Joshi, a clock artisan par excellence is another victim of administrative and political apathy which has managed to eliminate the artist in him and has left the old man with a 22-member family on the brink of survival.

Once in Khamgaon, Bawalal Joshi's fame as the only person who has handcrafted more than 300 unique clocks in India makes you visit his shop even at 9.30 pm. There is no problem locating the shop. Any passerby will tell you the way to Joshi Ghadiwale. You reach a dingy shop, expecting to be greeted by some marvellous and unique time pieces.

Disappointed? That's putting it mildly. The multi-coloured over-glossy plastic-cased latest time-clocks hanging on the walls of the old shop are not attractive. Your eyes move frantically in search of art, only to be greeted with worn-off, discoloured clocks heaped haphazardly in the loft coupled with the customary spiderwebs.

Only a number of old waistcoat watches hang in a dusty showcase and a clock in the shape of a bullock cart stands on one of the racks like the odd one out. Has commerce won the race with arts, you wonder even as you turn to the thin middle-aged man in the shop, expecting him to be Joshi. He turns out to be the artist's son and immediately sends his son to call for Joshi senior.

Even as you wait for the old man to turn up, the son offers you a look at some photo albums. They catch your eye in the way the shop should have. The album has photographs of beautiful handcrafted clocks hanging proudly on the walls of the same shop, posing alongside are dignitaries ranging from Gopinath Munde to Uddhav Thackeray to local MLAs.

When Bawalal Joshi arrives, the first questions you ask is where have all the clocks gone? ``There they are,'' says Joshi pointing towards the loft. The old man bitterly says that some have been transferred to his residence due to lack of space.

What has prompted the change? Tosurvive, says one of the best known men in Khamgaon in answer. People even stopped coming to repair their watches, saying that the place looked too old. So in April last year, Joshi decided to switch his prized possessions with the latest in the market, not that has helped much.

A chat with Joshi reveals that though he has managed to earn a lot of fame and appreciation over the years, nothing has changed his financial status. The shop is a hundred years old, a legacy of his father. Joshi started crafting unique clock-pieces sometime in the mid-1970's and came up with such marvellous pieces of art and technology, that people flocked to his dingy shop. Although he did not sell the clocks, people would just come to see them and bring old watches for repair -- the main source of income for the Joshis.

He has made a better replica of internationally famed music clock at Salarjung museum, a clock where models perform aarti on fixed times, and another where they offer namaaz. One of them hoists thenational flag and brings it down at a fixed official timing. Clocks showing timings of 11 countries simultaneously. The list is long and you have to see to believe them.

These marvellous pieces of art are now placed in the cramped kitchen of the Joshi residence. Amazingly, they are still working.

Numerous dignitaries, mainly politicians, have visited Joshi's shop over the years, appreciating his art and making a lot of promises, but none of them have been fulfilled. The State Bank of India once extended a loan of Rs 25,000 for setting up a manufacturing unit, but the lack of additional funds saw even this amount retrieved by the bank.

Joshi's last hopes were dashed when his entry for the National Handicraft Award of 1996 was returned unexplained. But he has an explanation of his own. He was demanded Rs one lakh by officials in Mumbai to pass his entry, which could have earned him Rs 25,000 as an award. Joshi refused. ``I have not indulged in unscrupulous activity before, nor will I in future,'' heasserts. He refused to go to Dubai, out of love for his nation -- a nation that refuses to reciprocate the same.

The District Collector of Buldhana has promised to help him set up a manufacturing unit and Joshi sees some hope. One can only wish that it's realised.