Helmets go green

Headgear too can make a green statement. Gopala Krishna Bhat has lined up the walls and parapets of his house with helmets-turned-pots that have all kinds of
flowering plants.

This is a hobby that Gopala picked up a few years ago. Ask him how he hit upon the idea and Gopala, who is now 70-years-old, says that it all started with him stumbling upon two helmets discarded by his sons.

“I worked on them by first sealing the open end of the helmet with a waterproof sheet that is cut to fit. Then, I painted the helmets so that they look neat and one can’t really make out the difference,” Gopala says.

Gopala used nails to drill into the base of the helmet to make two holes. “This will help the water seep out just like it does in the mud pots that you get to buy in the market. After all this, I fill the helmet with soil and the pot is ready,” he beams. Gopala has a collection of 42 indoor plants.

“I prefer indoor plants because they require less maintenance and I water it only twice a week. And indoor plants have a charm of their own,” he adds.

A native of Kasargod, near Mangalore, Gopala completed his diploma in electrical engineering and worked as a production manager in a cable manufacturing company. It was only after retirement that he took to this hobby.

He has worked in his farm back home and has ample experience. “I have worked in the arecanut farms back home and when I decided to pursue the hobby, I didn’t have any trouble using my hands to cut, drill and work in the garden. It’s quite relaxing for me,” he says.

Gopala’s hobby has surely caught the attention of the womenfolk in his neighbourhood. They have all been asking him how he conceived such an idea and attempted to replicate the same in their respective houses. Gopala says that he is quite thrilled about his invention. “I have a lot of people asking me about my hobby and they say that the pots are not only long-lasting but look quite different from the usual ones,” he says.

Gopala further reasons that helmets are made from fibre and has a longer life when compared to a mud pot. “There’s no worry about the pot breaking and nothing will happen even if it is exposed to sunlight for a long duration,” he adds.
 
Gopala collects old, worn-out helmets from the scrap yard. Some of his generous friends and family members have also given him discarded helmets.

“Of the 42 helmets, I have bought only 15. The rest have been given by people and I pick them up from junkyards,” he says.

 He also takes a lot of trouble to make sure that he puts the right kind of manure for the plant. “I use goat dung that is available at most of the mutton shops in the City. This is the best manure,” he says.