Kerala - Alappuzha   

Miniature Bhagavad Gita in the making

Dennis Marcus Mathew

A passion: Vinod Thirumala at his workshop.

ALAPPUZHA: A miniature Bhagavad Gita, measuring just 8mm and which could fit onto a thumbnail, is nearing completion here. The man behind the work, Vinod Thirumala, has already scripted 14 of the 16 chapters, in Malayalam, on 8mm silver sheets. He hopes to finish the work within a week.

Vinod, who had earlier scripted the Gita on 1.5cm silver sheets and is known for his 1.5-inch miniature of the Taj Mahal and several such works, has been working for over a month now on the 8mm version of the sacred text, which can be read only with a microscope.

“I made the 1.5cm Gita after hearing about a miniature Koran. But then, the Gita in that same size did not feel new, so I decided to make a smaller one. After this, I will start working on a 4mm Gita,” says the Malayalam Literature graduate, born in a family of goldsmiths.

Vinod doubles up as a news photographer, painter, novelist and even electrician whenever he gets spare time.

His workshop is a little room at his house ‘Shelvi Nivas,’ located in a narrow street at Thirumala ward in Alappuzha town.

After his father Gopalakrishnan’s demise a year ago, Vinod has been caring for his ageing mother Maniyammal and his family of five sisters and a brother.

The pressures, fortunately, have not taken their toll on the man’s passion for his craft.

“Once the daily grind with the Malayalam newspaper where I work is over, I sit with the Gita through the night. When I feel tired, I move over to one of the novels I am working on. Otherwise, I have pending work on several other miniatures, including one of the Alappuzha Lighthouse, temples, deities and so on,” he says.

Vinod, who writes for several Malayalam publications under the pseudonym Savitri, is about to complete an investigate thriller as well — ‘Miss Nandini Varma Missing.’ “I have to keep doing something creative,” he adds.

The man who used to teach programming to computer students a few years back is also planning to have a shot at the Guinness Book of World Records with the microscopic Gita once it is completed.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Miniature Bhagavad Gita in the making
Revenue Minister visits relief camps
MVR pained by crisis in CPI(M)
NDRF rescue team arrives

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu