Clay Art a beauitful craft
project done by Richa Yadav Siddhatya Maitre Sneha Vandita Sahu Yami Aherwar Utkarsh Agrawal Smriti Chadha
PREFACE I’m an empty vessel ready to be molded into the shape my creator desires for me. Thank you for taking me from a soft clay, Into the beautiful art I’m today. You put me through fire; I never thought I’d endure. You pulled me out when I was sure I’d melt to a puddle warped and obscure, but I was made beautiful as you opened the door. I felt a gentle breeze caress my shape. The brittleness I felt has all gone away. I stand proud of what I withstood, I don’t envy anything, not metal or wood. I am who I am, molded from clay. An empty vessel, I stand here today.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We take this opportunity to express our profound gratitude and deep regards to our guide Assistant Professor Vinesh Tapre for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this document. The blessing, help and guidance given by him time to time shall carry us a long way in the journey of life on which we are about to embark. We also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to Fashion Communication department, cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which helped us in completing this task through various stages. We are obliged to staff members of NIFT, for the valuable information provided by them in their respective fields. We are grateful for their cooperation during the period of our assignment. Lastly, we thank almighty, our parents, brother, sisters and friends for their constant encouragement without which this assignment would not be possible.
Our document is dedicated to all craftsmen, who work hard, day and night for crafts.
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CONTENTS
PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
1
2
3
4
INTRODUCTION
PUNE
POTTERY
OUR JOURNEY
5
6
7
8
KESHAV NAGAR
contents
DEHU GAON
5
PROBLEM AND SOLUTIONS
IMAGE GALLERY
Clay Art
1
INTRODUCTION
1
INTRODUCTION
India is a country of diversity; diversity of people, climate, culture and tradition.
India has 28 states and seven territories each with different cultures. The Indian culture has never been rigid and that’s why it is surviving with pride in the modern era. Though diverse in cultures and tradition one tradition is common the usage of pottery. Using pottery is one of the important traditions of India. Indian pottery has been there since ancient era. The Indian pottery started with Indus Valley Civilization. The pottery is being made in two ways, handmade and wheel-made. Today, motorized plates are also used for making pottery. Kangra and Andreta in Himachal Pradesh, Pokhran in Rajasthan, Meerut and Harpur in Uttar Pradesh, Kutch in Gujarat, Jahjjar in Haryana, Birbhum in Bengal and Manipur are famous for their special styles in pottery. Each region has its own specialty. Kangra is noted for black pottery, which resembles the Harappan pottery style.
“Pottery, one of the oldest and most widespread of the decorative arts, consisting of objects made of clay and hardened with heat. The objects made are commonly useful ones, such as vessels for holding liquids or plates or bowls from which food can be served.” Encyclopaedia Britannica We went to Pune, Maharashtra in search for the terracotta clay craft cluster. . We found two main areas for pottery making – Kumbharwada (place where potters work- kumbhar (potter) wada (area)) in Keshavnagar, Mundwa and a workshop in Dehugaon. In Dehugaon, artisans worked with terracotta clay (which is an amalgamation of different clays in certain proportions, according to them) and in Mundwa they worked with easily available clays, P.O.P. and ceramics.
This document is to show how both the places worked and what we have learned through it.
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introduction
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PUNE
2.1 History 2.1 Crafts
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PUNE
Pune, a city considered to be the cultural capital of Maharashtra, is the eighth largest metropolises in India. and the second largest city in the
state after Mumbai. Pune has a pleasant environment. It is considered an important city in terms of its economic and industrial importance. It was earlier known as Punya-Nagiri or Queen of Deccan. Pune has people from all corners of India including a sizeable population from the states of North India, Karnataka, and Gujarat among others. Along with Marathi, the local language, English and Hindi are also widely spoken. The population of Pune city was around 31, 57,000 according to the 2001 census.
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1 History
Pune has a rich historical past. It was once the hometown of Marathas and one of the centre of power for the Maratha Empire. Pune also has made its mark as the educational epicentre of the country, winning itself the sobriquet, ‘The Oxford of the East’. Initially this area was under the Rashtrakutas in the 8th century A.D. Thereafter, control over Pune shifted between the Mughals and the Marathas. In 1749 A.D, it became the capital of the Maratha kingdom under the Peshwa rule. Peshwa Baji Rao I constructed a palace in the early 18th century now known as Shaniwar Wada and The legendary Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji stayed here with his mother. The British took over Pune after a war between the Marathas and it ended in a defeat for the Marathas in 1817. The British built a cantonment area in the city. Pune was home to several prominent freedom fighters who led the fight for India’s independence. Prominent among these include Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Mahadev Govind Ranade, R.G Bhandarkar, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule. After India’s independence, Pune acquired the status of an educational and research hub with the establishment of the University of Pune, the National Defence Academy (NDA), National Chemical Laboratory and many other leading institutes.
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2Crafts
The rich cultural heritage is reflected in the handicrafts of Pune. Some of the exquisite handicrafts found in Pune are: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Wooden Handicrafts Candle Holders Gifts and Decorative Metal Handicrafts Stone Handicrafts Pottery Glass Products Costume Jewellery Paintings Carpets Smoking Pipes Decorative Candles Bone Handicrafts, Etc. Carpets and ‘khadi’ are the important handicrafts of Pune that are famous throughout the world. • Kolhapuri sandals also form a major part of export in Pune. These sandals are known for its durability and comfort. • One can also come across the “chic” (summer curtains made out of bamboo) in Narayanpeth. • Bamboo craft is one of the speciality crafts of Pune city.
