An Indian artist has been recognised by the World Records of India for creating a handmade wax statue of Dubai’s Crown Prince Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Zakir Hussain Khan, who is in Dubai on his third visit with his family and childhood friend Arif, used a single knife to carve the statue, Khaleej Times reported.
Mr Khan said his dream is to meet the Crown Prince and present the statue to him, as he is "a huge fan of Shaikh Hamdan and his work”.
“Shaikh Hamdan is an inspiration for youngsters around the world. He is a prince, yet he walks and cycles around the city like everyone else. He is so humble, so down to earth and such a visionary. He loves kids and animals. I think Dubai is so lucky to have him as Crown Prince,” he added.
The artist from the Indian city of Bangalore said he began creating the statue out of 120kgs of wax to realise the dream of his eight-year-old son Ayan, who is also a fan of the prince.
He explained that his son began watching Shaikh Hamdan's videos on YouTube, after seeing his own interest in them.
“When he said that he wanted to meet Shaikh Hamdan, I decided that I must make a gift to present to him, should such a meeting come true,” he said.
The statue, that has been built to scale, took him and his friend 38 days to complete.
“In most places that make wax statues, including Madame Tussaud's, they use moulds. But I hand carved every detail of the statue,” Mr Khan revealed.
The artist has set various other records in the past, including one for a 13-foot-long chopper bike, weighing 450kgs.
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