Bhubaneswar, Dec 24 (PTI) With the Christmas fever gripping the globe, an Odisha-based artist has carved a miniature of Santa Claus on a piece of chalk.

L Eswar Rao, who hails from Jatni in Khurda district, craved the one-and-a-half-inch-long miniature with message 'Happy Xmas'. He took two days to complete the artwork.

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"I have carved this miniature to wish all people a Merry Christmas. On this eve, I pray that Jesus blesses all of us," Rao said.

Last year, on Christmas, Rao had created a miniature of Jesus Christ inside a glass bottle.

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The 41-year-old artist has been practising his artwork for the last 25 years. Earlier, he also created a stick and ball and placed it inside a 750 ml bottle to wish luck to all teams participating in the Hockey World Cup, 2023.

Rao's journey as a miniature artist began in 1999 after he gifted a Taj Mahal carved out of chalk to his teacher. In 2011, Rao started Eswar Art and Craft Social Foundation where he trains students for free.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)