The Sculptor and his Sculpture
| Meeting Date | 09 Mar 2024 |
| Meeting Time | 18:30:00 |
| Location | Poona Club |
| Meeting Type | Regular |
| Meeting Topic | The Sculptor and his Sculpture |
| Meeting Agenda | |
| Chief Guest | Mr. Abhijit Dhondphale, Sculptor |
| Club Members Present | 40 |
| Minutes of Meeting | A Masterclass in Sculpting Last week’s guest speaker, renowned sculptor Abhijit Dhondphale, gave members a captivating insight into his craft — bringing statues made of bronze, clay, paper pulp, resin and man-made cultured marble to life. Abhijit is now the third-generation master craftsman at the helm of the family-run Dhondphale Kala Niketan studio in Rasta Peth, Pune. Founded in 1941, the studio started out crafting idols of Lord Ganesha for the Ganpati festival. Today, Abhijit’s bronze busts, murals, ido ls and life-sized bronze statues of historical figures such as Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and General Rajinder Singhji Maharaj can be found all over the country. One of his most outstanding works is a 9-foot statue of Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw, precise to the smallest detail, which stands proudly at the Southern Command Headquarters in Pune’s Cantonment area. Abhijit explained the step-by-step creative process behind this and other masterpieces. He said it took him a whole year to create a model of the Field Marshal’s statue, which was closely inspected by the top Army brass before giving the go-ahead for the 700 kg bronze statue. Abhijit’s talk was so engrossing that members did not have any objections to the meeting running beyond 8 p.m. It was indeed a masterclass by a master craftsman. President’s Announcements • Rtn. Narendra and R’Ann Kamini Sanghvi were thanked for their generous donations to RCPC projects. • Several Rotarians visited the New Vision Arts and Commerce College in Shirur Taluka. The college, managed by Malganga Andh Apang Sanstha, is the only residential institution for physically and visually challenged students, located 70 km from Pune. Its director, Mrs. Jaee Khamkar, who is visually challenged herself, is committed to providing education up to the graduate level. The college received an upgrade for their computers with the installation of the last five Green PCs funded by Rtn. Pravin Nadkarni. • Forthcoming events included the Wheelchair Cricket T-20 Match between Maharashtra vs Mumbai; ‘Wine-n-Cheese’ Fellowship – The Sippers Nite; RCPC Rocks II – Music for Charity; and the Vocational Awards. Celebrations We offered birthday greetings to R’Ann Pushpa Lunkad, Rtn. Shashi Talwar, Rtn. Sunil Shah, R’Ann Manvir Mukhopadyay and Rtn. Raman Nanda. We wished Rtn PP Polly & R’Ann Yasmin Patel and Rtn. Nandita and Mr. Neelimkumar Khaire a happy wedding anniversary. |