Published at Pearl Academy Naraina, New Delhi- 110028 India www.pearlacademy.com Documentation of Terracotta Craft Delhi, Kumhar Colony By Piyusha Garg, Swati Thapar Post Graduate Diploma in Interior Designing And Styling Guide- Puja Anand Manpreet kaur Cover Details: Close up of chaak used by potters to make all terracotta products Published in November 2016
CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PREFACE INTRODUCTION ABOUT DELHI MIGRATION TO DELHI HISTORY TOOLS PROCESS PRODUCT RANGE MOTIFS SUPPLY PATTERN PRICING INNOVATION
THREATS AND CONCERN MASTER CRAFTSMEN – GIRIRAJ PRASAD BHUVNESH PRASAD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We are thankful to Mr. Nandu Ram and his family for sharing their life experiences and helping us understand the techniques and explore the craft of pottery. We would also like to show our gratitude towards Mr. Giriraj Prasad who is one best known craftsman in India. We thanks Pearl Academy for giving us this opportunity so that we could meet such great artisans and explore this craft which is highly connected to our roots.
PREFACE "Unity in diversity" - these are not just words, but something that are highly applicable to a country like India that is incredibly rich in culture and heritage. A few quotations or statements cannot describe the pedestal that India holds on to the world map because of its colourful and unique culture. "The Indian way of life provides the vision of the natural, real way of life. We veil ourselves with unnatural masks. On the face of India are the tender expressions which carry the mark of the Creator's hand". Culture plays a pivotal role in the development of any country. The Indian culture has never been rigid and that's why it is surviving with pride in the modern era. It timely imbibes the qualities of various other cultures and comes out as a contemporary and acceptable tradition
That is what is unique about the Indian culture, it moves on with the time. Like all other handicrafts and crafts, the tradition of pottery making in India is very old. The ancient pottery of a country speaks volumes about its civilization. Pottery is one of those important mediums through which men have expressed their emotions. For thousands of years pottery art has been one of the most beautiful forms of expression. A piece of pottery has a visual message in its shape and colour. In India, we have had a great tradition of pottery making. The real beginning of Indian pottery began with the Indus Valley Civilization and the art of shaping and baking clay articles as pottery, earthenware and porcelain has continued through the ages.
Hence as a part of our course in Pearl Academy, every year a craft excursion is organized to study the innate crafts of different regions so that we as designers can give our utmost contribution in reviving the rich Indian crafts and help in connecting the crafts-men to the design industry .
INTRODUCTION Pottery is the art of making products from clay and baking them for usage.
Terracotta art in India is considered mystical because it incorporates within the five vital elements like air, fire, earth, water and ether. The word 'terracotta' means the baked earth. Here ‘terra’ means earth and ‘cotta’ means bake. Pottery in Indian Villages is one of the most ancient and popular art forms of Indian village. Pottery in Indian villages has been in existence since the Indus Valley Civilisation and is still practised in most of the Indian villages. The art of handling of clay is called Pottery and it is one of the earliest skills known to the Indians. The Indians are expert in moulding clay with their hands to form various things of daily utility, toys and deities of worship since the ancient period.
ABOUT DELHI Delhi is the traditional and present day capital of India. Delhi stands in a triangle formed by the river Yamuna in the east and spurs from the Aravali range in the west and south. Delhi is not only the largest commercial centre in Northern India, but also the largest centre of small industries. The IT sector, handloom, fashion, textile and electro nic industry contribute a lot to Delhi's economy. Delhi is bounded by four states namely Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab that have a strong
influence on the lifestyle of Delhi. Delhi is a cosmopolitan city where people are open to embracing new ideas and life style. People from all parts of the country live here. Alll major festival of Inida are celebrated and the Unity in Diversity is evident in social and cultural gatherings. Be it Holi, Diwali, Id, Guru Purab, Buddha Purnima or Christmas, you will find the same vigor and bliss among people from different communities. Delhi has been a witness to the political turmoil for over five centuries. It was ruled by the Mughals in succession to Khiljis and Tughlaqs.
MIGRATION TO DELHI Kumhar Colony is a small locality in Uttam Nagar which is populated by the rural sector majorly. The area is not well developed. It is a housing for potters who earn their livelihood by making and selling pottery products. Artists here have migrated from different states like U.P., Rajasthan, Harayana etc. produce traditional terracotta craft in the most traditional way. Currently over 400 families are practising this craft in the colony. It was set up in 1970 to provide housing for the potters.