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3
POTTERY
3.1 Origin of Indian Pottery 3.2 Styles 3.3 Terracotta
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POTTERY
Clay, the basic material of pottery, has two distinctive characteristics: it is plastic (i.e., it can be moulded and will retain the shape imposed upon it); and it hardens on firing to form a brittle but otherwise virtually indestructible material that is not attacked by any of the agents that corrode metals or organic materials. Firing also protects the clay body against the effects of water. Clay is soil particles, the diameters of which are less than 0.005 millimetres; also a rock that is composed essentially of clay particles. Rock in this sense includes soils, ceramic clays, clay shales, mudstones, glacial clays (including great volumes of detrital and transported clays), and deep-sea clays (red clay, blue clay, and blue mud). Pottery making is a tradition in India; potters make pottery for daily use and for decoration and festival purposes.
Ancient Indian pottery exists in a number of styles, and exhibits a wide variety of regional variations throughout the centuries. Most of ancient India’s pottery used a combination of spinning on the pottery wheel with the hands and other tools. Persian and Mediterranean influences have altered the methods and designs of both utilitarian as well as purely aesthetic pottery styles of ancient India. Potteries that are made are vessels, utensils, statues and jewellery. Hand-made clay coils form the pot’s sides, while shells, stones and pieces of broken pottery drawn upwards by hand are used to thin the clay walls. Various colours of clay are thinned and rubbed over the surface to prepare the pottery for decoration. Stones passed down through the generations are used to polish the clay pot before the firing of the vessel and this completes the process.
“Pots, dishes, and other articles made of earthenware or baked clay.”
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1 Origin of Indian Pottery
The known origins of Indian pottery date back more than 5,000 years, from wheel-made fragments and vessels that have been found from the peoples of the Indus Valley civilization. Some argue that the earliest forms of pottery were mostly utilitarian--that is, for purely practical functions. These include vessels for food storage and human remains, cups and utensils. But ceremonial sculptures have also been uncovered of the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro peoples from as early as 3300 B.C.
Let’s take a look how terracotta developed “Terra-cotta, ( Italian: “baked earth”) literally, any kind of fired clay but, in general usage, a kind of object—e.g., vessel, figure, or structural form—made from fairly coarse, porous clay that when fired assumes a colour ranging from dull ochre to red and usually is left unglazed. Most terra-cotta has been of a utilitarian kind because of its cheapness, versatility, and durability.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Terracotta was the only ceramic produced by Western and pre-Columbian people until the 14th century, when ‘European higher fired stoneware’ began production. Terracotta has been used throughout history for sculpture and pottery, as well as bricks and roof shingles. In ancient times, the first clay sculptures were dried (baked) in the sun after being formed. Later, they were placed in the ashes of open hearths to harden, and finally kilns were used, similar to those used for pottery today. Terracotta female figurines were uncovered by archaeologists in excavations of Mohenjo-daro (3000-1500 BC) and the Burney Relief is an outstanding terracotta plaque from Ancient Mesopotamia of about 1950 BC. Terracotta Art in India has been flourishing since the times of Indus Valley Civilisation. Terracotta Art in India is another form of clay art of the country generally brownish orange in colour. Terracotta figures also have a ritualistic aspect associated with it. This becomes evident from the fact that many terracotta figures of deities are used in a number of auspicious occasions. The Mangalore tiles were first introduced to India in 1860 by a German missionary which was the first clay usage found in India in an organized way other than the local handmade bricks used. Every state in India has a tradition of making pottery and the terracotta pottery of Madhya Pradesh is well known for their artistic excellence
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In Pune Kumbharwada are the places were potters reside and make the pottery. This is a tradition that has been passed through the generations for them. Two places that we found in pune were Kumbharwada in Junabazaar and Kumbharwada in Mundwa. In Junabazzar there were 5-6 small shops of pottery with some of their houses attached. They made pottery there or imported those from other cities such as Assam, Bengal, M.P and Rajasthan. They sell from pots to idols or diyas for festival. They mainly sell terracotta products during Diwali. The other khumbharwada was in Mundawa. In Mundawa, there was a colony of potters. They made pottery as their traditional craft with clay and P.O.P. mainly they made pottery for the tribe usage and for hotels (tandoors). The other place where we found pottery was a village near Pune named Dehugaon. In Dehugaon we found a workshop where products of terracotta clay were made. They sell their products to middle men, as special orders and give for exhibitions. They also give employment to the women of the village through the production of the artefacts.
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2 Styles
Over time India’s simple style of moulding clay went into an evolution. A number of distinct styles emerged from this simple style. Some of the most popular forms of pottery include unglazed pottery, glazed pottery, terracotta, and papier-mâché.
•Unglazed pottery This is the oldest form of pottery practiced in India. There are three types of unglazed pottery. First is paper thin pottery, biscuit-coloured pottery decorated with incised patterns. Next is the scrafito technique; the pot is polished and painted with red and white slips along with intricate patterns. The third is polished pottery; this type of pottery is strong and deeply incised, and has stylized patterns of arabesques.
