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Mangalore
CLOCKING TIME for generations
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Which would you prefer to grace your elegant drawing room? A plastic quartz clock or an elegantly crafted grandfather clock?
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Recalling the grace of a bygone era
WHO DOES not love the tick-tock of the grandfather clock? Even in today world of quartz watches, there is something comforting in the old-fashioned way of keeping time.
The city of Mangalore has not been left behind in time in matters relating to telling time. One of the pioneers in the business of time, Vaman Nayak and Co., has ruled the wall clock business since 1924. After a hiatus of three years, they are now back with a bang. Not for them the flimsy, plastic-clad quartz clocks, but the really elegant grandfather clocks that were once the pride of every household. Crafted in mahogany, teak and even rosewood, these clocks, perfected at the Nayak clock factory at Jeppu, have modern technology, but with old roots.
One of the well-known horologists of the Nayak group, Devadas Nayak, says time-keeping has an interesting and challenging history dating back to the origins of man. One of the earliest devices was the sundial, whose emergence has been recorded around 1700 B.C. This was followed by the water clock, around 200 B.C. The first mechanical clock dates back to 14th Century A.D.
In 1657, Christian Huygens reported that a pendulum at a given length, swinging through its arc, produced a constant measure of time. The following year this Dutch scientist published a paper on his findings, and modern horology was born. The Formanteel family of London, friends of the Dutch scientist, learned about the pendulum clock during their travel to Holland in 1658. Fascinated by the concept, they introduced the pendulum clock to their countrymen upon their return. As a result, Britain gradually developed into a centre of the clock-making industry in the world.
Although pendulums of varying sizes were used initially, the major clock-makers used those that measured a metre. When in motion, each swing of the pendulum measured a second of time. In order to protect the pendulum from dust and to provide aesthetic beauty, it was encased. Thus was born the tall-case clock. Great craftsmanship went into the making of clocks, and the concept of the grandfather clock has remained with us to this day.
With the advent of the quartz movement in India in the 1980s, the wall clock concept underwent a metamorphosis. Clocks came in plastic and were available for a song. However, today the trend in middle and upper middle-class homes is to put the grandfather clock in its proper and exalted position.
Understanding this trend Vaman Nayak and Co. in preparing to tap into the market, making clocks that are modern avatars of old designs. They have the analogue assemblage, brass fixtures, knowhow to make long pendulums, and access to quality wood and master carvers. The result? Classy grandfather clocks prized by the city's who's who. But those with leaner wallets need to despair: Mr. Nayak and his team have also assembled a few models for smaller budgets, without compromising on quality.
M. RAGHURAM
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