Message in their little hands

Sometimes the means of achieving an end is as interesting as the end itself! The Samvedana Manch uses the theatre medium to get across me...

Sometimes the means of achieving an end is as interesting as the end itself! The Samvedana Manch uses the theatre medium to get across messages of social importance. Says Kamilini Phadke, who started the manch four years ago, and writes the plays, 8220;We use street-plays and theatre not only to spread messages but also to develop the personalities of the children who participate.8221; And recently, it also used the medium of art for a honourable purpose. The manch got together with the Dnyanada Gurukul to organise an art exhibition at Phadke8217;s residence in Vanaz from October 31 to November 2. The proceeds from the exhibition will go toward the fund for the orphans living at Dnyanada Gurukul.

Says Phadke, 8220;Samvedana had gone to the school for some theatre activities and to work with the children, and the managing trustee, Narayan Godbole suggested that we have this exhibition. And the children themselves have made greeting cards, in the collage style.8221; Another trustee of the Samvedana Manch, Sunita Kelkar, has been the force behind the exhibition. She not only displayed her pottery and paintings but is responsible for harnessing the children8217;s talents and one look at the cards amply demonstrates the dexterity of the painter and her pupils.

The greetings cards, made by Nikhil, Ameya, Ashwin, Datta and Shankar, all Standard VI students at the Gurukul, are simple in content but high in imagination. Paper, leaves, twigs and wild flowers are pasted on paper, enhanced with the minimum of colour.

An adivasi artiste, Subhash Rothe, displayed some of his fine works. Using waste material like wood, stone, tree roots and discarded scrap, his sculptures of Ganapati are outstanding. His plywood murals too reproduced close-to-nature themes. Proficient in the warli method, Rothe8217;s paintings using the traditional style are interesting. The similar motifs are also reflected in the greeting cards made by the children, who were taught by Rothe as well. The children have also succeeded in completing an order for a corporate house.

Says Phadke, 8220;These children have so much potential 8212; it has to be tapped. Recently during Navratri, they presented bhondala, a sort of celebration of Saraswati, for nine days along with the girls of the Kanyashala, near Appa Balwant Chowk. Artistic endeavours and a benevolent cause 8212; an ideal combination, indeed!

Pottering around
Contemporary Arts and Crafts CAC is an organisation which sprung from a passion for design, started by Vina and Piloo Mody, both Mumbai-based architects and Hema and Shireesh Sankalia from Pune, who are into interiors, in 1962.

CAC8217;s trademark products were designer household ware wooden salad bowls, pepper grinders, wooden trolleys, Scandinavian style furniture. Glassware, table linen, floor coverings, ceramics and fabrics were developed alongside. Since the Cottage Industries was instituted to revive Indian crafts by rural artisans and so CAC also decided to use traditional skills, improvising and innovating to give the products a contemporary look and feel.

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CAC has franchisees in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Baroda and has now come to Pune. Yadu Sankalia, Managing Director of CAC, and Karen Anand launched the Pune boutique at Sohrab Hall, Sassoon Road in style with a new range of steel art. At the exclusive launch flowed red and white wine supplied by Indage, and cheese niblets provided by the gourmet queen herself, Karen Anand. Explains Anand, 8220;By steel art we mean contemporary designs in stainless steel for the home and office.8221;

Steel is not something which lends itself easily to a designer8217;s imagination, besides it8217;s functional aspect is overriding. CAC decided to bequeath steel a whole new dimension, by giving it a contemporary twist 8211; and the designs are indeed visually very appealing. Experimenting with style and the finishing on the cutlery and crockery has yielded a fantastic range of elegant steelware by the CAC design team.

Continues Anand, 8220;At CAC we will be displaying the prototypes of the handicrafts and crafts found in other centres but the steel range is new and we8217;ve got some other items.8221; Like Michael Aram, an American metalware designer since 1989 who has been the driving force behind a cottage industry for Indian metalworkers. His works are witty and reveal the artist8217;s diverse sources 8212; nature, religious traditions, mythology and narrative stories. His collection of decorative art metal is exclusive to Pune8217;s CAC.

Other artists are Vadodara-based Mala and Pradeep Sinha, who design textiles; Anshoo Nath, who designs exclusive handloom silk furnishings; Vikram, Shriram and Ramesh of S and S International; who produce stainless steel for Habitat in the UK and Gap in USA; Vishwas, Swati and Arundhati Ghatpande of Karigar, who design contemporary artifacts from rubberwood; Avinash Gupte makes travel accessories using traditional weaves, the Maharashtrian ghongdi, Andhra ikkat and Rajasthani dhurrie; Ajay Kanunga, who has designed contemporary moulds to give fibre glass that classic look and Babu Mhatre, who forms and shapes copper and enamel, fully handcrafted from start to finish in the meenakari tradition. CAC has also launched it8217;s own manufacturing unit of handmade studio pottery, baked in a semi-porcelain clay fired at 1220 degrees Celsius, which makes them oven-and-microwave-friendly.

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CAC appears to be an artisan-friendly place, a place you can potter around to your heart8217;s content.