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.

Young artists to bring along novel concepts: Dr Jabbar Patel

“Men like Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt made all-time classics even when there was no financial help from the Government. Good film-makers always experiment, and bring something new on screen. However, commercial films are need of the masses”

We know Dr Jabbar Patel as a renowned theatre and film director of India. We know him for Ghashiram Kotwal - a classic in modern Indian theatre. We know him for classic films in Marathi cinema like Jait Re Jait, Umbartha, Simhasan, for his most acclaimed film Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, for national award winning Mukta, for Ek Hota Vidushak (Which revealed a serious actor in Laxmikant Berde) and so on.
However, a very few of us know that Dr Patel is a paediatrician, and, therefore, enjoyed himself truly in Doctors’ company’ on Sunday. He was the chief guest at the installation ceremony of the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS). But, how one can resist to ask him questions about the classic school of cinema - of which he has been a stalwart?
Talking to a visibly relaxed Dr Jabbar Patel after the AMS function revealed his thoughts on ever-changing cinema, new generation directors and producers, and of course, his upcoming ventures.
“Cinema is a creative art. Concept of creativity changes with generations. Young directors and producers today, are exceptionally talented. As an encouraging fact, the Government provides financial assistance to film-makers these days. Many a youngsters is making really good use of this money,” expressed Dr Patel mentioning the internationally acclaimed films Harishchan-drachi Factory and Vihir. But out of 120-plus Marathi films produced this year, only three or four could won the critical acclaim. When asked about this, Dr Patel said, it depends on the mood and skill of a film-maker, and not on the Government aid.
Men like Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt made all-time classics even when there was no financial help from the Government. Good film-makers always experiment, and bring something new on screen. However, commercial films are need of the masses, he explained.
“Commercial and parallel cinema always progress hand in hand. In old times, I and Dada Kondke used to work together. N S Vaidya was our common editor. He had worked for me and Dada at the same time. Many a times, I borrowed Dada’s camera for shooting my films. These two are totally different genres of cinema,” Dr Patel recalled. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, his celluloid biopic, was dubbed in nine regional languages. However, it took a long time of nine years. “After the English version received the award, the decision was taken to go in for different dubbed versions. So, it needed time to write the script, go for script approval from prominent Sahitya Akadami winners, and then find proper voices for voice-over,” he said.
After Dr Ambedkar, Dr Patel is presently working on Mahatma Jyotiba Fuley. Simultaneously, he is working on a literary masterpiece by Marathi poet N D Mahanor - Ajantha.
“Mahanor’s Ajantha is a long narrative poem describing the love story of a rural girl and an English officer, who discovered the Ajantha caves. Making this film would be challenging, as well as exciting task,” he said. “Well, I would try to cope with the zeal of contemporary film-makers,” Dr Patel concluded with a smile.