He has arranged 15 exhibitions of his works in various cities of Gujarat and his models-in-the-bottle have captivated the young and old alike who come up with the inevitable question: 'How did you manage to get that temple inside the bottle?'

'Basically, you build models outside the bottle and then try to re-assemble them inside the bottle.

Unless you have steely determination and resolve, it cannot be done,' explained Kansara, who has no formal training in this art.

He uses items commonly available such as matchboxes, matchsticks, book covers and whatever is at hand and with extreme care puts them inside the bottle with the help of pincers. He takes special care in selecting bottles.

'They have to be unbreakable. These glass bottles are very costly. They are available only from select places,' he said.

'I work only during my spare time and can develop this bottle art further if only I can find more time since I have to take care of my stationery shop first,' he said.

However, the young master added with quiet confidence: 'I will work hard to make it a popular art.'

V N Balakrishna can be contacted at vnbalakrishna@gmail.com