The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : The miniaturist in full flow

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Monday, Feb 25, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

The miniaturist in full flow

J.S. Ifthekhar

Meet Panna Lal Maheshwari, the man who revels in cutting down things to size!

-Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

Tiny writings: Maheshwari showing a sample of his work.

Hyderabad: Small is beautiful. Smallest – simply incredible. Miniaturisation is his forte. Meet Panna Lal Maheshwari, the man who revels in cutting down things to size. Think there is no grain of truth in it? Wait till you see him write your name on a rice grain. Wow! Not just yours but your spouse’s name also appears on a single grain. Wait, hold your breath! Panna Lal can accommodate as many as 220 alphabets on a grain.

That’s really a tall order. But this artiste from Hyderabad’s old city does it with effortless ease. Not just names, he is also adept at depicting monuments and personalities on rice grains. What’s more, he can write the message of one’s choice in any language. Panna Lal has honed his skills over the last 18 years.

Popular figure

Locating this talented artiste in the labyrinthine lanes of the old city is not at all difficult. Just drop in at Moosabowli and ask for the ‘rice writer’ and anybody will guide you to his house. A screen printer by profession, his house showcases his varied interests. Medals containing rice grains with names, pictures and messages are neatly arranged in a cupboard.

Engraved on grains

Charminar, Qutb Minar, Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Howrah bridge, China wall, Parliament House are all precisely engraved on rice grains. So are the pictures of Saibaba, Shivaji, Dash Avtaar, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Chandrababu Naidu. He has also penned “Kalima Tayyaba” (Islam’s article of faith) in Arabic on rice grain “It takes an hour to draw a picture while writing a name requires just 10 minutes,” says Panna Lal.

His brush with this fine art happened when he was presented a rice grain with “happy new year” written on it. Panna Lal tried to do it himself and succeeded after six months of trial and error. He wouldn’t reveal the trade secret. All he would say is that he uses coarse rice grains, black ink and brush made of horse hair.

Now he is busy copying signatures on rice grains.

So far he has collected 700 autographs. After reaching the target of 2,000 signatures, he plans to have a go at the Guinness Book.

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