'Carpentry takes away a lot of stress'

One often hears about men in the field of carpentry. But it's quite difficult to relate women to wood work because it is generally presumed to be a man's business. But surprisingly, a lot of women in Bengaluru who hold regular jobs have taken to carpentry as a hobby.

They confess what started as plain curiosity soon turned into a full-fledged hobby. Most of these women prefer to call it an art rather than just carpentry.

Radhika, an employee of Biocon, feels that carpentry is a great hobby. “Like all other hobbies, you begin to think creatively and start seeing opportunities in almost everything around you,” explains Radhika. She feels that learning carpentry is a good break from work and routine household chores. She pursues her hobby during weekends. “People usually like sleeping during the weekends. But I find this as a perfect way to unwind over the weekend. Carpentry takes away a lot of stress,” she adds. 

Soma Datta’s curiosity got her hooked to carpentry. She has been into designing and spends her spare time giving shape to her ideas and creativity. “The main reason why I took to carpentry was because I wanted to do the small things myself. For instance, it’s hard to find a carpenter who can drill a hole on your wall and fix a nail.

Most carpenters are unwilling to come as it’s a small job for them,” explains Soma who can now make a small box or fix the broken door of a cupboard herself and do some drilling as well. She further states that it’s also a great stressbuster. “You get to buy a lot of stuff in the market but it gives you immense pleasure to look at something that is crafted by you,” she adds.

Smriti Tipirneni is a lawyer by profession but her fascination for carpentry goes back to her childhood when she would spend hours simply watching the carpenters work long and hard in their new home. “When I told my grandfather that I wanted to learn carpentry, his immediate response was that I learn music or dance. But I wanted to learn carpentry because it was something that I wanted to do,” explains Smriti.

Has she ever felt that she has stepped into a male domain? “I don’t think so. On the contrary, I think women make for better carpenters because they pay a lot of attention to details,” she states. Smriti has made a lot of things from wood like clocks, holders and book racks, “I am currently working on a box for my kittens,” she signs off.