Bathinda: After preparing Punjab’s own Rafale jet, a model that crawls on the road instead of flying, 65-year-old Ram Pal Behniwal has made a model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark his 76th birthday.The model, made from Nirol detergent and bath soap, took Behniwal more than two months to prepare. He turned the soap into a paste to shape the model. So far, only the upper portion has been completed; he plans to finish the lower portion before presenting it to Modi. Nearly 15kg of soap has been used.A resident of Rama Mandi in Bathinda district, Behniwal has no formal training in modelling. He learnt the craft by watching his late mother, Bhagwanti Devi, make household items and initially worked with clay. He later switched to soap and made a model of Mahatma Gandhi several years ago.The soap model has to be kept away from direct sunlight as it can melt to some extent. “I prepared a model from steel mesh to give it strength and then used soap paste to shape it. A lot of caution was taken to make the appearance resemble the Prime Minister. That is why it took two months,” Behniwal told TOI.He gave the model its final touches on Wednesday and showed it to BJP Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh during his visit to Sunam. Behniwal’s son Ashwani also helped make the model.Behniwal had earlier hit headlines on March 4, 2021, when he built an 18-foot-long, 10-foot-wide and eight-foot-high Rafale model powered by a Maruti 800 engine. The 800kg model could travel at up to 15 kmph and covered 7km on a litre of petrol.
