Odisha: Artist carves Santa Claus miniature on piece of chalk

Bhubaneswar: With the Christmas fever gripping the globe, an Odisha-based artist has carved a miniature of Santa Claus on a piece of chalk.

L Eswar Rao, who hails from Jatni in Khurda district, craved the one-and-a-half-inch-long miniature with message ‘Happy Xmas’. He took two days to complete the artwork.

”I have carved this miniature to wish all people a Merry Christmas. On this eve, I pray that Jesus blesses all of us,” Rao said.

Last year, on Christmas, Rao had created a miniature of Jesus Christ inside a glass bottle.

The 41-year-old artist has been practising his artwork for the last 25 years. Earlier, he also created a stick and ball and placed it inside a 750 ml bottle to wish luck to all teams participating in the Hockey World Cup, 2023.

Rao’s journey as a miniature artist began in 1999 after he gifted a Taj Mahal carved out of chalk to his teacher. In 2011, Rao started Eswar Art and Craft Social Foundation where he trains students for free.