•Glazed pottery This era of pottery began in the 12th century AD. This type of pottery contains a white background and has blue and green patterns. Glazed pottery is only practiced in selected regions of the country.
•Terracotta A style of pottery wherein women prepare clay figures to propitiate their gods and goddesses, during festivals. In mould deities are created with moulded clay on a flat surface. They are then fired and painted in bright colours. Other parts of India use this style to make figures like horses with riders, and other motives.
•Papier-mâché This type of pottery is made from paper pulp, which is coarsely mashed and mixed with copper sulphate and rice-flour paste. It is then shaped by covering the mould with a thin paper and then applying layers of the mixture. The designers then sketch designs on them and polish the pottery with bright colours. A touch of gold is always found on papier-mâché products. The gold represents its roots to the Persian design.
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3 Terracotta **Pottery relates to clay and we choose a particular kind of clay; terracotta clay.
The rural parts of India commonly display terracotta animal figures in places of worship or under the mango or pipal trees in the vicinity of temples. The potters mostly make terracotta figures. In some parts of Indian villages, the women folk create their own forms of Gods for worship and other decorative pieces for adorning their houses. In Bihar, Bengal and Gujarat, during festivals, the women prepare clay figures to propitiate their Gods and Goddesses. The relief- worked plague of Moela in Rajasthan has a distinct style. Here on flat surface local deities are created with moulded clay. They are then fired and then painted with brilliant colours. Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh has villages where clay figures of animals are made. The potter creates the basic form by throwing separate pieces on the wheel and then joining them. Tamil Nadu is famous for the terracotta figures of the Aiyanar Deity. Gujarat also has votive figures like horses with riders, etc.
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4
OUR JOURNEY
4.1 Our Schedule
4
OUR JOURNEY
To begin with, the project survey was undertaken with the following aims & objectives. Identification of clusters Diagnosis to assess the potential & scope of local handicrafts and capacity to sustain development intervention. The diagnostic study included: • • • • • • • •
Mass practitioners Economy of sale Economy of trade Existing skill, products, processes and infrastructure Quality and bench marking Supply chain Market and competition Grass root agency
• • • • • • • •
Size of the cluster and skill level of the artisans/producers Type of enterprises- family, business, new entrants Production process Raw material procurement, quality and alternatives Human resource development Energy source and its alternate Effluent or waste management Quality issues and testing facilities
The Survey was conducted in 3 selected areas of Pune: •
Keshavnagar- It is situated on Nagar road. The distance of this rural area is approx. 24 km. from Pune.
•
Mundwa- Mundwa is a Gram Panchayat situated on Nagar road. The distance of this rural area is approx. 20 km. from Pune.
•
Dehu Gaon- It is located on the outskirts of Pune City, near Gatha Mandir, ies 27 km northwest of Pune Station along the NH4 Old PuneMumbai Highway which connects it to Pune city proper.
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1 Our schedule
Day
1
4
29th may
01st june
Day
Market search for finding terracotta. Secondary data collection.
2 Day
30th may
Mundwa hadapsar for search. Market search of Junabazaar.
Market survey.
7 Day
04th june
Back to Mumbai
5 Day
02nd june
Dehugaon for data collection.
Day
3
6
31st may
03rd june
Day
Mundwa for data collection. Dehugaon for search work.
our journey
Data compilation.
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“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is an artist. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is a craftsman.�
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KESHAV NAGAR
5.1 Production process 5.2 Procedure of making tandoor 5.3 Colouring of the articles 5.4 Products and motifs 5.5 Pricing and Income 5.6 Ganesh with clay and p.o.p
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KESHAV NAGAR
Terracotta pottery, clay and POP art are mainly practiced in the outskirts of Pune city, Maharashtra. The exact location where the craft of terracotta pottery and POP are practiced in bulk is “Kumbharwada, keshavnagar, Pune”. “Kumbharwada” is basically the name given to the colony of “kumbhars” (people who are involved in the work of pottery and clay art). The artisans were involved in making terracotta and plaster of Paris (POP) products. POP artisans mainly make “Ganpati” statues.
Observations about the artisans and their family: • The artisans are always welcoming in nature, be it in any situation. They always try to create a calm and energetic atmosphere for their work. • Mostly all the members of artisan’s family, be it a child or woman, are involved in the craft in case of pop making (some detailed works are
done by the experienced craftsmen), while in case of terracotta pottery artisans only the male members of the family are involved in making the products, while the females look after the household.
How it came to Pune The craftsmen for terracotta pottery originally came from UP and the locals from the nearby village kumbharvada. The artisans after shift due to floods and other natural calamity, here they were provided with land and housing facility by contractors and many of the settled on their own .The market rate provided is more than their native place. The demands mainly came from the hotels form nearby area and outskirts as well. Pune and upcoming mega city has lots of scope for the art.
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1 Production process
Raw material • The artisans use local Maharashtra clay obtained from the river bed, and the soil imported from outside states. • They buy “chikni mitti” or red soil from outside to make the products. A group of artisans orders for the required packets of soil from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, as per their requirement. The soil is basically found in some river bed or pond bed. This type of “chikni mitti” or red soil only gives the desired shape for the pottery products.
Mixing of soil • The soil packed in packets “potas” is taken out and mixed with water to form a hard ball of soil. 12 to 13kg soil is required to form one big ball from which they take required wet soil to throw on the wheel.
