Twelve-year-old Shivram makes magic with paper. As his nimble fingers fold the pieces into wondrous shapes, a fascinated audience watches his demonstration. Shivram is shy, but overcomes and answers questions confidently at the exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai. He has displayed about around 300 motifs spread over 20 thematic sections in the exhibition, which is on till November 14. Insects, panda, shark, roses, dinosaurs, peacocks and masks, which are all complex models, vie for attention with geometric motifs like hyperbolic parabola, cubes and tetrahedron. The little Master's prize display is an American lobster with 200 folds. "There is no appropriate corner to display it," he says with some disappointment. 

Besides bird and animal patterns Shivram has learnt by studying books on Origami, he has created motifs like Ganesha, Geethopadesam, copper and frilly-bowls and snow mobiles all on his own. Recognition of his talent came with the winning of the "Origami by Children 2000" award given by "Origami USA" for his "Ganesha". He won this award in 1997 and 1999 too. His models were selected from entries across the globe and were displayed at New York and other centres. 

It is a pleasant surprise to see a board saying "Please Touch" in a section where many of Shivram's creations are displayed. Normally museums tell you the opposite! "This is really to make children and even curious adults touch these patterns to understand them," says Mrs. Janani, Shivram's mother who has been a great inspiration for him. There is a "magicube" made of six units of paper that unfolds like a real rose when you gently open the triangular folds. Besides this there are puzzles, a rotating tetrahedron, paper -protractor and many geometric patterns that are attractive. 

Geethopadesam is yet another masterpiece that Shivram has created. It depicts the warrior Arjuna with bow and arrows listening to Lord Krishna's pearls of wisdom. Bringing paper to life is Origami, the traditional Japanese art form. But, how did this youngster develop a taste for this intricate art? "One day when I was very young, my brothers and I started making paper figures. All I had to do was fold the paper in different ways to get the required shape. When they turned out to be good, I started making more of them," says Shivram who has taught himself everything. His parents encouraged him to develop his skills by getting books on Origami. " Now as years progress, we see a lot of maturity in him while making these motifs," says his father Retd. Cdr. T.R.A. Narayanan. 

"Origami has been gaining more and more appreciation the world over and has been nurtured and propagated well in the US and U.K. The fascination of the art lies in making something beautiful using no tools or machinery and all that is needed are pieces of paper and a pair of hands," he says. 

Shivram has held several exhibitions. He was the first child to hold a solo exhibition in the 150-year history of the Madras Museum in, 1998. This was inaugurated by the then Japanese Consul General. This year, Shivram has been conferred the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement and Excellence in the field of Origami. This award has been instituted for the first time by the Indian Government's Ministry of Human Resources Development. 

One hopes this youngster will go far! 

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R Bharathi

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