ISRO inspired Channapatna rockets as engineers collaborate with artisans

“What we do is rocket science,” declares one T-shirt. Made by Indic Inspirations for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the T-shirt is a part of its Vyom collection. Most of the products, including crossword puzzles based on Mangalyaan, rocket collectible matches, MySpace PSLV notebooks and fridge magnets, come with a story.

“The collection is about ISRO’s achievements in space science and technology. We had to create a line that would interest both children and adults,” says Yogesh Dandekar, Architect and Chief Product Designer, Indic Inspirations India Space Technology There is a lot of work in the industry and people should be aware of it. He says the subtle details about the models arouse curiosity.

When Indic Inspirations approached ISRO to tell its story in a new genre, ISRO came back with 10GB of data. This included a catalog full of images of ISRO rockets, images taken by Cartosat, IRS satellites by Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan as well as videos of their launch. This created a line of 50 products.

A third generation artisanal engineering company from Moradabad, known for die casting, was roped in to produce the medals; Channapatna artisans, in house designers and a “passionate IIT Chennai engineer” worked to create a rocket-shaped pencil box – to represent the PSLV with four stages – booster, payload fairing and satellite. Sunil Jalihal, social entrepreneur and founder of Indic Inspirations, explains, “Channapatna uses lacquerware techniques with natural colors and shades.”

Since 2014, Indic Inspirations has been working with artisans and craftsmen for the Heart for Art Charitable Project, which was set up to help connect India’s artisans with consumers. In 2019, it introduced a contemporary language to tell the stories of India using utilitarian products and souvenirs by introducing technology at every level of product design and engineering. Apart from e-commerce, he also opened a physical store, Physicalal, in Pune.

Sunil says, “There are many ways to tell stories, we believe that objects can be touched and felt on people’s shelves and desks. Our focus is on wood, metal, grass, pottery, folk paintings, masks etc. Highlights India’s culture and achievements using 65 indigenous craft and artisan groups working together.

tapping into mythology

Citing the example of the mythical demon king Ravana’s ten heads being used as a dart board, Sunil says that the brand began with finding ways to present mythology in a modern context. “He was the lord of the Vedas but his ten heads represent the doshas. We have shifted the bull’s eye a bit to the dart board we made.”

The product line included medals, coasters, watches that were made of zero or . told the story of Zero. The company then designed products around the Indian preamble, flag and constitution. “Our Constitution, apart from being a legal document, is also a work of art. It was calligraphed by Prem Bihari Narayan Raizada, and illustrated by Nandalal Bose and his team. Therefore, we have used the original “Constitution Paper” which was used to prepare the original Constitution document, to prepare the Preamble and so on,” says Sunil.

Some Goods Available | photo credit: ISRO

Indic Inspirations also worked with artisans from Pattamadai in Tamil Nadu to revive the dying craft of weaving mats using darbha grass to create chic yoga mats. It helped revive a dying and ancient pottery craft in Kutch and recreated a Bidri work betel nut box at the Sotheby’s Museum in London.

Coming back to the space collection, Sunil is pleased that he is the first registered trader of ISRO and works with them against a nominal license fee and a set of rules. The products are well-connected with students, space watchers, astronomers and general consumers, he says, adding that a board game based on the Mars mission will be launched soon.