• • •
They mix local Maharashtra soil along with it with chikni mitti to form the ball. This gives hardness and proper balance to the final products. 10 ‘potas’ of ‘chikni mitti’ and 6 ‘potas’ of Maharashtra soil is used. The soil is well patted to form into balls to be used on the spinning machine. One ‘gola’ of patted ‘mitti’ is consumed in making 100-150 ‘kulhads’ or cups.
Spinning • The balls of wet soil are placed on rotating wheel of the spinner and turned into desired shapes one after the other. Each piece is created using a series of coordinated hand movements.
• • • •
First the clay is “centred” on the wheel head, then “opened” to create a base or floor in the pot. The soil is well patted to form into balls to be used on the spinning machine. Next the walls are pulled up and finally the piece is shaped into the desired object. The base is trimmed and lastly a fish line is drawn under the piece to separate it from the surface of the bat as it dries and shrinks.
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Drying of the products • The pots are kept in sun for 8 to 9 hours to dry. • Excess soil is removed to form a “foot” on the piece or smooth an uneven surface. • Other pots may have handles attached to them at this stage. The pots are then signed and set aside to dry. Baking of pots and cups • The process of cooking or burning the pots is of one day. • They prepare a “bhatti” out of wood or cow dung cakes, and place the flat wooden “pattere” in circular form over which the pots, cups and ‘diyas’ are kept and cooked.
• • • • • •
Wooden pattere are put so as save the base pots from becoming extra black. If they keep the pots in the evening to be burned, then they will be cooked by next morning. Preparing the bhatti takes at least 4 hours. The bhatti is fired with the help of kerosene oil. The process of burning is done in open air, which means it is relating the concern about environment and pollution due to the burning of wood and kerosene. To reduce the pollution, the artisans carry out the burning process in the night time because the smoke that comes out from burning will go up in the air very fast without affecting the people much. In this way they carry out their work in an eco-friendly manner. When the products are burned, then the iron present in the soil turns into iron oxide giving a reddish colour to the products. The artisans cook the products according to their usage. If it is a showpiece or gullakh then they would not cook it and directly colour it after drying. But the products of daily usage which come in contact with liquid (like water pots, flower pots, glasses, cups, plates, etc.) will be cooked first and then coloured.
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2 Procedure of making tandoor
The whole process of tandoor making takes to days and it is made by two people. Different heights of tandoors are made ranging from 2ft, 3ft and 4ft. Materials needed: Terracotta soil, Maharashtrian soil, horse dung or cement, black sand, tyres for burning.
• • • • • • •
Firstly, local soil are mixed in water to form very thick paste. Horse dung, cement or black sand is added to paste and mixed well. Later products are added to give strength to the tandoor while it’s fired and to make the tandoor to get heated up very fast. The paste is mixed by foot so that all the stones get out of the soil. After preparing the paste, half the tandoor is made on the spinning wheel and half is made by hand. Some artisans made full tandoor on the spinning wheel. Then it is dried in sun for one day. After that it is put on the “bhatti” to be baked. A special bhatti is prepared out of tyre to bake the tandoor. Around 350 tyres are burned to bake the tandoor. Artisans buy it from ‘kabadi’ shop at Rs 5 per tyre. The tyres are burned and tandoor is baked on it. It takes one day to bake the tandoor. Two types of tandoor are made- black and red. To make it black, the tandoor is tightly packed and baked and in red one, some gap is left while baking. After cooking, it is coloured with geru and sold to the hotels.
This is a very long process which requires lots of energy and time. The artisans require minimum two days to set up this whole thing and then cook the products in heat. An amazing thing which happens over here is, they lit fire in the centre but the flames come out from the sides. This is how, the whole process of cooking and heating the products takes place. This also makes the products more strong.
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3 Colouring of the articles
Geru is the liquid, which is used to paint the pots red. It can either be used before baking the pot in the kiln (bhatti) or after the pot has been baked. Geru comes in the form of powder, which is red in color. It is then mixed with water to get the desired viscosity. It is not necessary to put the geru on the entire product range, but usually put on “matka” or pot to enhance its look.
Finishing is given various other ways also to the products:
• • •
Sponge- The sponge is used to moisten and smoothen the surface of the pots.
• • • •
Kakisa- This is seed used to give shine to the pots. It is the form of a beaded necklace.
Gear wheel or firni- It is used to give designs to the pots. Brick powder, sawdust and chalk powder- These are used for smoothening of surface, which helps in taking the clay object off the mould with ease. The sawdust is also used as an insulator in bhatti.
Black Mud- This is used for repairing of pots. It is applied with the help of iron plates on the cracks. Geru- It is used to give red color. Tapla and Pitni- The tapla is made out of wood and is used to beat pitni which is made of stone, to give a proper shape made on the wheel.
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4 Products and motifs
Products • • • •
Artisans are mainly involve in making “kulhadd” or cups (4cm to 5 cm diameter and 2 inches height) to deliver them to hotels, water pots (varying heights 1 or 2 ft), flower pots, vases, “diyas” and other festive products during Diwali season, “gullakhs” or piggy bank (bif and small), and glasses. They import various speciality products from outside states. Engraved lanterns and wind chimes of terracotta are imported from Jaipur. Imported lampshades are in big demand during Deepawali season. These imported products are directly sold to the dealers in the markets. Earthen pots are also imported from Nasik. A rtisans also make “Tandoor” (terracotta kiln), which is directly sold to the hotels and dhabas. There is a different method of making tandoor out of clay because, it is directly put to fire, and will break if made like other pots.
