A TEENAGER in Bahrain has set an Asian record by drawing the maximum number of famous personalities in a single portrait.
Shilpa Santhosh, a 15-year-old Indian girl, qualified for the Asian Book of Records by drawing 50 famous Indian men and women inside a single image of Mahatma Gandhi.
The 50cm x 7cm pen and pencil sketches of personalities, all neatly arranged inside Gandhi’s portrait, took two hours, one minute and 52 seconds to complete.
“This is an artwork that represents my motherland India – it features the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi, as well as 50 other personalities such as freedom fighters, presidents, prime ministers, musicians, scientists, writers, saints, sports figures, and others,” the student told the GDN.
“I drew it with a pencil and a marker on white chart paper.
“I did it online while the organisers kept time, and I finished in the record time of 2:01:52 – this was in September.”
The tiny portraits within the Gandhi face were Indian queen Jhansi Rani, ancient teacher Chanakya, scientists Aryabhatta, Jagathish Chandra Bose, CV Raman, Prafulla Chandra Ray and Vikram Sarabhai, freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Subhas Chandra Bose and Nana Sahib, social reformers B R Ambedkar, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Swami Vivekananda, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bipin Chandra Pal, statesman Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Tiger of Mysore Tippu Sultan, poets Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Kabir Das, politicians Dadabhai Naoroji and Sushma Swaraj, Mother Teresa, artists MS Subbulakshmi, Raja Ravi Varma, Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, AR Rahman, Mohammed Rafi and MF Husain, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, astronaut Kalpana Chawla, former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, former presidents Dr Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, APJ Abdul Kalam, Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.
“The judges were given a list of names, and the most difficult challenge was matching the likeliness of the portraits – I had to sketch miniatures,” Ms Santhosh explained.
“It had to be perfect, and I had to keep track of time – but I enjoyed it, and I’m glad I gave it my all.”
The 10th grader at Indian School Bahrain (ISB) had previously secured a title for the same feat on the India Book of Records in August, when she created the artwork to commemorate India’s Independence Day.
Her father, Santhosh Poruvazhy, who is also an artist, inspired her to create the Gandhi portrait.
“I wanted to draw something for Independence Day, and my father suggested a Mahatma Gandhi portrait, which I embellished with additional personalities.
“It is my tribute to my homeland.”
Ms Santhosh, who works in all mediums of painting and drawing, hopes to hold a painting exhibition along with that of her father’s.
“My father is my guru and I remember drawing and painting right from the age of four – I used to draw sceneries at that time,” she reflected.
“Then I got myself trained in painting and drawing.
“I want to be recognised as a successful artist and would want to pursue studies to become an architect in life – however, I would fist want to be a good human being.”
Ms Santhosh paints with oil colour, water colour and acrylic, while portrait sketching is her favourite.
“I really like doing portraits and I enjoy sketching the minute details – it is challenging.
“I love all my works and a sketch of King Hamad remains close to my heart.”
Ms Santhosh is the older of the two children of Mr Poruvazhy and his wife Bindu, a homemaker.
Her eight-year-old brother Sreehari, also an ISB student, is equally talented in drawing and painting.
Meanwhile, Mr Poruvazhy, a 41-year-old graphic designer at Naseem International School, expressed pride in his daughter’s accomplishment.
“She is passionate about drawing, and I appreciate that she takes her time with portraits,” he said.
“I’m glad she devotes time to this gifted talent.”
The family has been in Bahrain for 15 years and lives in East Riffa. They are from Kollam, Kerala.
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