Former President APJ Abdul Kalam had praised his wooden art works in 2012 during a visit to Bokaro. That pat had inspired him to take his passion more seriously and deliver some stellar pieces that found a pride of place in many an exhibition.

And now, Birendra Thakur of Dhanbad has channelled that inspiration to create a beautiful wooden portrait of his idol in flat 20 days.

This is the 63-year-old former production engineer's way of paying tribute to the Missile Man of India, who breathed his last at a Shillong hospital on July 27. So he burnt the midnight oil for around three weeks from September 1 to 20 to cut, chisel and polish wood to produce of his finest craft.

"I made the 1½ftX1½ft portrait, using around 1kg of sagwan wood. Yes, I had to work overnight to create this piece of art, which is special to me. Only polish work remains," Thakur said, adding that he would like the portrait, which he encased in a frame, to be displayed in a national museum some day.

The BIT-Sindri alumni, who retired from the post of deputy chief inspector of factories of Jharkhand in 2012, recalled the day he met Kalam during a function at Bokaro Niwas, the guest house of Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL), on April 30, 2012.

"Seeing one of my works (Tribal Dance) adorning the corridor of Bokaro Niwas, he enquired about its creator from the manager of the guest house, S.K. Jha, who is a friend of mine. Jha immediately called me, saying that the former President wanted to meet me. I rushed to Bokaro, leaving all my work in Dhanbad. Though he was busy with a function that day, he met me soon after," said Thakur, who took to this unique form of art in 2008 after being impressed by a wood work at a Durga Puja fair in Dhanbad in 2008.

"While appreciating my work, he asked me what is this art form called. When I said Wood Collage, he suggested I call it 'Saved Wood Collage' as it is worth saving the wood," the artist reminisced.

Thakur remembered Kalam as a very humble person. "I was so impressed with his personality and humility during that brief meeting that I always cherished the memory and made another copy of Tribal Dance," he added.

So what prompted him to come up with a portrait of the great statesman?

"His death deeply saddened me. So when journalists were asking be to recall my memories of him, I thought that only lip service would not do. Being an artist, I must pay him a tribute in my own way," said Thakur, whose wooden works were displayed at an exhibition at Gandhi Seva Sadan on July 26.