With a dream to fly

If you have a hobby, nurture it, say the members of Havyasa, a hobby-based club in the City that believes in “getting down and dirty with a hobby”. Any handcrafted item catches their attention — be it aeromodels, jewellery or scale models of different vehicles. 

Though the club covers ship modelling, clay modelling, terrace gardening and baking — basically any hobby that requires one to create something from scratch, it was
primarily started for aermodelling enthusiasts and continues to inspire a number of them.

“When you start working, you lose touch with all your other interests due to the lack of time. So when I started the club, I wanted people to stay connected to their hobbies,” says Mahendra Pyati, who works with a multi-national company.

For Nandish, a professional, aeromodelling was always a passion. “We want to teach everyone how things function. Be it understanding how a plane flies or teaching them how to make things from scratch, we want to build as well as learn the story behind it,” he explains. A lover of vintage and small scale models, Nandish is always on the lookout for something different. “If I don’t find it, I build it,” he smiles.

A unique part about the club is that a number of children are a part of it. “We have specific kits available for a nominal fee where the kids can learn to build these planes and vehicles from scratch,” explains Nandish as Mahendra adds, “Every hobby has become expensive and commercial. There are some camps that teach you to make a plane or any other model in a week’s time and that’s it. But with our club, you can continue to learn forever. There is no time limit. We want people to learn and enjoy the process of learning.” 

The children who have been part of the club are proud of their creations. Nine-year-old Yukti proudly says, “I create models during the weekends to learn something new. I have made various planes including a biplane.” Shreya, a 12-year-old, likes to create jewellery too apart from model planes. “I’d like to work for ISRO someday. I want to study asteroids and invent satellites that go to other galaxies,” she says wishfully. Suryam, a nine-year-old boy, explains the process of how he creates the basic planes. “You can make them with balsa wood and sharpen the edges with sandpaper. You need a strong gum to help the plane stick together,” he says. He also loves making paper items. “I have made many origami items, which have been really appreciated in my school,” he says with pride.

Sampath, who is a programme manager, always wanted to make aeromodels. “Even as a kid, I loved paper planes. So when the club started, I had to be a part of it,” he notes. Mahesh, who works in a pharmanalytical company, was inspired by Mahendra to join the club. “I have fascination for anything that flies. I thought since I am not able to fly, why not create something that can fly,” he asks.

This year for World Environment Day, the members plan to paint pots and plant herbs in them. As Mahendra sums up, “When you make something by yourself, you have a lot more fun.”

The members meet in Basaweshwarnagar regularly. The club also holds workshops for all enthusiasts.

Visit their Facebook page — Havyasa - The Unique Hobby Club — for details.