VINAYA WALAVALKAR – MANTRI
I was attracted towards a stall at an exhibition at Mall de Goa, and had the opportunity to talk to the owner of the stall. The owner of the stall ‘Feelings’ Mrs. Alpna Kale spoke about her journey from Nashik to Mumbai and then to Goa. She came to Goa with a dream, and now her dreams are slowly turning into reality. There is a saying, behind every successful man there is a woman, but in the case of Alpna it is the opposite, behind her success is her husband Pradeep Kale.
Q. Since when are you staying in Goa and what made you shift from Mumbai?
– I landed in Goa last year in April from Mumbai. As Goa is a land of art and culture and also people here appreciate art, so I thought I should shift here. Goa has a peaceful atmosphere and I can chase my dreams as well as promote my art.
Q. Were there any problems you faced initially after shifting to Goa?
– Initially there was an acceptance problem as I am a non-Goenkar, but people here are very warm hearted. They appreciated my art at exhibitions and placed their orders and showered me their trust and love. The initial hiccups are gone and now and the journey is relatively smooth.
Q. How was your experience with Goans?
– Goa welcomed me with open arms and gave me the platform to showcase my art in exhibitions. After coming here I got featured as a Crafter of the week on ‘Itsy Bitsy’ blog and got the opportunity to be the member of design team for international craft blogs.
Q. How are your dreams unfurling?
– It is difficult to judge myself as to how far I have come. It is a learning process which never ends. When I make something, I thrive to make it better and much better. It’s a long journey of new dreams, but so far it’s been very satisfying.
Q. Tell us more about your journey.
– In a span of one year I did seven exhibitions. I am very thankful to all the people who have given me an opportunity and entrusted me for their special occasion gifts, and I have tried and given my best to deliver.
Q. What are your future plans?
– I want to set up my studio in Goa where I can experiment with new things. I also have a dream to train people who actually want to learn different forms of art and craft.
Q. What makes Alpana Kale special?
– I am a normal person, there is nothing special in me but I have a specialty to do normal things in a special way. I am a happy go lucky person with full of positivity.
Q. How was your interaction with the locals, how did you find their nature?
– I got so many crafty friends in Goa. Unlike other cities, people here are very helpful and they are always ready to help. Initially I was unaware of craft material shops from where I can buy raw material but they helped me in every possible manner to find out local shops.
Q. You mentioned about raw material, is it available easily?
– There are some shops in Goa which sell craft material, but sometimes for a crafter like me it is very difficult to find raw materials.
