BENGALURU: A few months ago, Pranati Das, a practising doctor was enjoying one of her favourite Korean shows where the protagonist was an aspiring potter. That is when the idea struck of surprising her husband, Pranjal Guchait, with a Valentine’s Day ‘clay date’. “It was a pleasant surprise. She wanted to do something fun but unconventional. It was a sweet gesture, and this is the first time I will be trying my hand at pottery,” says Guchait, an IT professional.
Unlike Guchait, it’s not the first for Jyothi Damodaran, who will be accompanying her husband, Nikhil Thankappan, for a Valentine’s Day clay date. “The whole idea is about doing something unconventional. If you want a romantic day, this is it. At a dinner date, it’s about conversations, but here, partners spend time to create something,” says Damodaran, who has also influenced a few of her friends to try these clay dates.
Potter Sanchit Sharma, who runs a studio Wheel and Potter, started the ‘clay date’ after getting inspired by the famous romantic pottery scene between Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, in the movie Ghost(1990). The clay date sessions at his studio are three hours long.
“These are private sessions for just one couple. They can pick between wheeling or hand-binding. There’s food and drinks after the session, in addition to a return gift of a handcrafted glazed decor item,” says Sharma, who already has two bookings for Valentine’s Day. The session is priced at `6,000 and as a ‘love souvenir,’ the couple can collect the baked and glazed piece after three to four weeks.
Even city-based potter Maya, who usually conducts clay dates at Lahe Lahe tries to incorporate fun activities. “During the session, one of the spouses is blindfolded and the other one directs and then vice-versa. It’s fun to see how they direct each other. This is not just exploring creativity over the medium, but also creating a bond between two individuals,” says Maya, whose two-hour sessions are priced at Rs 2,250. Maya usually conducts group sessions in which couples participate. Many a time, the enquiries are not gender-bound. “Clay dates are not restricted to men or women. It is, after all, about joining hands and creating something special,” she says.