Dam model

“Here is the wall of the dam, here is the reservoir, the resort cottages will be spread over all this land in the mountains!” We will see the wall of the dam coming up and water starts filling in with the voice over explaining the landscape model with proposed dam.

That was scene no 25 in the screenplay of Nadi Vahate.

We were going to need a landscape model with mountains, river, a good location to build a dam, a dam wall that moves up and down, flowing water, resort cottage structures that will come up after the reservoir is filled and all of it. The model needed to be realistic but it did not need to look like a miniature. The model should have a model-esque presence.

I had done some set modelling for set design class at grad school. That was for theatre. This was different. A complete landscape was needed.

I started looking for references for how a model of a proposed dam is made. I knew that live models are used and the water flow, reservoir, its impact is researched in a much smaller scale.

An old acquaintance, Mr Raju Tipre along with his sculptor friend Mr Thopte, makes life-like miniature models of different forts in Maharashtra.

A dam building is based on many calculations. A certain height of wall can hold a certain amount of water and there need to be spillway at a certain height. There is a formula for that. Details of the dam location are also incorporated in the formula. Any research facility for Dams uses different models to test different aspects, to calculate the risk factors before a dam is built. They run water through those models like it would happen in an actual dam. The force of water against volume is maintained as per different conditions. These models are not life size. They are downsized exactly to the scale including volume of water and force. Although downsized, these models may cover an area of few square meters. These models are painted in different colours for them to be able to take their readings accordingly and those colours are definitely not life like.

The model we needed could not exceed a normal table size in area which is roughly 3ft*4ft. When this specified area, formula for building a dam wall and ‘to the scale’ downsizing were put together, it became clear that the final output will be either only huge and tall dam wall and a little bit of around the wall or a very small dam wall in the whole landscape. Either way it was not working with what we needed.

Here Raju’s expertise in the fort miniature making came to our rescue. Since our’s was a model for presentation purpose the scale could be manipulated a bit so we can get the ‘whole picture’. That is how the fort miniatures are done. And that solved the problem.

I provided necessary photographs to them so they know what small rivers in Konkan and their surroundings look like. Red to brown soil, thick greenery with rice field patches in between, deep grey rocks were some of the specifications.

The model started taking shape at Mr Deepak Thopte’s studio. He had done amazing jobs so far. Compared to those, our model was a small thing for them.

Preparing clay model

Clay Model

Water blocked the first time

The first mould was approved and finished. The flowing water, erecting the dam wall, cropping up of resort cottages was figured out. It was approved. Then the whole thing was painted. For thick greenery trees made from torn scotch bright and wire were used. Toy coconut trees, cardboard cottages, green felt patches were added and bingo… we did have model of a dam that was supposed to be built on Antee.