In conversation with Lekha Bhagat, a Pottery expert from Delhi
“Even now I think of all my failures as my teachers… For they silently reveal how to improve a technique or reward ones experiments,” she says. For almost a decade Lekha worked to create what she calls “pots for everyday use” which was mainly functional tableware.
(Source: The Hindu)
Q IF YOU WERE A ROCK STAR WHO WOULD YOU BE??
A Sting
Q IF YOUR ART WAS AN ANIMAL WHICH WOULD IT BE ??
A Doggy/Otter
Q WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION ??
A I always wanted to do pottery, i kind of grew up with it. my mother had got us a stone wheel and a kiln in the garden, we used it until a snake skin was found in it.
Q DID YOU EVER QUESTION YOUR ART??
A Yes because financially it is very unrewarding
Q WAS THIS YOUR FIRST CAREER OPTION ??
A Pottery was a dream not a career option
Q IS A CAREER IN POTTERY A RISKY PROPOSITION ??
A Yes it remains risky because though costs have gone up the rewards haven’t particularly
Q WOULD MONETARY BENEFITS SUCH AS PENSIONS ENCOURAGE MORE PEOPLE TO TAKE UP ART ??
A Society needs artists but artists can’t sustain themselves so society should sustain them
Q IF YOU WERE TO BE REBORN WHO OR WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE ??
A Aung Sang Su Kyi
Q IF YOU COULD BE GOD FOR A DAY AND COULD DO NOTHING ABOUT PEACE, POVERTY AND THE NUCLEAR BOMB WHAT WOULD YOU DO ??
A I would want to enrich peoples lives and infuse a sense of the aesthetic in them
Q IF YOU COULD UN-INVENT ANYTHING WHAT WOULD IT BE??
A Plastic
Q TRANCE IS NONSENSE OR THE NEXT STEP ??
A Its hyper stressful nonsense
Q BEST SHOP TO BUY EQUIPMENT IN DELHI ??
A Stark and co on Rohtak Road or Delhi Blue Pottery on Ring road
Q IDEAL AGE TO START LEARNING POTTERY??
A Early teens you have to be able to kick the wheel or younger for clay modelling
Q ARE THEIR ANY INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTERS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE CAN REFER TO??
A Delhi Blue Pottery and national museum provide some amount of information. Ministry of Human Resources also provides fellowships
