ONGOLE: Expert in miniature art, 20-year-old Annam Mahita has engraved 67,230 letters of slokas from the epic Mahabharata on 810 pencil leads. After the feat, she now wants to get her name in the Guinness World Records book by creating miniature art with verses from the Holy Quran and the Bible in Arabic and Hebrew, respectively.
Born into a modest family at Swarna village in Chirala mandal, Mahita had issues focusing on her studies, after which her brother and teachers suggested that she practice miniature art on chalk pieces. What started as a way to improve her concentration in studies eventually became her passion.
Mahita started off by working on pencils, rice and other food grains and created micro-forms of the Indian national flag, Lord Ganesh, birds, deer and stars, which made her a celebrity among her friends. Explaining her art, she said: “Making one engraving on a pencil lead or on a grain requires a lot of time and high concentration. I now have reached a state where I can sit for hours together and focus on my studies. If anyone asks, I’ll give them the same suggestion which my teacher gave me a long time ago.”
“Practising miniature art has helped me increase my concentration as I have learnt patience and dedication.” Mahita, who has completed her bachelor’s in commerce, wishes to become a civil servant. “Though our finances are poor, we never discourage our children from pursuing their ambition. My son is an engineer, which is what he wanted. For Mahita, I bought a lot of pencils. One day, a shopkeeper told me that the amount of pencils I have bought can fetch me good money if I sell them,” her farther Narasimha Rao joked.