Srinagar

Three Kashmiri youths have been selected for the International Snow Sculpture Championship to be held in America on January 22. An official invitation from international ice sculpture organizer Breckenridge International invited the four participants to represent India in the competition in Colorado, USA.

Zahooruddin Lone from village Patan in Baramulla district, Irfan Latif Mir from a remote area of Kupwara district, Tasadeq Hussain Hijam from Magam village in Baramulla, and Mardul Upadhyay from Uttar Pradesh will be in the Indian ice sculpture team.

This will be the 32nd edition of the International Ice Sculpting Championship in Breckenridge, Colorado, USA. The organizing committee has a history of inviting artists from all over the world.

Team leader Zahooruddin Lone said."This is an international competition that celebrates art, culture, and the ephemeral, beautiful nature of snow," the invitation read. We are very pleased to have been selected for the International Snow Sculpture Championship to be held in Breckenridge, Colorado. We are grateful to the organizing committee for allowing us to participate in this championship.

Representing Team India is a huge achievement for us and we are very proud to be getting this opportunity from across Kashmir which will inspire many other youngsters here. They will try to participate in such international events and make Kashmir proud.

Zahooruddin Lone with his sculpture

Zahooruddin Lone popularly known as Zahoor Kashmiri has represented India twice in the International Snow Sculpture Championship, according to him snow is natural in Kashmir and it is easy for people to learn how to make snow sculptures.

According to Lone along with other professional ice sculptors Tasadeq Hussain from Budgam trains 20 students interested in making ice sculptures at the Government Degree College, Magam. He said that ice is an easy medium to work in.

Lone said that since the ice in Kashmir is natural and there is no stress of wastage, etc. The interested youth can take time to learn professional ice sculpting.

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Hailing from the small village of Patan Singhpura in North Kashmir, Lone has done his Master's in Fine Arts from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.He has gained experience in snow sculpting from 'Snow Festa-2014', organized by Apelner Event Management and J&K Tourism in Gulmarg followed by the International Snow Sculpting Championship.

He is  theleader of a team of 35 professional snow sculptors from across India. Photos of snow sculptures created by young children soon after the recent snowfall have gone viral on social media, showing that the new generation is learning the art.