Rediscovering pottery this summer

Looking down the memory lane, all of us would recollect our childhood days when we soiled our clothes either playing with clay or with mud. Now, in this fast-moving era, one cannot imagine an entire family sitting under a banyan tree and playing with mud and clay. But it would have seemed possible for those who had attended the pottery workshop held at Sundaram – Satya Sai Baba temple in R A Puram.

The pottery workshop, held by Malini Kalyanam of SKP Centre, Kattupakam was in association with Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation on account of Easwaramma Day, a day to commemorate Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s mother’s birthday.

The three-day workshop from April 30 to May 2, 2012 was open for all Balavikas students and parents. This creative workshop encouraged family participation and saw huge participation despite the baking sun.

On the first day, the children were taught to do a pitted bowl and some decorative plates. The next day, kids were taught to do pen holders and magnetic toys. On the closing day, kids were asked to do a tea coaster and then any creation of their choice. They were asked to let their imagination run riots. Most creative miniatures won prizes too. The hosts had cool buttermilk and biscuits for all.

“Every weekday is spent checking files and sitting before the laptop, but this session has given me lot of time to spend with my family. I too was transformed into a kid and starting making haphazard toys out of clay”, said a parent who attended the workshop along with her kid.

Malini Kalyanam, the pottery artiste and trainer for the event, has been in the HR field for 20 years now and is also a ‘Reiki’ Grand Master.
“I believe that making children handle clay at such a young age not only strengthens their muscles but also allows their eye- hand-and-mind co-ordination and creativity to blossom. Not only for kids, even for adults, clay acts as a wonderful medium to relieve stress and acquire self-confidence”, she says with an optimistic smile.

She adds on that, after she learnt to use clay and make pots, it has proved to be a stress buster for her. She even conducts soft skills training on modules such as personality development, email etiquette and stress management for Corporates. Malini uses pottery as a therapy to cure various disorders such as obesity and she has conducted sessions for Autistic children  too as a therapeutic and vocational training program.  She has travelled widely and conducted many such workshops across the country.
As a consultant for Holistic healing supports at Huma Hospitals, she uses “Pottery as a Therapy” to heal patients.

Malini Kalyanam can be contacted at email: skpcentre@gmail.com