Motifs
The main motifs used pots and vases are nature inspired, like parrots, leaves, carving paisley, elephants, flowers and geometrical shapes. Pots with the opening of lion mouth for water to come out.
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5 Pricing and Income
Pricing of the products The system of pricing is done according to the cost of raw material i.e. mitti, labour required, transportation if imported products, electricity and fuel consumption. Sometimes even if the rates of soil increases, the customers would not agree to the new prices as they don’t understand why soil products are costly.
Products sold to customers and dealers
• • • • •
Kulhads- Rs 3 to 5 per kulhadd. Imported Lamp shades- Rs 150 per piece. Diyas- Rs. 20/dozen Earthen pots- Rs. 200 per piece
• • • •
Lanterns- Rs 180/- per piece Wind chimes- Rs 300/- per piece Grain storage pot- Rs 250/- per piece Small hukka- Rs 10/- per piece
Tandoor- Rs 500-1000 as per the size of tandoor.
Income of the artisans The average income of the pottery artisans is Rs7000 to 10000 per month. Sometimes they earn less than this also due to late supply of raw material and its increased cost
Market survey According to the survey done in the market, it was full of local and imported products. Main market of pottery products is in kumbharwada, Kasbapeth. It is near Pune Municipal Corporation. Earlier the artisans had their home there. But now it is only the market where dealers sell their products. Various other small shops are also seen on the street side at various places, selling beautiful lamps, vases, wind chimes, etc.
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6 Ganesh with clay and P.O.P
One should prepare the Ganesh idol from china clay or mud. Nowadays, idols are made from plaster of Paris so that they become light weight and more attractive. There is a difference between idols made from mud and plaster of Paris. There are references in the Purâns (Mythological texts) that Ganapati was created from grime. Hence it is appropriate to use a Ganesh idol made of mud for ritualistic worship. The pure spiritual particles (pavitraks) of Ganapati get attracted to a greater extent towards an idol made of mud than to that made of plaster of Paris. The hundreds and thousands of day pots, diyas and Laxmi idols that flood every market in the city do much to usher in the festive feel. But most of this attractive earthen ware originates from the modest precints of the Kumbharwarwada in Mudhwa. The kumbharwala has nearly 100 families where only potters reside. Most of them used to live in kasba peth, where the pottery trades use to thrive. They were relocated to present area Mundhwa over a decade ago. The children and other members of the families learn by seeing and observing their skilled and experienced elders who has been doing these stuff from childhood it’s basically like a family tradition or custom that the elders pass on to their juniors from generation to generation. The main challenges they face is related to raw material, POP very reactive to water ,therefore sometimes moisture content may damages the content. The figures produced by POP are very delicate and light weight so there is always a chance of breaking during transportation. Due to its delicate and fragility the tiny and intricate designs in the moulds mostly doesn’t come well, therefore the prepare these parts separately and attached these parts after the figures are ready.
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Procedure • • • • • • • • • • •
P.O.P takes about 30 to 60 minutes to settle properly. Firstly, they make the desired Ganesha idol or moorti with just plain pop or plain ceramic and soil mixture. With all the details they need, like ornaments, jewellery, mukuth, etc. and let it dry completely. Once it’s dried properly, they make rubber moulds out of it, to make the whole procedure even simpler; as one’s time is not wasted in making the same moorti again and again. So, when the clay moorti is dried properly, a coat of rubber is applied on it. Once the layer is dried, again another layer is applied; this procedure is continued for around 15 to 16 times, till the layer is thick enough. When the rubber mould is dried completely, they cut it out from the back side of the moorti, and take it off from the clay moorti. Rubbers are imported from local markets. There are usually 3 types of rubbers: red, white and black. Most of the times red rubber is used as it’s cheap. White rubber is used only for special moortis, as it’s more slippery, and gives a polished effect to the moorti. Hence, it’s costly than the other rubbers. For making mold from white rubber, around 3-4 coats of white rubber is applied, and on that red rubber coat is applied, to give it strength. Black and red rubber has similar properties. The mould’s life is of 2-3 years. Once all are dried properly, they are brought back for painting and rest of the final finishing. Like painting etc Statues are first coated with whitening powder mixed with varnish which gives a white coloured effect. A fter then other colours are applied as per the desired product outlook.
**Artisans use local Maharashtra soil together with ceramic. It is because individual soil will not settle properly.
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6
DEHU GAON
61 Production process 6.2 Products and pricing 6.3 Artisans 6.4 Workers Profile
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DEHU GAON
Dehu is famed as the birth place of the poet saint Tukaram and is an ancient city located on the shores of the Indravati River. Tukaram, one of the most revered ancient poets in Maharashtra and his work ‘Abhang Gatha’ has been considered as the one of the greatest literary work in Maratha. The newly constructed Mumbai Pune Expressway ends at its junction with the Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass Road, close to the town of Dehu Road. The Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass diverts traffic from Mumbai to Bangalore on National Highway 4 (NH 4) out of Pune from this town of Dehu Road to Katraj and the New Katraj Tunnel. By road, Dehu Road is almost equidistant from Pune and Lonavala, and also from Chakan and Katraj. Dehu Road can be reached from Pune by Suburban rail or bus.
