Sare Jahan se Accha (drawing)

The project was started with the vision of contributing on the occasion of the 50th year of Indian independence. Drawing the attention of tourists to Ahmadnagar was also one of the aims. Initially, it was decided to depict the struggle of Indian Independence. Later it was decided to draw pictures of great Indian personalities. A team of friends from various fields helped Kamble to finalize the list of people to be included. Sketches of 250 people were initially planned, which grew to number 500. The people were categorized into sages, deities, freedom fighters, Bharat Ratna awardees, Dadasaheb Phalke awardees, GyanPeeth awardees, Param Vir Chakra recipients and masters in various fields including sportspersons, musicians, dancers, painters, theater personalities, singers, social activists, and pioneer industrialists. Various sources including encyclopedias, magazines, and books were used. Sakal, a Marathi newspaper, helped to get some rare sketches which were not easily available.

The project preparation started in 1996. The actual work of drawing the pencil sketch started in May 1997. It was completed on the eve of Independence Day, 1997 (15 August 1997). It took 72 consecutive days, which was 1728 hours of work. Kamble dedicated three months to the project. He had to work at night to reduce disturbance from street watchers. The artist believes that the pencil sketch was the turning point in his life. Expenses for the painting were 500,000 Rs. It included preparation and painting of the wall to prepare it for pencil drawing. Swati Kamble, Mandar Kulkarni had supported the identification of the right people for the drawing as a part of the project. The pencils required for the sketch were provided by Camlin, a pencil company. The drawing turned out very nicely due to this and with right contribution and support to Kamble by members.

The top of the sketch comprises the sages. These include Ram, Krishna, Vyas, Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Gautam Buddha, Gurunanak, etc. The Bharat Mata at the center is holding the tri-colour map of India. The Bharat Mata represents the country of India. The later part contains freedom fighters of India. The Bharat Ratna laureates are beside that. Various sports personalities are drawn on the left side and singers and musical artists are drawn on the right. Sketches of the artists (like dancers) are made along with their poses. Sketches of musical artists are made along with their musical instruments. For easy identification, sport personalities are also drawn in their famous poses or with sport equipment. No watercolor or any special material was used for the project.

• Largest pencil sketch in India
• No use of eraser during the sketch
• 72 consecutive days, 1728 hours of work
• The sketch comprises 500 personalities on a single wall

• Article: "Kathyakoot te Chitrakoot", Magazine: Chinh – Diwali special edition year 2005
• Maharashtra Times newspaper dated 15 August 1998
• Article: "Kalasakt Avliya", Book: Achievers
• Article: "Takiche Ghav Sosta....", Paper: Dainik Ekmat, dated 10 August 2009 by Bhagwan Rautr
• "Kalajagtacha Kohinoor" by Bal J. Bothe, paper – Sakal
• Drushyakala Khand – Shilpakar Charitrakosh: Pramod Kamble