KOCHI: Ernakulam-native Shiji K J has been creating miniatures since he was a kid. While his brothers made mini cars, lorries, and jeeps from cigarette packets, matchboxes, and baseboards, young Shiji replicated the same and made his own collection of vehicles. The 37-year-old still makes stunning
structures out of his imagination — warships, buildings, helicopters, and many other customised models.
Having crafted them all his life, the art of making miniature models should be a cakewalk for Shiji. But his chronic medical condition makes it challenging for this artist. Shiji has to put a lot of effort while holding a glass of water, writing or doing any basic chore, let alone crafting, to keep his hands from shaking.
“Sometimes when I eat, I spill food on myself,” he adds. “I first felt my hands getting unstable when I was in second grade. Back then, I didn’t take it seriously. But over time, I started lacking clarity in speech, and the tremors aggravated. A few doctors claimed it is a brain dysfunction while some others said it is nerve-related. Medicines weren’t quite effective either,” says Shiji.
Despite the uncontrollable shaking, Shiji created several models using household items, mainly baseboards. JCB’s being his favourite, Shiji has made over 150 of them since 1995. The majority of the structures are neatly lined up in his house. Hotel buildings, cars from his imagination, warships, helicopters — are made to perfection. “To control the tremors, I support my right hand with the left.
Once the work starts, I make sure to stay focused until it’s finished. The will to complete them keeps me going,” says Shiji. Honouring INS Vikrant, INS Vikramaditya, Shiji created a fairly big aircraft carrier, the INS-India. It has wheels too. “The missiles are made using `20 markers. The aeroplanes have been made using glue bottles,” he adds.
Shiji also customises his models. He makes them according to the pictures sent by his clients. The most striking bit of Shiji’s work is the attention to detail. The model of Willys jeep model he made even has double silencers in the base and the two pipes that support the upper cover. He made them using paper straws. Shiji’s JCB has a hand that holds the bucket and backhoe which can be moved up and down.
“My craft can be played with like toys rather than just keeping them like showpieces. But since these are made from cardboard, children might damage them too soon,” says Shiji. All he needs to make these fabulous models are axe blades, sandpaper, shaving blades and scissors. An artist during most of his free time, Shiji makes a living by selling lottery tickets. “I sell a batch early in the morning and then make miniatures throughout the day, I head out to sell the rest of the tickets in the evening and continue making craft at night,” he adds.
Shiji is currently working on a model of the Kochi Metro train, a commissioned work.
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