Miniature Maestro from Bangalore makes headlines, converting his miniature movement into the biggest environmental sustainability of all time.
Sreenivasulu M.R. latest creation ‘Jaipur Hawa Mahal’ has made everyone awestruck with his talent. The connoisseur of craft has devoted his entire time to building this masterpiece for 15 months with uttermost patience and dedication. Sreenivasulu.M.R had to carve over 900 pen refills into 13,246 pieces to mimeograph India’s one of the finest heritage. The artwork has made an entry into the finalists round for Lexus Design Awards India(LDAI) 2022.
About Sreenivasulu
Sreenivasulu. M.R is an Artist (paintings), Indian Classical Dancer (Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Yakshagana), Sculptor, and Miniature Artist. He is also a World Record Holder, a profound Environmentalist, and an Engineer from Bangalore, India.
The craftsman in his lifetime has constantly engaged over 10,000 hours in training workshops and collecting and utilizing over 9400 discarded pen refills to make 11 miniatures, that are, the Eiffel Tower, Charminar, Big-Ben Clock, TajMahal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Gateway of India, Seattle Space Needle, Sydney Harbour Bridge, St. Philomena Church, Amritsar Golden Temple, and Jaipur HawaMahal. These were exhibited in different states and national events such as the Indian Science Congress to raise awareness on plastic pollution, sustainable living, art, and tourism.
The Journey to Craftsmanship
Sreenivasulu always wanted to become an architect in his childhood. Later, in accordance with his parent’s wishes, he opted to pursue a profession in Computer Science. Later he revived his enthusiasm for architecture by taking up a new interest that entailed reusing old pen refills accumulated over the years to make models of world-famous landmarks.
Over the years Sreenivasulu has studied and replicated different architectural styles, including Rajput, Indo-Islamic Mughal, Gothic, and Dravidian without the aid of any machinery.
His passion for art began in his hometown of Dharmavaram, which is known for its handloom silk sarees in the southwestern state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Sreenivasulu would place wedding invitation cards on top of the other to create small house models when he was a child. Later, when he was seven years old, he began painting.
He enrolled in a dancing school at Dharmavaram, Andhra Pradesh under the guidance of D.R. Babubalajito learn Indian classical dance disciplines including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Yakshagana, and Folk dance and has performed on numerous stages. Being from a humble background, he was taught dancing since childhood free of cost owing to his Guru’s generosity.
He used chalks and other art forms to create sculptures. He started building small dwellings and draught house layouts. In his career he has assisted many
The miniature design of the ‘Eiffel Tower’ was initiated in 2007, and it required 8 months to finish from 200 pen refills. The erection of structures continued apace. The Charminar, the Big Ben Clock, the TajMahal, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Gateway of India, the Seattle Space Needle, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, St Philomena Church, the Amritsar Golden Temple, and the HawaMahal in Jaipur are among his finest creations. Sreenivasulu is working on his 12th miniature Hampi Stone Chariot, which he hopes to restore to its former shape with a tower and sculptures on top of the existing ruins.
Sreenivasulu’s relationship with the student community
Sreenivasulu saw that pen refills are one of the most overlooked types of plastic in the world, and for that reason, they may not even be recycled properly. Because students are the primary consumers of pens, Sreenivasulu believes that properly teaching them the necessity of properly treating plastic trash and encouraging them to adopt the 3R concept – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle would be an excellent idea. He started promoting his mission at schools and universities and arranged used pen refill collecting boxes for students to discard their old pen refills as part of the ‘Say No to Plastic’ campaign. The initiative proved to be an additional supply of raw materials for miniature buildings.
Sreenivasulu’s mission is backed by many student forums in India, Bangladesh, China, and areas of Africa and Europe who are collecting pen refills and are motivated by the same desire to make a difference by reusing them.
His Mission
All of his artworks are based on his sole purpose of educating on the use of plastic and its detrimental effects on our environment. He is on a mission to encourage people on 3R – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle of plastic materials and contribute used pens for his upcoming miniature projects. In the Covid 19 epidemic, due to estranged connectivity Sreenivasulu is seeking assistance from various groups throughout the world to collect discarded pen refills.
His Achievements
1) India Book of Records
2) RHR Republic (UK) World Record
3) GRRF Global Record and GRRF Asia Pacific Icon
4) URF Global Award
5) Unique World Record
6) International Book of Records
7) Elite World Records
8) Humanitarian Excellence Award by I Can Foundation, Jaipur
9) National Pride Award by National Anti-Harassment Foundation &EkSakha Foundation, Bhopal
10) National Youth Icon Award 2019 by International youth Committee
11) Dr.B.R.AmbedkarSevaPuraskar by World Human Rights Association
12) Ambassador for India at World Youth International MUN – London, 2019-20
13) Featured in the book ‘Transforming Plastic: From pollution to evolution’ written by Albert Bates
14) Shwapno Youth Leadership Award 2020, Bangladesh
15) Featured in Project GBA&C – Google Books, Arts & Culture
16) I2OR National Eminent Researcher Award 2020 in the field of arts.
17) Awarded as ‘Talent of the Team’ by HANMUN 2019-20 for voluntary contributions.
Exhibition
1) Innovation Festival 2015, Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, Bangalore, India.
2) Government of Karnataka pavilion at ‘Pride of India’, an expo organized as a part of 103rd edition of Indian Science Congress 2016, Mysore, India.
3) MakkalaHabba, 2016 Bangalore – Exhibited as part of Karnataka Science Technology Promotion Society(Ksteps), Dept. of Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka.
4) 9th Annual Conference of Karnataka Science & Technology Academy, Bangalore – Exhibited as part of Karnataka Science Technology Promotion Society(Ksteps), Dept. of Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka.
5) 17 National Jamboree of Bharat Scouts & Guides, Mysore – Exhibited as part of Government of Karnataka Pavilion.
6) Finalist across the world for RossanaOrlandi RO Plastic Prize 2020. The award is part of Milano Design City happening from Sep 28 – Oct 10, 2020. The exhibition and award ceremony was happened at Leonardo Da Vinci Science and Technology Museum, Milan, Italy.
7) Finalist for Lexus Design Award India 2022.