keep myself occupied,” Ajay says.
In his first attempt, he sketched an image of actor Jayasurya inside the egg shell. Equipped with a magnifying lens, the task took him an hour and a half to complete.
“The second time around, I was sketching to secure a record. I skipped the magnifying glass and finished the entire Gandhi sketch in a span of 45 minutes,” he said.
Why miniature art?
“The coronavirus pandemic induced lockdown has in many ways constrained the resources at hand for developing art. So, I opted for a hobby which is the least demanding in several ways.”
The editorial team of the India Book of Records responded to Ajay's application in the span of a week.
Art lover since school days
Ajay developed a flavour for miniature art during his school days.
“We had a wonderful art teacher at school- Sethu Sir. He was the one who honed my basic skills,” he recollected his school days at Navodaya School in Neriyamangalam.
Ajay is also keen on developing other forms of miniature art involving leaves, toothpicks, pencil lead and so forth.
His beautifully crafted toothpick Eiffel tower and FC Barcelona stadium shows that the artist in Ajay has no dearth of ideas.
An active presence in the MG University Arts Festival last year, Ajay also enjoys acting and drama.
In fact, his heart lies in cinema, he says, hoping to secure a future in the film industry.
Ajay's father Johny V I is a village assistant at the Kuttampuzha panchayat office. His mother Rosily is a homemaker.
His name and record will feature in the India Book of Records next year. India Book of Records is the custodian of Indian records since 2006.
