Mallikarjun Reddy poses with idols of the elephant-headed god Lord Ganesh. Each of them is carved out of a single piece of chalk, usually used by teachers to write on black boards.

The 23-year-old from Bangalore, Karnataka started carving on chalk as a hobby around 10 years ago. He presents all his creations to his friends and well-wishers.

He is in great demand ahead of the Ganesh festival, which starts on September 18 this year.

Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images

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