The Last Stone Mason

He practiced secretly at the quarry

When the old man discovered Salim working on the statue, Salim explained: 'I have been practicing secretly. For almost two years, in the quarry.' This shows that Salim had natural talent and dedication - he taught himself the art by practicing alone at the stone quarry without any formal instruction from the master.

He considered it service to God

The old man told his son: 'It is not the money alone that matters, son. It is the service, our service to God.' This shows that for him, carving religious statues was not just a profession but a form of worship and devotion. He believed that his traditional craft was sacred work that served a higher spiritual purpose.

Agra

Gopal told his father: 'You have to mass produce like all the other people in Agra.' Later he also said: 'And if you don't have it inside you, then you'd better go to Agra and mass produce ashtrays for the tourists.' Agra, being a major tourist destination, offered opportunities for mass production of souvenirs and tourist items.

He fainted from exhaustion

The text states: 'In the early hours of the morning the chisel fell from the old man's hand, the hammer dropped to the ground and he fainted.' After working continuously for days without rest, trying to complete the sculpture alone, his body could no longer endure the physical strain and he collapsed from exhaustion.