Demographics As a cantonment town, the population in Dehu Road is very diverse with people from various states of India (mostly South Indian States) having settled here. At the 2001 Census of India, Dehu Road had a population of 46,900. Males constituted 53% of the population and females 47%. Dehu Road had an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 80% and female literacy was 67%, and 12% of the population was under 6 years of age.
Culture Some of the attractions around the town are Dehu Road Bazaar, Murugesh Temple, the Ayyappa temple on Sasta Hills the biggest Ayyappa temple in Maharashtra and Maruti Mandir which was established by Saint/Sant Ramdas. There are 3 Masjid and one Idgha, of which Jama Masjid is the largest and oldest. There are also 3 churches, of which Church Mary is the oldest. There is one old Guruduware near the Market area.and vaishya samaj mandir, jain mandir, shani mandir situated in main bazar. Durga Tekdi (a hill viewpoint and picnic spot) is located 3 km to the southeast of Dehu Roadand the Appu Ghar amusement park is nearby.
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Education Dehu Road has many schools with one of the oldest and most prominent English medium schools being St. Jude High School, earlier known as the Garrison High School. Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1, Dehu Road, one of the oldest KVs in India, is situated here. Shri Shivaji Vidayala, also the oldest Marathi (state-level language) Medium School. Samson Memorial Republic School (Eng Medium) is the oldest school in the region it was established in the year 1949 by Rev K.K.Samson, Republic school offers education to the weaker section of the society. It also has an Army Public School Dehu Road near Ashok Nagar that comes under the army COD region .These schools have students from 10–15 small towns in the vicinity of Dehu Road.Terracotta in DEHU
Observations about the artisans and their family
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The head, i.e., Mr. Sanjay was very helpful and was very interested in providing each and every information which he had. The artisans were village ladies and all of them were very welcoming by nature. They tried their best to comfort us and were very friendly. Most of the families we visited were nuclear families and the lady did the craft work
How it came to Pune The main person who gave terracotta a new identity in Pune was Mr Sanjay. He has been training women of Dehu Gaon over one and a half year. To increase the production and help women earn money, he started teaching in the village about the craft. For terracotta product making, about 30 women were taught from which only 9 are working for him. Women of the village are comfortable and happy with the work. They work during their free time at their house after doing all the house chores. Clay is provided to them in their house, with time to time supervision and finished products are taken from their houses for finishing and baking.
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1 Production process
Raw materials The basic raw material for terracotta is clay. Different types of clay brought from different places are used for the products. The clay used to make terracotta products are red clay, which they get from the nearby nursery, Poita clay, which they get from Bihar and Than clay, which they from Thangadh in Surat.
Mixing of the soil The proportion is 40% of red clay, 40% of Poita clay and 20 % of Than clay. The red clay is for the colour of terracotta. Poita clay is basically the clay found in the Ganga River and is very fine. It is soft and makes it easy to work on wheel. Than clay is used to maintain the temperature of the products while baking. Normally, potters use fibre sand, coal powder and horse dung. In the process of baking, these elements get burnt and leave small pores at their place which allows air to enter the pot and keeps the water cool. For terracotta products, the mixture of these three clays is kept in water for 4-5 days. The more it is kept in water, the more it gets soft and thus, it is easier to make products with better finishing.
Making of the products After the clay is ready, Mr. Sanjay delivers the pack of clay to each house where the ladies make the arte facts whenever they get time. While making the products, they make different parts of the product and then join them using clay paste to give the final shape.
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Drying of the products The products are dried at the home itself before they are carried to the workshop.
Baking of the Products
When the products are ready, they are collected from each house and taken to the workshop where they are baked. The baking is done in a box which is covered by glasswool. The best part of the baking process is they don’t use tyres for the baking process unlike other potters. The objects are then baked at the temperature of 850o-900o C for 8 hrs.
At first the furnace is kept at low temp., i/e., slow firing is done for 2-2.5 hours so that the total moisture from the products gets out and then fast firing is done.
During this process, grey smoke comes out. When the grey colour changes to white or starts becoming lighter in shade, it means that the products are ready.
After taking out the products, the furnace is allowed to cool completely and then the next lot of products is put for baking.
Giving final touch to the products After the baking process is done, the products are painted, or glazed as per requirement.
Generally, not much work is done on the products as to maintain the originality of the terracotta. The final products are then sent to either exhibitions or to the Nirmiti showroom which is famous for selling handicrafts.
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2 Products and pricing
Main products made The main products are Ganpati idols which vary from ½ inch to 5-6 inches in height, gramin stree and purush (village man and lady).
Pricing Mr. Sanjay sells his poducts to showrooms in Mumbai and Pune. The price range for ganpati idols is Rs 20-200, and for the village man and lady idols, it ranges from Rs. 100-2000. The price range of the products in these showrooms starts Rs.from 250-5000.
