Tuesday, October 12, 2010

House Of Hobbies - 7 -- Nilima Moon: Carved creations

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...



Nilima Moon: Carved creations

(Nilima Moon with her son Dakshesh)

ALMOST all bright students get chalk-sticks as token of appreciation from teachers, but very few of them can see the pillars of the Royal Palace hidden in these fragile stalks. As a class-monitor in Dharampeth Girls’ High School, Nilima Hazare (now Nilima Moon) used carve pillars in the chalks. The habit of searching for ‘art’ in mundane ‘articles’ was born right there. Lucky girl, she was noticed by Sudhakar Phatak, her teacher, and city’s well-known soap-carving artist.


“Phatak sir asked me to switch over to soap-carving as chalks cannot be preserved for more than a few days,” said Nilima, a student who has made her teacher proud by creating masterpieces from soap.

A simple bath soap, when she starts carving, turns itself into various forms of Lord Ganesha, or a mother loving her child, or Bhagwan Buddha in deep meditation, or SRK in his typical pose, or just anything that Nilima wishes. “All I need is a carving fork, specially designed by Phatak sir,” Nilima humbly says. However, the cutter is only a gadget. It needs hours of concentration, dedication and skill to carve a delicate small-sized soap.

“My brother, Sachin used to bring large sized washing bars for me. He encouraged me a lot,” says Nilima, who became a popular as soap-carver, right in her college days. She participated in several exhibitions. “Once I had made a Ganesh idol from soap particles left after carving. Since then, nothing goes in waste,” Nilima points out showing a colourful Lord Ganesh idol.

“After exhibitions, Girls, astonished by the art, used to approach me for classes, so I tried to teach it to many. But, the complicated job bored them,” Nilima shares with her signature attractive smile. “No problem. I am okay with it. I am searching for new ways in this art by myself,” she continues.

Recently, Nilima has developed ‘water therapy’ to join two or more soaps together which will expand the platform for carving. “But these days, I find less time for this,” she smiles once again, as her son Dakshesh, who is celebrating first birthday on October 3, crawls into her lap.

“One of my friends told me not to get married if I have to quit soap-carving after that,” she remembers, “But I am lucky. Instead of complaining for over-expenditure, my husband Dheeraj and in-laws feel happy when I purchase a few more number of beauty soaps,” this time she gives smile to her mother-in-law busy with Dakshesh. At her house, situated in crowded lanes of Sadar, Nilima has number of soap arts, covered with cotton, and packed in a plastic box. Every minute detail, facial expressions, and eyes are carved so aptly, that it is very hard to believe that the figures are made of bath soaps. “Why not? The name itself is ‘beauty soap’, so ‘beauty’ can be carved out from it,” Nilima greets with the same attractive smile!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

House of Hobbies - 6 -- Arun Gulhane: Marvelous memoirs

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...
Arun Gulhane: Marvelous memoirs


As a schoolboy, models of buildings and other projects kept in the office of his neighbor, an architect, used to fascinate Arun Gulhane. “I used to spend hours watching those models with eyes and mouth wide open,” says he, whose fascination towards replicas of buildings not only gave him a leisure pursuit of a lifetime but also, after thirty-five years, a reason and strength to live life to its fullest, without complaining to destiny for the tough times.


“Like any other boy, I began with making cardboard models of houses and theatres. However, my replicas started looking more real when I used the Japanese Art Board, which is now out of Indian market,” recalls Gulhane, whose art works -- replicas of famous temples and monuments in India made up of ivory paper, century paper, cardboards, and art boards and lacquered with oil paint -- look even better than the original.

It was some three decades ago, when Gulhane joined IGGMC as technician, and found the unique set of tools he uses for cutting the paper with rare artistry –surgical equipment.

“Yes, the delicate cutting needs surgical equipment,” he says, while showing the instruments.

Gulhane, a science, law and management graduate, has no formal education in engineering or architecture. Still, he uses the graph paper, measurement instruments proficiently and follows geometry with such excellence that no replica loses its proportion even slightly. “It need months, sometime years, to complete one piece. Concentration and lots of patience are must to acquire this skill. But today’s youths don’t like to wait,” -- Gulhane’s reason as to why he has not been able to pass on the skill to some youngster.

His only son Vaibhav, an engineer, is working in Tatanagar. “He always supports me silently. He knows, this art is the only life tonic for me, particularly, since I was left alone five years ago by the untimely demise of my wife, Dr Saroj,” Gulhane expresses. “She was a great support,” he pauses, and switches over to another topic.

