Meet The Inspiring 79-Year-Old Making Miniature Rockets For ISRO

It is never too late to follow your dreams. I understood this within five minutes of meeting Swaminathan Ramji of Craftizan, a facility that manufactures miniature rockets and related space paraphernalia for ISRO and other clients. Ramji, who started Craftizan a few years ago, is now 79 years old, and his affable demeanour and friendliness go hand in hand with his creative genius.

It was by sheer coincidence that I met Ramji just before Dasara, which is also called ¡°Bombe Habba¡±, or the festival of dolls in Karnataka. During the festivities, it is tradition to display dolls of gods, goddesses, animals, and miniature sets related to social and rural life. This ¡°divine arrangement¡± is worshipped for the ten-day period of the festival.

The model-making unit of Craftizan is located in the industrial area of Belwadi in Mysore. It is a space nerd¡¯s dream come true. As I entered the facility, I saw several models of space launch vehicles, like GSLVs, antennae, landers, aircraft, and the like. These models, crafted in aluminium, are scaled at 1:300.

India in Space model developed by Craftizan

Walking through Craftizan is like taking a small tour through ISRO¡¯s milestones. Hundreds of miniature rockets, about 15 cm tall, were in varying stages of assembly, painting, and packaging. There were interactive wall units that detailed India¡¯s space journey through a series of models, a perfect educational tool for schools, colleges, and science museums. Scaled models of the SLV, PSLV, and ASLV, crafted from aluminium, brass, and fibre-reinforced plastic, share space with mini dioramas that trace the journey of Chandrayaan.

Considering that ISRO had just successfully launched Chandrayaan-3, I learned that the demand for these models had grown exponentially. ¡°ISRO has been our biggest cheerleader, and we have been making models for them since 2018,¡± Ramji told me.

Craftizan started with about 500 models, but now the firm makes over 2,000 such models every day. What started as a team of two has grown to a formidable 50 today, and the septuagenarian could not be happier. The facility has a large manufacturing area, which includes designated spaces for assembly, laser cutting, fabrication, and even 3-D printing. The team consists mainly of designers and engineers.

A Childhood Passion

Inside Craftizan in Mysore

Ramji¡¯s passion for crafting scale models started early. He opens a drawer and pulls out the antique Meccano set that his father gifted him in 1952. These legendary construction toys, comprised of metal components that could be assembled, were all the rage about six decades ago. ¡°It cost him a whopping Rs 40 at the time. This is a possession I am proud of even today,¡± said Ramji, who has preserved the set impeccably along with all the instruction manuals. From Meccano, Ramji started building engine models in the early 1960s, and it has been a lifelong pursuit since then.

A man of many talents, Ramji graduated as an engineer in 1967 but went on to learn carpentry. He took on several projects related to furniture and interiors and worked for a long time in Pune and Bangalore. He tells me that he worked on the interiors of the iconic Hotel Oberoi in Bangalore in 1990 and crafted the doors, some furniture, and the woodwork.

Despite Ramji¡¯s clear interest, his Bangalore business incurred heavy losses some years ago, and he was forced to shut it down. In 2003, he moved to Mysore. ¡°When I finally moved back to Mysore, my friend Moiz Vagh told me that it was time for me to do the things I loved. And what I always loved was models,¡± he said. Ramji incorporated Craftizan formally in 2018.

His first project for the Indian space agency took off after a brass model of a rocket made by him caught the attention of ISRO officials, who then called him for a meeting. His first order was the ¡°ISRO on Wheels¡± project, a model of a bus filled with satellites and rockets that was used as a learning tool.

A Model Citizen

Apart from ISRO, Ramji has done extensive work for the Indian Railways. He has built and donated working models for the Mysore Railway Station as well as the Mysore Rail Museum. His firm has worked with a number of schools and educational institutions, like PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, and Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai, to supply space models.

Swaminathan Ramji

Currently, they are in the process of supplying close to 100 interactive ¡°India in Space¡± models¡ªeach of which is priced at Rs 3,50,000¡ªto schools. Ramji believes that distributing these models to rural schools is sure to spark an interest in space exploration and science education among the students.

With umpteen projects in the pipeline, Ramji has his hands full. From making diecast models for Tata Motors and Benz to making models for science museums, the projects are as varied as they are exciting. The firm has also built large models of windmills and space vehicles as tall as 100 feet. I feel a little out of breath just listening to the range of work the septuagenarian is involved in. What is the secret to his enthusiasm? Pat comes with the reply, ¡°Focus, and the innate drive to keep working!¡±

Ram¡¯s enthusiasm has a clear effect on his team as well, who take immense pride in the attention to detail and perfect finishing of the final product. Arshad Ayub, the design engineer at Craftizan, explains that for every new project, a prototype is developed after a detailed study, which entails site visits and several rounds of discussion.

Apart from witnessing Craftizan grow, Ramji also hopes to help his staff build houses and ensure that they are well looked after. ¡°I am at a stage where I can contribute to the welfare of my team, who have worked so hard,¡± he said. Between juggling new inquiries, client meetings, and orders with renewed zeal, all Ramji desires is to work as long and hard as he can. ¡°I have done only one tenth of what I need to do. The rest remains to be done, and I wish to be active until the last day of my life.¡±