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It is a rare recognition for the artist of Udupi district whose drawings have been internationally acclaimed. Artist P N Acharya has been highly honoured for the identification of his works by the Tufts University of America.

The talented artist has sketched over 2,342 exclusive art pieces on the anatomy of cat and dog.

P N Acharya told Deccan Herald that he was immensely surprised over the invitation by Dr M S A Kumar who worked in the University. He was told about Acharya by someone in Delhi on his arrival to India. Kumar tried contacting Acharya many times but in vain. He could not get satisfactory response from Acharya as Acharya was under the impression that the invite is fake and someone is trying to play fool with him, he said.

He added that finally he was convinced by Kumar that he was in urgent need of his artistic skills for the veterinary volume that was brought out by the University. The volume is titled “Clinically Oriented Anatomy of Dog and Cat” and comprises of 1,614 pages. The e-mail contacts gave the brief idea to Acharya over his sketches. The pictures include the vertebrate dissection of both the animals, besides it also comprises of the drawings like schematic illustration of segmental bronchus, hypoglossal nucleus, lumbar spinal segment, deep arcuate fibers and so on.

Acharya was reluctant to go to USA and he preferred to take up the task at his home. Acharya said he took nearly two years to scribble all the anatomical parts of both cat and dog. The sketches were sensitive and microscopic as it is part of scientific research. Here, the artist needs to be concentrating more on academic skills rather than worldly experience, he added.

Acharya also feels pride in sharing his happiness for being the first Indian to get such sort of recognition. Almost all drawings  are line drawings with color. The sketches are drawn on A4 sheets. Acharya told that two more Universities in the US have contacted him with the proposal, however it might take some more time to decide over the project.

Acharya is veteran artist with Chitrakala Academy and he prefers working on line drawings. Besides, he has also experimented with abstract and oil paintings. “These works will forever stand as most memorable sketches all through the life as I have put up lot of patience, hard work and dedication constantly for two years,” he concluded.