Born and brought up in the city, Gulhane wants to live and love Nagpur for his lifetime. “That was why I donated two of my masterpieces to the Central Museum,” says he, showing the photographs of replicas of Maharaja Bakhtarsingh’s memorial in Alwar, and Maharaja Jaswant Singh’s memorial in Jodhpur. These photographs leave one just awe-stricken. But the artworks are no more available in the museum.

“Careless, they literally ruined my hard work. When I asked them to return them back, the curator did not even respond properly,” he laments. But this irresponsible act of the Central Museum authorities failed to dampen his spirit. “After retirement, I find lots of time and solitude. I have the graph papers and sketches of those pieces. I will re-create them,” the man says with a confident smile, brought on by his rare hobby.




Friday, October 8, 2010

House of Hobbies - 5 -- Vintage Collection

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...
Diana Hormusji: Vintage Collection 

 (Mrs Diana with her collection)
“I REALLY don’t think it’s worth,” says Mrs Diana, a sexagenarian Parsi woman, welcoming us to her bungalow with a huge front-yard full of lush greenery and flowers – hard to find these days in Nagpur. Tall and strong, the trees around indicate the age of the house and also that it must have many reminiscences to share. But according to its owner, her collection of the precious items, particularly of spoons, is ‘not worth’ as compared to others she had seen or heard about. It may be true, especially for this woman who has travelled widely in India and abroad. But, hundreds of spoons from various countries, based on various themes, rare glassware, souvenirs, Chinese perfume bottles, select antique pieces, and much more leave everyone astonished.

“I have not collected these by my own. Many of these come right from my grandmother, many from my mother, and some are gifted by friends and relatives,” says Diana, whose father used to purchase artistic glassware from Chennai (then Madras) to add to her collection -- that too, for just for Rs 1 or 2 of that time. A born Nagpurian, she was a student of Tata Parsi Girls High School, and Nagpur University’s medalist in Political Science.
After getting married to an Air Force Officer, Diana got a chance to visit and live in many states of India. Everywhere, she collected people – and they added things to her collection. Count from her grand mothers’ time, and her collection is almost three generations old now.

As we enter the drawing hall decorated with antique pieces, statues, pots, and photo frames --everything well-arranged in typical Parsi neatness – she pulls the old black buttons down, and artistic chandeliers start illuminating the hall. British-age ceiling fans, with unusually huge center-lobes, start whirring, she unlocks the glass showcase full of spoons, and the world tour starts. “These are from America; these are from Europe, these from China, these are Indian,” she points out one by one. Each spoon has different design, different value, and different story.
“I do collect spoons, but I don’t like ‘chamchagiri’ at all,” she makes atmosphere lighter. The collection further shows decorative pieces from many parts of the world, including the Chinese perfume-bottles painted from inside. “Foreigners have a great value for antique things, which we lack” she expresses.


“We must learn to value old things,” she says. The ancestral treasure will be traditionally passed on to her daughter, who is a teacher in Bangalore. “She teaches to dyslexia-hit students,” the proud mother says.
Reluctant initially to show the collection, Mrs Diana says, all this was collected and kept only for self-satisfaction and she don’t want any publicity.
However, only the fact that such collection and collector lives in the city, will please a true Nagpurian.

House of Hobbies - 4 -- Shweta Bhattad: Mouth-watering mirage

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...

Shweta Bhattad: Mouth-watering mirage
(Wax Modeler Shweta Bhattad)


If Shweta Bhattad offers you something to eat, just hold on and check the dish out. This charming, fair girl in her mid-twenties will officially become Master of Fine Arts from Maharaja Sayajirao University, (MSU), Baroda, next year; however, she has already earned mastery in creating delicious-looking mirage in the form of wax art. “Kids cry for ice-creams and fruits, pani pooris water youngsters’ mouths, and my friends impulsively eat up the sweets before I can tell them that these are made of wax.” So real are the creations by this wax-modeler.
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in sculpture from CISFA, Shweta never had a formal training in wax-modeling. “Because no one teaches this,” she says. She developed fascination for wax while studying in ‘crucial’ Class XII. “Initially, I used to make candles -- then colorful ones -- and later of various shapes. There was the all-important HSC exam, but my parents never stopped me,” says Shweta, while crediting every achievement in her flourishing career to her parents, Usha and Purushottam Bhattad.

