Hyderabad-based Dheeraj Kumar turns passion into sculptures of art

With his works at University of Hyderabad and RBVRR Telangana Police Academy, the sculptor is determined to carve a niche in the field

Motorists travelling towards Gopanpally — one of Hyderabad’s growing suburbs — slow down at a particular stretch to gaze at the imposing iron sculpture of a horse. Weighing 300 kilos, the figure stands outside sculptor Dheeraj Kumar’s house-cum-studio in a serene neighbourhood that is still to get a pucca road.

With just a few houses and trees all around, the area has a village-like atmosphere. The house and studio are separated by asbestos sheets and a grey wall with splashes of colour. “I grew up in a mud house and this environment reminds me of my childhood; that’s why I took this place on a lease,” says Dheeraj who hails from the Pratapgarh district (near Allahabad) of Uttar Pradesh