LOCATION
Uttam Nagar (Kumhar Colony)
Map of Delhi
HISTORY The history of pottery in Indian villages dates back to the earliest civilisation of India, the Indus Valley civilisation. Many wonderful pieces of pottery have been found from the excavation of the Harappa and Mohenjodaro cities. Pottery in Indian villages presents a wonderful amalgamation of concept, design and execution. Indus Valley Civilization. Indus valley has a great and ancient tradition of pottery making. The origin of pottery in India can be traced back to the neolithic age, with coarse handmade pottery - bowls, jars, vessels - in various colors such as red, orange, brown, black and cream. The real beginning of Indian pottery is with the Indus Valley
Civilization. There is proof of pottery being constructed in two ways, handmade and wheel-made. Harrappan and Mohanjodaro cultures heralded the age of wheel-made pottery. Indian sculpture made heavy use of terracotta from a very early period. This allows relatively large figures, nearly up to life-size, to be made, especially in the Gupta period and the centuries immediately following it. Several vigorous local popular traditions of terracotta folk sculpture remain active today. Often women prepare clay figures to propitiate their gods and goddesses, during festivals.
TOOLS
Sponge – It adds the moisture to the clay while the product is in process. It also helps to refine the edges and polishes the product (Fig. 3). Thread, soot - Two hardwood handles attached at either end. Its soul purpose is to separate finished product from wheel (Fig. 4).
Potter’s wheel, kumhar chaak - This is the electric wheel on which the all kind of terracotta products are made. It spins with the power and products are given their desired shape through different movement of hands. In, earlier times the wheel was hand held. It was used to be spin with the help of a wooden rod. This is the most imperative and sacred equipment for a craftsman (Fig. 1). Gem stone, ghotna – This is a piece of stone which is use to smoothen the product. It provides a certain amount of finishing to the product (Fig. 2).
Stand, rudhi – It is used when the base of the product has curve to it. Its height allow the craftsman to play diverse shapes (Fig. 5). Incising needle, sua - One of the primary uses of the potter's needle is to get an accurate measure of how thick a slab or the floor of a pot is (Fig. 6). Metal arc, kutki – This is used to remove the excess clay (Fig. 7). Danda - This is used to break the stone which are there in sand. Favada – This is used to pick and mix the sand.
Figure 1
Figure 5
Figure 2
Figure 6
Figure 4
Figure 3
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
PROCESS The process of making terracotta is simple yet very labour- intensive and technical. Several stages goes into reaching the final outcome. The artisans needs to be highly skilled to go through all the stages of the process.
Clay sourcing
Clay Processing
Shaping and Forming
Forms Decoration
Drying
Painting
Final Outcome
• DEVELOPING THE PRODUCT
• PROCUREMENT OF SOIL All type of soils (maati) does not suit to prepare all types of pottery. The kali mitti (black soil) which is very fine in nature is procured from the farms of Haryana, it costs around Rs 4000 per tractor. The lal mitti (red soil) which is very slippery is procured from the Rajasthan’s mountain, it costs around Rs 10000 per tractor. • PROCESSING OF SOIL In this stage all of the mud is separated from the stone particles. Firstly big chunks of soil are broken into small pieces, most of the impurities are removed by hands (Fig. 1). Then it is filtered through challni, here all the lumps and other particles are separated from the soil(Fig. 2). After that, the potters put it into water and make big portions of it (Fig. 3), which is stored into a pit. The clay is moistened in water for a day. This is generally covered with plastic so that it does not loses its moisture.
Before starting the process, the potter separates the required amount of prepared clay from the heap and kneads it. After the final kneading, a heap of clay is prepared either in the form of a cylinder or of a ball. The clay is placed at the centre of the wheel. The potter uses his fingers and gives the clay definite shapes by manipulating it (Fig. 4). At last the finished product is removed from the wheel with the help of thread. The newly prepared pots are dried and it is decorated with design through different tools. It is kept in mind that for drying purpose no sun heat has to be used as it may form cracks in the structure. • BAKING OF PRODUCT All the dried products are stacked in the body of furnace (Fig. 5). First all the large products than the smaller products are placed vertically. It takes around 6-7 hours for a 8 holes, dar for completing the process of baking. Left over wood, burada and husk are used as fuel for firing purposes (Fig. 6). A person needs to sit in the front of mouth of the furnace as he constantly needs to throw a handful of this mixture to keep the fuel firing (Fig. 7).
