The Hindu : New Delhi News : Creating the extra-ordinary

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Creating the extra-ordinary

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

The pearl in the shape of Lord Ganesha which was created by Ajai Kumar Sonkar.

NEW DELHI: From a scientist to an artist, Ajai Kumar Sonkar’s journey has been by his own admission a series of experiments and discoveries.

Chairman of Marine Aquaculture Industries, Sonkar has been successfully experimenting with pearl culture for several years and now claims to have managed a knock-out with his latest “creation”. Going beyond the ordinary, he has created a pearl in the shape of Lord Ganesha. The uniquely shaped pearl , which is 42 mm large, was grown in six months using a special species of pearl oyster called Pteria Penguin.

“Though I am happy with the result, I look at this achievement in a totally different manner. For the general public I have created Lord Ganesha, but for me this has been the result of a totally new experiment that I have tried. What I have been able to achieve is a fast growing, good image of a pearl and that is good news,” says Sonkar about his latest achievement.

Sonkar, who now works from the Andaman Islands, first started experimenting with pearls when he was still a student in Allahabad.

“Later I started my work in the Andaman Islands in 2003 and created the technology that allows me to make pearls in various shapes. I developed a big black pearl in the Andamans and encouraged by all the good results I was getting, I decided to expand my horizons and the result was Lord Ganesh,” he says.

Earlier Sonkar’s workplace and pearl cultivation farms were destroyed by the Tsunami in December 2004.

“Of course after the Tsunami devastation I had to start from the very beginning. Tsunami changed the inter-tidal area forcing me to relocate breeding grounds and it also changed the flora and fauna of the place. I had to re-work a lot of our working area. But now that I have managed to do this, I am happy with the progress made so far,” says Sonkar.

Looking forward to continuing and expanding his work, Sonkar says he is open to the idea of working for the welfare of society. “Though I am a researcher, I am open to the idea of working with the government to help people pick up this skill and be self-employed. The way forward for me as I see it is continuing to work in the area and coming up with new and innovative pearls,” says Sonkar.

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