Mysuru: The 48-year-old Kamal Aravind Bhai Bhatt, an artist from Bharad village in Gujarat is in Mysuru to exhibit his paintings done by using two nails of his right hand during the ongoing 10-day handicraft exhibition organised by the Development Commissioner of Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles at JSS Mysore Urban Haat. The state and national award winner was also invited by Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai to exhibit his nail painting skills.
Kamal Aravind’s artistic skills not only attracted attention in Rajastan but also has fanfare across the country. Wherever he goes he attracts people with his astonishing skills. Speaking to Newskarnataka he said, “For the past 23 years, I am into this art. Many schools and colleges in different states have invited me to give the demo of nail painting but it was an honour when Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai invited me to exhibit my nail painting skills. I can easily come out with different paintings which include birds, fish, Ganesha, modern art and Radhakrishna.”
To everyone’s surprise, Kamal has not even passed class 10 nor has he learnt painting from outside. He learnt the art from his father. Kamal is a bit different from other artists. If he does a particular painting, he will not repeat the same again. His paintings range from Rs 70 to Rs 1000. He takes one hour to two hours to do one nail painting. There is a huge demand for his nail paintings especially that of Lord Ganesha and his modern arts.
Apart from his nails to do the paintings, Kamal uses paper, painting powder and a cotton cloth, which is more than 40 years old. “The same cotton cloth was used by my father to do the nail painting,” he added.
Bamboo Biryani cooking materials available
Apart from this, there is also a stall where one can get Bamboo Biryani preparation utensils and can have a taste of Bamboo Paisa. “There is a good demand for Bamboo Biryani materials. Apart from this, there is also a great demand for Bamboo rainmaker sticks. Through bamboo rainmaker sticks one can hear rain music”, added Siby Joseph from Kasargod who has set up these stalls.
The handicraft exhibition which kick-started on February 2 will conclude on February 11.
