Sculptures worth more than their weight in gold

NELLORE: He is a small-time goldsmith. He neither has his own shop nor access to sophisticated instruments. Yet, he sculpts micro-structures in gold, like the Taj Mahal, with precision and passion. Musaveer, 45, who works at jewellery shops on Korada street in Nellore, started sculpting tiny things with aim of making it to the Guinness book.Musaveer is the sole breadwinner for his family of six, as the responsibility fell on his shoulders after the death of his father Abdul Rahiman, a bicycle mechanic, in 1980. Musaveer concentrated on making micro-structures, while earning enough to feed the family.Wishing India victory in the last World Cup, he made a tiny replica of the world cup with 0.030 mg of gold. That was his first work of miniature art.He then made eight world cups with 0.220 mg of the yellow metal and displayed them at the town hall on the occasion of India winning the coveted trophy. To the surprise of everyone, Musaveer made a working miniature bicycle with 1.340 mg gold.He even dismantled the bicycle part-by-part and refitted it in just 60 seconds during a demonstration at the Press Club recently.Musaveer also has to his credit gold miniatures of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-17 (1.840 mg), Makka mosque (0.130 mg), an idol of Lord Ganesh (0.160 mg), the globe (0.110 mg), a church (0.300 mg), St Mary statue (0.200 mg), Jesus on the cross (0.090 mg) and India map (0.160 mg). Recently, he wrote the National Anthem in gold letters with 1.300 mg.Musaveer received the best artisan award from collector B Sridhar.