Making Things as a Hobby


Indians have hobbies but it is invariably reading, sports, music and the like. Music and art are the main creative hobbies most people have. The other creative hobbies like woodworking, finishing, metal working, sculpting etc. are rare. We also lack a maintenance and a Do It Yourself (DIY) culture. But things are changing in India. I notice some large stores such as Home Town in Noida has a DIY section and I often notice men pottering around the tools displayed. The stores and the displays are, however, disappointing in terms of the stock of tools, accessories etc. Most people who are interested have no guidance either. One of the aims of starting this blog is to get people interested in the DIY mindset.

My interest in DIY started when I was quite young. My maternal uncle used to live in Kanpur and work at the HAL factory there. He was into making telescopes, ovens and all sorts of really interesting appliances which were not so easy to come by in those pre-consumer days. I visited him during the holidays sometimes and would be fascinated by all the things he did. I, however, had no guidance or any opportunity to pick it up then.

The other big eye opener was a trip to Bozeman, Montana, in the winter of 1986. I recall being invited to dinner by the dean of the local university. He and his wife were very warm and gracious people.  The Dean was in his sixties, I suppose, but was brilliantly active. He showed me around his house and what amazed me most was his garage, crammed with tools and all sorts of machines. He told me it was quite common for Americans to have a creative hobby like woodworking or metal working or just looking after their cars. Ever since then it was my dream to have a little workshop of my own where I could tool around doing this and that.

Today, I have a small workshop thanks to some showrooms and distributors who have introduced DIY tools in the market. The offering is still very pathetic, perhaps because the DIY market is no miniscule in India. I do hope more and more Indians take up DIY hobbies and get creative. That way we will start to develop a tradition of making things and understanding technology at a very fundamental level.

I will post as often as possible and hope more and more of you get caught up in the DIY revolution.

Comments

  1. hello sir,
    It was happy to see a Indian DIY blog and my kind of person,thanks for this blog sir.

    I am also a DIY and woodworking lover,i like to do all the household fixes by myself.Wood working is my hobby not like a professional but doing small things..

    ReplyDelete
  2. hello sir, im a diy from shillong im using an endico at8 router and i need the y-guide so bad.could you please help me find it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leon, I have no idea what a y-guide is. Why don't you get in touch with the Endico people themselves: Mobile No. : +91- 8427600760
      Email : enquiry@endicopowertools.com

      Delete

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