Sunday, March 22, 2020

TELL ME WHAT AM I MADE OF- VII ?!

Let me begin this post with an anecdote. It was the monsoon season of last year when we went to the Shahpur area of Belgaum. The purpose was to visit the clay and terracotta pottery showroom named "Kumbhar" They are franchisees of Gujarat based clay pottery manufacturing unit named "Mitticool".
We visited the showroom, admired intricately done and resplendently colored clay artwork and potteries on display. When we stepped out of the showroom my cousin suggested we snack at a sweet and snacks shop situated at the cross-lanes opposite the pottery showroom.
We walked to the shop and bought a plate of piping hot *kachoris and *samosas (*Indian snacks) for each one of us. It was evening time and as usual, people thronged the place for an evening snack. So by the time I had emptied the contents of the paper plate, I had to bend forward and throw the plate into the garbage bin as my Mother, cousin and Aunty were standing next to it. I was amazed to see the customers at the shop glare at me as if I had committed an offense by flinging it in the garbage bin! The open-drain beside the shop was full of used paper plates and cups! "Samman"(Respect) the sweet and snacks shop's owner hails from Rajasthan. With the shop at a vantage point, he does a brisk business selling sweets and snacks to the local inhabitants.
Strangers communicating through mute gestures amuses me and wonder why they mindlessly reflect(if not imitate) an action ignoring the fact it will have a rippling effect (if not a chain effect) on them too. I wondered and could sense my lips curl up into an amusing smile.  I wondered whether I am really aware of myself? I do not and neither do I encourage anyone to consider and treat anyone as garbage. Our family, relations, peers, and society condition our behavior and mannerisms and often discourage us from having a rational and pragmatic approach to life. This subsequently causes our perceptions to be biassed and prejudiced.
I, therefore, decided to create useful artwork using waste materials that were to be dumped in the garbage bin at home. I simultaneously began making this rack and the Flower Box. I did this to understand myself, my self-worth, self-respect, integrity, self-love or selfless love, dignity while applying creative thinking through applied curiosity and empathy in understanding the need for a solution at home in the form of an object that I could create using the things people at home were about to dispose of. I began with myself. I needed a desk rack and lamp. I decided to make it in such a way that anyone could use the rack-cum-lamp anywhere, in the living area, kitchen, study room, bedroom and even at the office.
Later last year when my cousin brother flew down from the USA on an official visit to India, he paid us a flying visit on a weekend. During his visit, we revisited Kumbhar, the clay pottery showroom. We purchased a Mitticool manufactured clay cooking-pot with lid. We also purchased the remaining set of choir rings the shop-owner had remarked that it was now difficult to get people who can and agree to make choir rings.
We revisited "Samman"(Respect) sweet shop for a snack. This time I made sure I stood next to the bin and to my sheer amusement, the color of the plastic bucket bin matched with the color of the clothes I wore on that day! You asked me a question? Did that stop the strangers from frowning at me?! It did! Quite queer! isn't it?! This also helped me in creatively giving vent to my ire and resentment towards human avarice that has caused a problem in the form of waste and garbage, plastic garbage, in particular, that defies Earth's natural recycling process.
Now, after watching the video, can you guess what am I made of?! If you cannot then this hint might help you:
Congratulations! You did it!
I (The rack and the lamp) are made of:

  1. Two wooden handles of brooms used for swabbing the floor.
  2. Plywood piece.
  3. Thermocol sheet.
  4. Four plastic(P.E.T.) bottles of 250 ml each.
  5. Paper boxes of medicine bottles.
  6. Plastic containers of Duolin and Budamate respules.
  7. Aluminum foil wrappers of mouth fresheners.
  8. Cement.
  9. One plastic bottle of lamp oil.
  10. Four plastic bottles of Budamate Forte capsules.
  11. Two-inches long iron nails.
  12. Handles of two plastic carry bags of periodicals.
  13. One plastic bottle of Sunkist Fruit juice.
  14. One paper reel of brown plastic tape used for packaging.
  15. Biscuit cartons (paper box.)
  16. Three biscuit cartons (plastic.)
  17. Oil paints (we can use vegetable and organic paints.)
  18. Paint thinner.
  19. Fevicol.
  20. Cellophane tape.
  21. Plastic straw
  22. Plastic cover of journals and monthly/fortnightly periodicals
The rack has props and four wheels made from the caps of the empty plastic bottles, plastic straw, two-inches long iron nails and, Budamate Forte capsules' plastic bottles that make it easy to  turn the rack around:

The 360 degrees movable lamp is made from two paper reels of brown plastic tape, two Budamate Forte Capsules' plastic bottles, cellophane tape, one plastic bottle, one bulb holder, two meters long insulated electric wire with plug.  The lamp can be moved positioned anywhere on the top shelf of the rack:
The rack's pillars (Props) and shelves have alphabets/scripts of seven languages: Hindi & Marathi: (Devnagari Script), Bengali, Kannada, Urdu, Oriya and, English. Numerals of six languages:
I have already posted six creative solutions made out of things that people at home had discarded as waste!
Please write your reaction, response, suggestions, insights, queries and, doubts as "comments" to this post. 
Please use this link to view more photographs and, videos of the rack and, three hundred and sixty degrees-movable lamp.

Acknowledgment:
Smt. Sharmila Sen, Smt. Bharti Gupta, Miss Ishanvi (Tuntuni/Khushi), Mr. Abhinav Gupta, Ms. Radhika Rao and, Ms. Joshika Gupta's helped in transforming the efforts into reality: The Rack and the 360 Degrees Movable Lamp. 

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About Me

Introvert, Imaginative, loner, nature lover, sensitive, friendly