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3 Artisans Head person
Name –
Sanjay Gajanan Rao Kolankar
Age – 39
years
Sanjay is a great artist in terracotta products and artefacts. His main motto is to make objects that are not only aesthetically pleasing but utilitarian too. He is the single person in Pune who does this kind of work and wants to grow terracotta in Maharashtra. He was born in Amravati and did his education till 10th in Amravati. His mother died when he was 4 yrs old. The family’s financial state was not too good; he ran a paan shop when he was in std. 5th till 10th. He was so passionate about sketching that he made designs even on the paan leaves. Then he started living with uncle &aunty. But the locality was not good. Every day there were cases of murders and rapes. He made sketches from beer bottles. His work also reflected the women’s pain he saw around him in daily life. He decided that he will always live his for art. He had no one to motivate him or guide him. He got inspirations from poems and made sketches. Today also his works are mainly literature works, as he says. One day he saw a book on murals and since then he wanted to do something like that. He was lucky to have a really helping friend who took him to Gramodaya sangh. He went there at the age of 26 yrs and learnt ceramic, pottery and terracotta works. He was guided by people like Krishnmurthi Mirmira who was the founder of Gramodaya sangh and other artists who were master in their respective fields. He mainly learnt from Chandraratan Haldar who was master in terracotta, calligraphy and carving and also in making Russian, Egyptian human anatomies. He studied there for 4 yrs, and then came to Chowk in Navi Mumbai. There he did small job and earned Rs 2000 per month. He started a studio with his 4 friends and used contacts that he had collected when he was in gramodaya. He then shifted to pune in Dehu Gaon which is in the outskirts of pune. He has exhibitions in Delhi, Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. His first exhibition was held in bandra in Mumbai. At present, he teaches women from the village free of costs. As soon as ideas come to his mind, he transfers them on the paper. He goes to every home and teaches the ladies about the designs. After they get to know well hoe to do it, he provides them job which for which they don’t even have to leave their house.He wants to die as an artist and wants people to remember him for the good work he does and will be doing in future.
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4 Workers Profile Name –
Jyoti Shinde
Jyoti is a 21 yrs old housewife who got married at the age of 16 yrs and is mother of two children. She has completed her education till 10th. She was born in nadir, a small village in Bid district. She got to know about terracotta through Mr. Sanjay. She is working since 1 year in making terracotta product. On an average, she makes 20-25 Ganpati idols per day. Her interest in this field developed with time and now she takes only 40-45 minutes to make “village woman idol (gramin stree)”.
Name –
Jyoti
Jyoti is 35 yrs old housewife and is neighbour of Jyouti shinde. She is a new worker and has started working 3 months ago. She makes Ganpati idols and she roughly 20-25 idols per day.
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Name –
Mohini
Mohini is 23 yrs old housewife who has got training of 1 yr and has stated working since last 2-3 months. She has completed her higher secondary education and got married at the age of 16 yrs. Her birth place is solapur and is mother of a 5yrs old cute girl.
Name –
Yogita Shinde
Jyoti is a 21 yrs old housewife who got married at the age of 16 yrs and is mother of one girl, Anushka who is 2 yrs old. She has completed her education till 10th. She is new in terracotta productsmaking and has started working 2 months ago and makes Ganpati idols.
Name –
Yogita Pasajiudhar
Yogita is a 25 yrs old housewife and is mother of three children, Om (3yrs), Namrita (7yrs) and Prerna (8yrs). She has completed her education till 10th. She is from Bhid. She has got 1 year experience and makes male figures.
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Name –
Aruna Chitrasen Kaede
Aruna is a 24 yrs old housewife and is mother of two children, Chetan (2 yrs) and Prateek (5yrs). She has completed her education till 10th. She was born in Latur. She has got 1 year experience and makes male figures.
Name –
Yogita Vijnath Bunde
Yogita is a 24 yrs old housewife and is mother of two children, Pratham (1 yr) and Gaurav (4yrs). She has completed her education till 10th. She was born in Jalna. She is new in this field. She is working since 15 days and makes ganpati idols.
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7
PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
7.1 Keshav nagar artisans 7.2 Dehu gaon artisans
7 Section
1 Keshav nagar artisans
Problems • • • • •
A ll the artisans do not want their children anyhow to continue their pottery craft. The reason is that, they never earn sufficient money according to the labour involved in the pottery work. They have to sit the whole day in hot summers, mix the soil in water with so much labour and turn the wheels of the spinning machine to make the products, which are ultimately sold to the customers on whole sale prices giving the artisans the minimum profit. The customers or the dealers of the pots and cups and other articles, never understand the value of terracotta pottery (the labour involved in it) and always want to bargain to the extent. To sell their products, the artisans are bound to accept the bargained prices, as they earn their livelihood from it. This is how, even if the prices of soil and transportation increase and also of the electricity, then also the customers would expect the earlier prices of the products. The artisans never get any sort of help or schemes from the government sector, as the government is not ready to take any responsibility of soil made products which can break at any time during transportation. None of the workshops, exhibitions or trainings is held to improve the work of the artisans in any field. The artisans also are not interested in any kind of training now, as they have become kind of hope that the trainings would help them anyhow. They think that they well trained in the art to earn their livelihoods. Only 1 or 2 are the exceptions to this. The artisans get their soil exported in groups. A group of 4 or 5 artisans orders for the “chikni mitti” from outside states and get around 300 potas(packets) of mitti per artisan in every 6 months. But the main problem which they face in the transportation is that, the police ask for the commission to give the entry to the outside material. The artisans are bound to pay the police so as to get their soil to their homes.
