A passionate 22-year-old engineering student, Mudasir Rashid, is turning raw wood scraps into exquisite art pieces and selling them to customers across the country through his social media platform to earn a livelihood.
Hailing from Srinagar, Mudasir Rashid embarked on his journey of woodworking and craftsmanship after being inspired by foreign artists who made a name for themselves in the field.
His journey from a novice craftsman to a celebrated artist is a testament to passion and perseverance
“If you have the passion to do something, you can turn a simple thing into an extraordinary art and make your hobby an effective source of income”, Mudasir told UNI.
Mudasir is now a craftsman who makes various types of beautiful and delightful things from old pieces of wood, whose lovers are found not only in Kashmir valley but also in different parts of the country, who are buying his articles after going through his social media platform.
Mudasir not only carried forward his studies but also fulfilled his hobby of art and earned his livelihood.
“I saw such videos in which old even odd items thrown in the garbage were converted into good and useful things, which inspired me”, he said adding “When I see any waste material, especially wood, I examine it closely with a thought to transform it into a beautiful craft and turn it into an art piece”.
Mudasir’s keen eye for potential allows him to convert materials worth as little as 10 into creations valued in the thousands.
He has made many things, including lamps, and recently turned a scraped wood into an art piece of a clock that went viral on social media soon after it was uploaded and customers started showing interest.
He said that buyers have come from different parts of the country for the clock I have made.
Mudasir’s foray into craftsmanship began serendipitously. “One day, I was just sitting, watching a craft video. I started copying it, made a piece of art, and gifted it to my friend”, he said adding this initial success” explores my inner passion to continue this artwork”.
He believes that hard work is not wasted; the things he made are turning good on purchasing and fetching me handsomely. He said although there is no such trend in Kashmir yet, there is a good market for it internationally”.
“There is no doubt that this is a patient and very hard laborious work, but the more I work, the more peace of mind I get, and a masterpiece comes into being”, he said.
The engineer said, “I have started this work on a small scale and it is getting a good response, which has encouraged me and I will expand it further in the future”.
He believes that such work could be made a part-time job and the youth of Kashmir who are wasting time on useless things can spend on it to earn handsomely.
Mudasir is grateful to his family for their support and encouragement provided to him.
“No work is insignificant, but every legitimate work on which livelihood depends is very sacred”, he said and “urged all parents not to stop their children from doing every legitimate work, but to encourage them for it”.