After winning bagful of awards and critical acclaim over the years for her unique style of sculpture-making, she was selected by prestigious MSU, Baroda last year – a matter of pride for the Orange City. Well, but the reason behind her choosing the Fine Arts lies right here in the wax. “I was trying to make out something from wax. To get proper knowledge of shades, I opted for Fine Arts,” says the scholar, who is expecting to grab a fellowship for foreign studies next year and to visit famous Madame Tussaud’s Museum someday. “It’s a very complicated job to melt wax, mix colours– that too, in the exact quantity, keeping in mind that the wax changes colour as it cools down. It is not possible to paint the piece or to cover a food item with transparent wax to make an art piece. To make it look real, you have to work hard, for hours and days and weeks, without losing concentration, all for one art piece,” Sweta shares her experience.

“Mummy is a master in deciding colour quantity. It will be impossible for me to work without her help. Tins and tins full of wax have gone waste during my initial days. But Papa never said ‘no’ to purchase another tin,” she says even as her father looks on with an indulgent smile. “We just could not stop her after seeing the magical creativity,” he says.

“For making rice, or noodles, she holds hot wax on her palms to shape it. This hurts,” – a mothers’ concern. Shweta dreams of creating a wax museum in Nagpur in which each and every food item will be ‘waxinated.’ Let’s share the dream with the Orange City’s own budding Madame Tussaud.

Monday, October 4, 2010

House of Hobbies - 3 -- Subhash Sharma : Houseful collection

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...


Subhash Sharma : Houseful collection


SOME thirty-three years back, a school-boy stole a few old coins, kept carelessly in a tool-box of his friend’s radio repair shop. But the very next day, he went back, returned the coins, and confessed to the theft. “The coins had developed a feeling of guilt in my mind,” tells Subhash Sharma, whose friend eventually gifted the same coins to him for his honesty. “He kept silver coins and gifted me the copper ones. That day was a day of ecstasy in my life,” Sharma, whose search for the similar ‘day of ecstasy’ began with that very moment, he says.

Owner of an automobile reconditioning workshop near Shukravar Lake, Sharma has been collecting antique pieces, coins, historical belongings, brassware, watches, dials, locks, gramophones, stamps, stones, vintage equipment, arms, swords, pots, lanterns, knives, sculptures, historical notes, books, and what not – since the last three decades. “I am not bound to a particular theme. I just add, whatever appeals to me,” he said, while showing his collection, very neatly preserved and beautifully displayed in a personal museum on the
second floor of his bungalow in Dhantoli. “It comes from within. Your passion is enough to become your inspiration and motivation and encouragement,” claims Sharma, who speaks excellent Marathi.

Sharma’s collection has silver punch-marked coins of all 16 Janapadas (185 BC), swords probably of Maratha age, centuries-old locks, Tamrapatras (brass plate inscriptions), bhojpatras, and equipment of stone-age brought from excavation sites, he claims.

Other than professional sellers and numismatic societies - the common sources of coin collectors – Sharma has an additional and exciting source. “The Zarekari or Sonzari community people residing near rivers and water bodies dive deep and bring coins. The rivers with old forts around, like Paoni river near Nagpur, are full of such ancient coins. It’s a luck factor. You have to go there and find out,” the ‘lucky man’, who has found hundreds of coins from rivers till date, says.


It was his passion for history which inspired his wife Varsha to complete MA in Ancient History after marriage. She is now pursuing PhD on ‘Copper punch mark coins in India’. They have two school-going daughters, Mili and Sakshi, equally interested in history and collection. “Family support plays vital role,” accepts Sharma, a college drop-out, but an authority on ancient history after reading hundreds of books from all over the world. He can decode ancient scripts like Brahmi and others. However, he laments lack of awareness in India about our rich heritage. “James Prinsep, a British official deciphered Brahmi, the oldest Indian script, once termed ‘meaningless’ by our philologists,” he shares.

It’s a fantastic story of how a kid’s fascination for some old coins took the form of systematic study. Well, much more to come in future, as Subhash Sharma’s search for another ‘day of ecstasy’ continues.

House of Hobbies - 2 -- Prashant Baitule: Small wonders

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...

Prashant Baitule - Small wonders

(Prashant Baitule with his wife Yogita)


“I can do better than this.” This statement of Prashant Baitule, after watching his sister’s beautifully crafted miniature piece displayed at a marriage function, was rewarded with a loud hoot of laughter. Especially so because ‘Taai’ was a trained bamboo craft-maker. “Everyone was praising the piece, so, my reaction was surprising for her. But, it was spontaneous. I had never touched a bamboo stick before, but I just felt it within, and uttered those words,” Prashant recalls the incident in 1990 after which he purchased a bamboo chatai (sheet made up of cane slices) and a box of adhesive, and started working.


