Cricket models by Coimbatorean
Prabhakar Krishnamurthy, who makes cricket-based models through the power of his artistic fingers. He is a man with a sharp cricketing brain. On the pitch, he is known for his fine off-spin bowling, strong onside batting and cover fielding. And off it, for his artistic talents. Meet Prabhakar Krishnamurthy, the gentleman cricketer from Mumbai, who has been making cricket-based models for over three-and-a-half decades.The 50-year-old expresses his feelings for the game by making models through the power of his artistic fingers. His love affair for creating cricket models began in the early seventies when he first got a chance to display the miniature version of the Chepauk cricket ground, he first made, at a science fair at the Municipal High School in Gandhi Nagar, Kakinada.“I was in Madras (now Chennai) then with the school team to watch the Australians play against India. I was so overawed with the Chepauk grounds that I decided to make a model out of it, which I did with playing cards and waste cardboard materials. I was not happy with my effort but I earned a lot of appreciation from my teachers and friends. To be frank, I even got a few lines in a leading English daily,” said Prabhakar.Encouraged by that, Prabhakar started to carve more cricket-related models. It took him a couple of years to master the art, but once he did there was no turning back.Today, Prabhakar has created more than 400 models. All his unique creations are made up of cricketing memorabilia, which he pieces together and covers it with boxes made of imported acrylic sheets.
One who sees it at first glance will bet it is not a difficult task but a real close look will tell you the true story of his pain and passion for the game. No wonder he has earned words of praise from stalwarts such as Sir Gary Sobers, Steve Waugh, Vivian Richards, Raj Singh Dungapur, Vijay Merchant and Sunil Gavaskar, to name a few.In fact, Sobers wrote back saying: “Thanks for the special gift, I will treasure it for a long time and remember my trip to Bombay with fond memories.”“I got letters from others as well. And, they are all my prized possessions now,” said Prabhakar, who even made a special memorabilia for the late Sir Don Bradman that Qantas carried it on his behalf.
Prabhakar has gifted his creations to prominent men, including those outside cricket, like industrialists Anil Ambani and Ratan Tata, who have written letters of appreciation as well.The cricket enthusiast now looks for official recognition. “Every piece of art is valuable because I do it based on important occasions.The ICC or the newly formed International Cricket League can make use of these models. If organised well, they can even earn revenue out of them.If they can push it forward, I can pass on the technology to somebody so that it goes on,” concluded Prabhakar.
