SIALKOT: In a country known around the world for its talent and individual brilliance, Abdul Maleek Muqtadir is set to make out a name for himself for pencil sketches which he draws with finesse and maturity at the age of 15.

A ninth-grade student at Daska’s Govt Boys High School, Maleek is reckoned an art prodigy because of a number of pencil sketches he has made. What sets him apart from others in the field is the unusual skill which he has acquired without any formal training or guidance.

“He is endowed with God-gifted talent of making the sketches,” say the proud parents.

For his teachers and class fellows, he is “Little Sketch Master” who wishes to win accolades for his alma mater. Among the sketches he has worked on are those of sports icons and Indian film stars.

Maleek says it’s a God-gifted talent and although he hones his skill by working on sketches for hours, he has not learnt it from anyone. “Sketch-making is my natural talent and I wish those at the helm of affairs recognise it and ensure promotion of the art,” he says.

He wants to pursue medical science education and work on the sketches as his passion. He would love to participate in the national and international competitions that, he says, will afford him an opportunity to bring laurels to the country.

His father Ihsan Ahsan, an educationist, is proud of the fact that Maleek is highly talented and he says it is devotion and hard work that are the secrets to his son’s success.

His mother Taskeen Akbar recalls Maleek started drawing when he was two years old. “I realised that he had a talent for drawing and sketching and helped him hone his skills,” she says.

He also loves animals and, according to her mother, has learnt a lot from ‘Animal Planet’ and ‘Nat Geo’.

The school principal, Ijazul Haq, says Maleek is a quick learner and has sharp memory.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018