• PAINTING THE PRODUCT For painting purpose they generally use three types of colours: red, white and black. All these are natural colour available in the form of soil. The red colour is the red ochre locally known as laal mitti, white colour is the chalk locally known as khadi, and black colour is the mineral colour locally known as kaali mitti. But recently they also started to use the readymade chemical colours or oil colours over the traditional colours because of various advantages. The oil colours are easily available in the market and they are more durable. They can also be applied directly without processing. After few hours the colours applied over the product dries and is ready to be sold in market.
Figure 1
Figure 5
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 6
Figure 4
Figure 7
PRODUCT RANGE Most of the product are either painted with colours or retained in their natural look after baking. Product that are made includes.. • Flower vases, gamla • Cut-work lamp • Decorative items • Figures of god and goddesses • Cooking utensils, handi • Money banks, gulaks • Oil lamps, diya
MOTIFS There are generally two types of pattern which can be seen in design i.e. Floral and Geometrical patterns. There is a certain sense of symmetry that can be observed in most of the designs
SUPPLY CHAIN artisans
consumers
SALES PATTERN Products are also purchased by the residents of the area. Most of the products are supplied to the vendors in Chandigarh, Haryana and Malviya Nagar. Terracotta products have started attracting foreign customers as well. Sales shoots up rapidly during Diwali season. Figures of gods and goddesses and ‘diyas’ are in very high demand during this season.
PRICING The price of products sold here are least as compared to any other market in Delhi as the products are directly sold by the artisans. The profit earned by them is only enough to meet their basic requirements.
INNOVATION As to increase the scope of pottery products many kitchen utensils are being produced. These products are machine made as a very thin layer of clay is worked with to keep the product light in weight. For example water bottle, tea kettle, bowl, sauce pan, etc. A lot institution and artisans are developing new ideas to take this craft at new heights. Mansukh bhai Prajapati, a traditional clay craftsmen, has transformed traditional clay items into an innovative range of products. He invented “Mitticool�, the natural refrigerator, which runs without electricity and also preserves the original taste of the food items. The principle of cooling used in this simple machine is the same as that of earthen pots. Apart from a fridge, he has invented non-stick earthen tavas, earthen thermos flasks, etc. Know all about the man who is helping millions with his amazing environment-friendly and pocket-friendly innovations.
THREATS AND CONCERNS Sometimes potters are unable to get the clay of desired soil. They find it difficult to find the potential market for their products. Many a times they are also exploited by the hands of middlemen. Demand for many items increases during festive season only. As a result it becomes difficult for the potters to put up with the low demand during other seasons. Potters have to face stiff competition from the machine made and ceramics products. Readymade products from Duttapur, Kolkata, West Bengal are in great demand in Delhi. Approximately 60% of the these products are transported to Delhi and 40% to other states of India. The baking process for the products causes many health issues for the potters and their family as well. The smoke is a major cause of air pollution.
GIRIRAJ PRASAD National Awardee in the year 1987 for his magnificent contribution to the field of pottery.
BHUVNESH PRASAD Shri Bhuvnesh Prasad s/o Shri Giriraj Prasad was born on 22nd March 1976 in Alwar, Rajasthan. He received skills of Terracotta Craft as a blessing from his father. He started in 1986 as a 10 years boy. In 1992 he left school and started working as a full time professional. His work got all around appreciation when he got State Award in 2000.He created a 10 Feet & 4 Feet Wide Pot in 2002 in Craft Museum, Pragati Maidan.
He got National Award for his unprecedented work in 2002. He has taught Terracotta Craft to Students in Government & Private Schools. He introduced people to Electric Wheel. He took this art to the villages of Rajasthan and inspired not only Men but Women to adopt Pottery as a career. He got honoured by Rajasthan Govt for this effort. He got South Asia UNESCO Award on 27th Nov 2005 for Quality & Excellence in Handicraft Products. He has created a pot as small as 1 mm and as big as 16 Feet.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS Avantika Award Year 1999 Ist Prize Delhi State Award - Year 2001 National Award - Year 2001 Unesco Award - Year 2005 Kalanidhi Award - Year 2008 Delhi International Art Festival - Year 2009
Silver Award in London, England Year 1992
Thank You!