Almost two decades have passed since then, and today, the drawing room of the 1BHK flat of this Irrigation Department clerk, in Madhuban Apartments, Wanadongri, is full of beautifully crafted miniature tables, chairs, table-pieces, houses, cycles, rickshaws, chariots, cars, and much more – every item crafted with microscopic detailing.


“Other than a ten-rupee ‘chatai’ and some adhesive, I hardly spend money on my hobby as every other decorative item comes from waste material,” he says. Old buttons and discarded ornaments turn into shining lights, cloth pieces cut away by his dress designer wife, Yogita’s graceful curtains, hard transparent packing of shirts becomes table-glass, pages of last years’ table-top calendar become rooftop – Prashant’s list of getting the best from waste is unending.




The most astonishing feature of Prashant’s miniatures is ‘perfect measurement’. The chariot may have four wheels, but their radius never defer even by a millimeter. Each of the ten steps in a five-centimeter staircase is of exactly the same length. Being a science graduate and working in a technical field for some ten years is important, but not enough to acquire such perfection. “Yes. It is an ancestral gift. I used to see my father Sadashivrao, designing gold ornaments, our traditional profession,” reveals Prashant.


“I usually gift a cane-chair that can be used as a mobile-stand to my friends. It has become a common feature in my office these days,” he smiles. “Relatives ask us to gift craft pieces,” his wife adds. “Sticks move with magical flexibility in his hands. When I tried, they broke into pieces,” she praises. While for Prashant, the skill is an outcome of passion and practice.


“The evening hours I spend with sticks recharge me for the next hectic day,” he says. His school-going son, Nishant also joins him these days. Together, they have a dream to own a duplex and name it after Prashant’s mother, Rama. A cane-replica of the same is kept in the show case.


“We dream of this house. One day, it will come true,” Baitule says with the same confidence, that he had shown some twenty years back, saying, “I can do better than this.”

House of Hobbies - 1 -- Ramsingh Thakur : Cooking coins

Crazy and creative, passionate and positive, influential and introverted, happy and hopeful – the hobbyists find their pleasure within. They select and collect; craft and create; preserve and protect, and enjoy in their own mysterious world. ‘House of Hobbies’ was my effort to
peep into the world of hobbyists in Nagpur. This series was published in The Hitavada in September-October 2010. Take a look...

Ramsingh Thakur : Cooking coins

Say Ramsingh Vijaysingh Thakur, and a lordly image of a broad-shouldered, mustached man wearing a rich Sherwani and posing with imposing an eagle-like bird for a portrait enters one’s mind. But our short-heighted, average-built version of ‘Thakur Sahab’ came in a simple pink cotton shirt and black trousers. In his two-room ‘mansion’ at Sakkardara, Thakur Sahab preserves his collection of coins and currency notes, a major part of which, according to him, comes from his family business -- an ‘untitled’ food stall at Raghuji Nagar, near Kamla Nehru College.

“We are famous for Chana-Poha, Samosa, and Bhaji Wadas. I collected many coins while running stall,” says Ramsingh, the only son of a cook couple Vijaysingh and Chandrikadevi. Ramsingh’s collection has almost every coin released in India since 1835. He also has Indian currency notes. RBI’s One rupee note, now outdated, used to have signature of India’s Finance Minister on it. Ramsingh has one rupee notes right from 1950 to recent times, featuring signatures of all Finance Ministers of the country.

Otherwise silent, Ramsingh starts speaking fluently in typical ‘KIlla’ tone as soon as we switch over to ‘coins’. “Fascination for coins was from childhood. I used to go to Itwari’s popular Shanivar Bazaar with Aai. Once she purchased a few coins from Ibrahim Khan, a local merchant, and handed those over to me. All started right there recalls Ramsingh. From then on, he started collecting coins in a box. However, it took a form of proper hobby when he visited the collection of late Arvind Ambhaikar.

Now, Ramsingh has properly-arranged albums and paper reproductions of coins with all minute details and history printed. A mere school pass-out, he speaks with an authority on the historical references, themes, and upcoming coins. Ramsingh suggested young numismatists to refer ‘Gullak’, a newsletter especially published by and for coin-collectors.

Interestingly, he has good collection of faulty coins and notes released ignorantly and later called back by the RBI. “A five-rupee coin on Lokmanya Tilak was released recently on which his name was printed as ‘Tilakji.’ RBI called back the coin and released new series with proper name. But before that, the coin was in my collection. Now I have both the coins,” shares Ramsingh. He has several such storied to tell.
No doubt, the collection of this young man is going to become a huge one with time. He may not become a broad-shouldered mustached man and pose with an eagle. But for sure, Ramsingh Vijaysingh Thakur has lots of photo sessions scheduled with his increasing collection.