Srinagar,(UNI): In the Kashmir Valley, Aziz-ur-Rehman, only 22, carves and shapes animal bones into attractive decorative items, earning both a name for himself and a source of livelihood .
Rehman, who lives in Gulab Bagh on the outskirts of Srinagar, is a graduate student at the Department of Fisheries at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology.
It has been his interest since childhood to turn animal bones into decorative items, the young man told UNI. Mind you, he has not learnt this art all by himself.
“I’ve always had a passion for doing something new and unique,” Rehman said. “I am obsessed with art and I love to turn ordinary things into works of art.”
He said that when everything was closed due to Covid-19 n 2020, he started to make art carvings on the bones.
“I bring home the bones of the animals and boil them in water. I then put artistic marks on them, cut them and shape them into different decorative objects. “I carve bones and skulls and make them into like knife handles,” Rehman said.
He claimed that his handmade bone decorations were very popular on social media. “Art lovers contact me and buy them.
“I place my artwork on my Instagram account. At the moment I have at least 30 different objects.”
Rehman said he may be the first Kashmiri associated with this art but people in Kashmir were not generally interested in it yet.
He believes that every young person has some hidden talent which can be a source of living.
“Government jobs are not the only source of employment. We should also cultivate our hidden talents along with education and create employment resources for ourselves.”
