There is never a right age to do what you want. Seventy-six-year-old S Devaki is one big example who had shown to the world that age is just a number and people who have passion, can accomplish their dreams at any age.
Her greatest achievement was that she has recreated Indian mythical tales with antique Barbie dolls and India is proud of her innovation of the Indian version of Barbie dolls
This adorable 75 yr old revives old barbie dolls abandoned by her grandchildren and turns them into mythical characters she’s read and loved as a young woman.
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S Devaki decided to utilize the spare time she had during the lockdown to recreate beautiful scenes from Indian mythological tales using old Barbie dolls.
Her son Abhay describes his mother as a “voracious reader.” He claims that all of her reading encouraged her to transform some of the literary ideas into gorgeous scenes.
Though she was a BSc chemistry graduate from Kerala, she devoted all her time to home, raising her children and was very happy and contented in whatever she was doing.
“All of her efforts went into ensuring that my sister and I studied well,” her son, Abhay Kumar, adds. I’m delighted we were able to justify her time as a stay-at-home mom.” Devaki claims that she has always been interested in arts and crafts, but that she only did it in her spare time. “There wasn’t much time on hand while the children were growing up,” she adds, “so everything was put on wait.”
“As a parent, my main goal was to give the children as much time as possible to realise their full potential,” Devaki adds. Despite everything, her desire to learn and try new things remained unwavering. She continued to immerse herself in literature, which she found to be an excellent source of information. When her children married, she devoted her time to her grandchildren, and the cycle began all over again. But she has no regrets about any of it.
“I used to do this when I was much younger. I’d see beautiful things when I went out and then want to create them when I come back home. I would pick up the waste and unused materials lying all over the house and get to work. Most of the time I just put things together with an idea that it will somehow work and then it does,” says the enthusiastic artist Devaki
Now that my grandchildren have grown up, I’ve realised I’ve entered the retirement era, and I’ve been looking for things to do. “Somehow, my youthfulness came back to me, and suddenly whatever I was making, ended up creatively.”
“After my granddaughter grew up, she abandoned all her barbie dolls she used to play with. I gathered them and didn’t get the heart to throw them away.So I began putting in all my creativity” she adds. This is a moment of epiphany.
“I didn’t pick up the doll intending to do this; it simply occurred,” she explains, smiling. She wanted to do something different and unique. Something that is close to rich hindu culture. So she made her first creation as ‘Brides of Kerala,’ in which she used three Barbie dolls to represent three different Kerala communities. They were all dressed in saris created from Devaki’s unused saris’ border pieces. Devaki made their blouses out of even smaller scraps of fabric. She’d take up old fancy items left by her grandchildren and trim them down to size for jewellery. Because they are stories about Indian women, the Barbies’ blonde hair has been painstakingly dyed black. All of the sculptures have a painted thermocol substrate.
“I chose the dolls to represent the brides of Kerala’s three major religious communities: Christians, Hindus, and Muslims.” To manufacture their sarees and jewellery, I used materials that I had on hand. I didn’t have to spend any extra money to put their outfits together. Because all of the Barbie dolls have golden hair, I had to make sure to paint it black,” she explains, adding a dash of desi touch to them.
She began experimenting with numerous topics after gaining confidence from the first set. “I had a lot of fun creating the ‘Hamsa Damayanti’ scenario from Ravi Varma’s iconic artwork. “I built the swan out of plaster of Paris and clothed the doll in a saree,” she explains.
The most interesting creation is Chandalabhikshuki doll, which is included in Kumaran Asan’s poetry. It’s a poem about Chandalabhikshuki, an untouchable beggar-woman, and her encounter with Upagupta, one of Buddha’s students.
Devaki recites from Kumaranasan’s Karuna as she picks up her work in progress Vasavadatta resting as her thozhi (friend) holds the fan. For Shakuntala, Devaki sings lines from Kalidasa.
Her work is distinguished by the attention to detail in each doll. Devaki pays close attention to detail, whether it’s colouring the doll’s hair black or creating the little bouquet that the Christian bride holds in her hand. The task itself necessitates time and a deft touch. Each piece of jewellery worn by the doll must be cut precisely, and because it is entirely crafted from upcycled household items, Devaki spends a lot of time merely gathering them.
(Geeta Chandrasekharan is founder of Powerfulteachers.com, an organisation that supports the elderly)
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