Lokkalyan Shikshan Sanstha

Site Visit Report

 

      On a bright sunny morning, on my last day in India in January, I  found myself in the offices of the World Trade Center’s General Manager, a Mr. Y.R. Warerkar (brother of Mr. V.R. Warerkar).   Mr. Y.R. Warerkar advised his secretary that he would not be accepting any phone calls during our meeting, indicating to all of us that these were important matters that we were discussing.  We sat in a circle around Mr. Y. R. Warerkar’s desk.  In attendance were several nice gentleman.  First there were the two brothers Mr. V.R. Warerkar an advocate and Mr. Y.R. Warerkar General Manager of the WTC.  To their left sat Professor Rajadhyaksha, a native of Aajgaon where this project is based, an eminent sculptor Mr. Aajgaonkar, and finally, between myself and Mr. Aajgaokar sat Mr. Dubhashi.  These were five board members of the sanstha.

      The discussion progressed  in an informal fashion as a question and answer session between myself and the board members.  We spent approximately 21/2  hours together during  which time we talked about what they have accomplished so far and what they hope to accomplish.  Generally I was very impressed with the integrity and caliber of the people involved with this project and the dreams they have for the town of Aajgaon. From the way they spoke I felt they were very earnest people.  Below are  the highlights of our discussion.  

 

Location

Aajgaon is a small town very close to Goan.  It is a very beautiful area surrounded by mountains.  The town neighboring Aajgaon is  rich in the type of clay that is suitable for making pottery.  It is 600 km from Bombay with a population of 10000 .  Many “kumars” or potters already live in that area. These kumars are still using more difficult outdated techniques and making pots that consumers are not necessarily interested in.  Mr. Aajgaonkar, the sculptor, has spent some time with these potters instructing them on newer pottery techniques and types of pots. 

Background

Lokkalyan Shikshan Sanstha as an organisation that was established in 1962.  It’s board members include the people in attendance at this meeting and some  other eminent people such as Dr. Bapusaheb Rege who is well-known in Mumbai for his work in the area of education.  Dr Rege is the vice-chairman of the board.   (He is reknowned for his work with BalMohan High School in Shivaji Park)  The organisation was established by this group of friends and coworkers with similar interests.  Mr. V.R. Warerkar was very  interested in Germany and impressed by the work ethic of the Germans.  In our meeting, he especially noted the punctuality and the cleanliness of the German people.   He felt that India could benefit by adopting some of these aspects of German culture.  Prof. Rajadhyaksha worked with Mr. V.R. Warerkar  He had a strong desire to start a school in his hometown of Aajgaon.  In 1960 there was no high school in Aajgaon but only a primary school.  So it was that in that year a distillery was converted into a high school and primary teachers training college in Aajgaon. 

Sculpting as an art

Mr. Aajgaonkar spoke about how until only recently pottery and ceramics really had no respect in India as an art on par with painting or drawing.  For example, pottery was not taught in schools and art exhibitions did not include ceramics works.  In fact, Mr. Aajgaonkar is a self-taught sculptor.  He marvelled that it is only in the last 30 years  that ceramics had begun to take hold as a true art form  in Indian art circles. 

Currently

The high school and primary teachers training college which were fouded in 1960 are still in existence today. They are partially funded by the government and so fees are not charged.  The rest of the operating expenses are  paid by private donations.  Until about 1997 only this high school and teacher’s college were running. Mr. Aajgaonkar talked about how the high school  students in Aajgaon , by studying geography and history,  would not be able to feed themselves. But by learning pottery, they could possibly make a living for themselves by selling their wares.  Then, in late 1997 an 8 day ceramics pilot workshop was held near the high school in a shed.  Mr. Aajgaonkar directed this workshop.  At first, he told  the students to just express themselves artistically by making free form shapes.  The students who attended the workshop were from the high school. This workshop was deemed a success.  At the end the students  had finished several pots except for the final glazing stage. Two of the students from the workshop were sent away for more formal ceramics  training for 8months.  When they came back they taught other students from the high school in a temporary shed structure.

Future

Lokkalyan’s hope  is to build a ceramics center in Aajgaon.  In addition to teaching students how to make pottery using more modern techniques, the center would also offer marketing courses on what kinds of pots are selling best and what consumers want.  The artistic elements would  be emphasized so that potters could ask for higher prices for good quality pieces of ceramic art.  The center would assist “graduates” establish small pottery units.   The target population for the center would be students from the neighboring high school.  Such a center would be ideal for this part of the country given that so many potters already live there and that the area is so rich in clay suitable for pottery.  The founders want to exploit the proximity of Aajgaon to Goan by attracting tourists to Aajgaon to buy pottery or taking the pottery to be sold directly in Goan.  Their budget for the first year is 3 lakhs.  This includes funds to costruct the ceramics center.and enhancement of the wells which supply water to the school. The recurring costs are expected to increase over time as the center grows.  I mentined to them that it would be useful to investigate ways in which the center could become self-sufficient later on as it was unlikely Asha would support recurring costs indefinitely.  Mr. Dubhashi said that at first it would be very difficult to become self-sufficient, but later as the center became more established pottery exhibits, ceramics workshops for non-students and donations  could help defray the recurring costs.  There are plans to build a hostel for students who travel from afar to Aaajgaon to learn pottery. Currently they have had difficulty recruiting ceramics teachers from outside to teach in Aajgaon as outsiders do not want to live in the village.  So the Lokkalyan board has decided to train the villagers themselves ceramics so that they can teach other natives of Aajgaon.  In three years, the furnace that they have been using will most likely stop working so they hope to purchase a new furnace.  Currently there is no building to house the ceramics center.

Vision

The gentlemen that I met with have a grand vision for Aajgaon as a ceramics mecca that could transform the economy of the area.  Someday, if their efforts are successful, they see Aajgaon becoming a tourist attraction where people will travel from all over the world to learn pottery.  The town will attract vendors of ceramics machinery, clay dealers and as a result the shape of the local economy will change.

Summary

 

Lokkalyan’s hope  is to build a ceramics center in Aajgaon, a small town in Southern Maharashtra.  In addition to teaching students how to make pottery using more modern techniques, the center would also offer marketing courses on what kinds of pots are selling best and what consumers want.  The artistic elements would  be emphasized so that potters could ask for higher prices for good quality pieces of ceramic art.  The center would assist “graduates” establish small pottery units.   The target population for the center would be students from the neighboring high school.  Such a center would be ideal for this part of the country given that so many potters already live there and that the area is so rich in clay suitable for pottery.  The founders want to exploit the proximity of Aajgaon to Goan by attracting tourists to Aajgaon to buy pottery or taking the pottery to be sold directly in Goan.  Their budget for the first year is 3 lakhs.  This includes funds to costruct the ceramics center.and enhancement of the wells which supply water to the school. Currently there is no building to house the ceramics center and students are being taught in a shed.  In three years, the furnace that they have been using will most likely stop working so they hope to purchase a new furnace. The recurring costs are expected to increase over time as the center grows.   They feel  that at first it would be very difficult to become self-sufficient, but later as the center becomes more established pottery exhibits, ceramics workshops for non-students and donations  could help defray the recurring costs