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problems and solutions
Earlier home and problems All the ‘kumbhars’ whether making POP products or clay products, used to live in kumbharwada, kasbethpeth, which is the internal part of the Pune city. But there was not much space for them to work there and live as they were encroaching on roads. The smoke coming out from baking the products was also polluting the city to an extent. Due to encroachments and pollution the government made them to shift to keshavnagar (i.e. on the outskirts of the city), where they can get enough space to live and work and the pollution will also be lessen in the city.
Problems faced after shifting their homes • The artisans were only allotted a piece of land by the government and not the pre made houses. The artisans had to construct their houses on their own and with their own money.
• • •
Due to shifting, their number of customers declined in the beginning, as many of them did not know where the kumbhars had shifted. The transportation cost of the articles to the city market increased. There was no subsidy given to them by the government. But slowly and slowly conditions became little better, when the artisans were all settled, the customers were coming, and the kumbhars got a big space to work.
Packaging and transportation • The products are tied with the help of a jute rope and transported by truck. • Most of the times, few products break in the process of transportation, so the artisans have to face the consequences and they are paid less sometimes for the similar reason.
• • •
Since some of their products are huge, so those cannot be packed in boxes. As well as more the number of boxes, more the cost of production, so the artisans avoid it because they don’t earn so much on the products. Government should help them advertise their products through exhibitions to some extent.
problems and solutions
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Solution • • • •
A good advertisement of their work can help them, more and more people will know about them and their craft and we need to increase the awareness about our traditional crafts. People should not bargain with the crafts man. A fixed rate for the products including all the cost used for making the product should be given to the distributers and customers including the profit margin and transportation cost. Better packaging can reduce these problems but this will increase the price of the product. But this will give the customer and distributers the assurance that the products will be safe. Exhibition and workshop should be arranged near them so that they can observe different types of styles of making similar products. This will help them increase their creativity as well as their product range leading to increase in their sales. Also, they will get to know what are their drawbacks and it will make them realize that workshops and trainings are important for them to maintain their lives and to continue their tradition.
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problems and solutions
7 Section
2 Dehu gaon artisans
Problems • • •
There is no such problem as they do not want their children to continue with this craft. They are pretty happy with their work and the income they get as housewives. Since the products are this expensive, customers hesitate to buy the products and if they get it directly from the artisans, they try to bargain with the original price. This makes it difficult for the artists to gain profit. The artisans are scared to make products of clay as some of these breaks during transportation adding to their loss. And customers are also scared of the same thing which decreases the sale.
Solution • • • • • •
All the loss during the transportation is bear by Mr Sanjay so the women working do not have any problem with their profit or loss. During market survey, we observed that the price of a product is increased ten times than the price fixed by the artist. The whole profit remains with the retailer. Government should try to set limits for the retailers with the pricing of the products: There should be a particular margin for the craftsmen from the profit which the retailer gains by selling the craft. Better packaging can reduce these problems but this will increase the price of the product. But this will give the customer and distributers the assurance that the products will be safe. Mr Sanjay organises exhibitions and is willing to organise workshops, so the artisans get exposure for their craft which encourages them to do better. He also takes inspiration from other artists which helps him to be more creative and get new ideas for his brand “DEZIENERY”.
problems and solutions
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“Craftsmanship isn’t like water in an earthen pot, to be taken out by the dipperful until it’s empty. No, the more drawn out the more remains.”
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IMAGE GALLERY
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Taking baked products out of kiln (bhatti)
kiln (bhatti)
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Products kept outside after baking, some are damaged
Outside view of workshop where the clay is prepared
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One of the products (kind of a flower pot)
Workshop of ‘Dezienery’, a brand for terracotta products made by Mr Sanjay
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07 Women making product at their home
Woman figurine (village lady) in progress
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image gallery
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Giving details to the figures
Finished and coloured Ganpatti idols
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Mouse-cart
Ganpatti reading book under a tree
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Male figurine
Mr Sanjay teaching how to make figures to women
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Group members asking questions
Women enjoying while working
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Ganpatti working on laptop (visiting card holder)
Ganesh playing musical instruments
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Small round Ganpatti about one and half inch
Ganpatti made by a woman worker at her house in about one week
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Hut and Ganpatti
Wind chime
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Pot with carved design
Pot making – soaking excess water with sponge
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Enjoying pottery making
Broken articles after baking, after crushing these are again used to make clay
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Village women figures
Mask as wall hangings
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Interviewing the workers
Artisan making pot
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Pot making(2 inches)
Enjoying pottery making
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Artisan explaining the process of pottery making
Artisan explaining the process of tandoor making
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Interaction with artisan family
Tandoor with ornamentation
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Pottery making
Pottery making
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Process of ‘diya’ making
Drying diya before the process of baking
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P.O.P. idol of Indian goddess
Terrcotta lanterns
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Finished pots (matka)
P.O.P. product
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Kiln (bhatti)
Understanding the process of tandoor making
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Artisan with their family
Terracotta bells
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“Maati kahe kumhar se,tu kya raunde moye Ek din aisa aayega,main raundoongi toye� -Sant Kabir
BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.indianetzone.com http://www.craftandartisans.com http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.learning-expeditions-india.com http://www.culturalindia.net https://en.wikipedia.org http://www.about.com https://maps.google.co.in http://www.brainyquote.com/
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