RAMANAGARA: Five decades ago, 10-year-old Anusuya Bai stopped at a pottery unit on her way back from school. She wanted to buy a clay piggy bank. The visit moulded her future and that of several others. Anusuya, who later dropped out of school, joined the unit as a labourer. She now employs seven persons, each earning about Rs15,000 a month by making earthenware at her unit in Janapada Loka in Ramanagara. Anusuya was in Class IV when she got mesmerised with the process of giving form to a limp mass of clay.
Today, she sells over 500 products, including 50 varieties of earthen lamps, which are exported across the globe. Some of her creations are a big hit among buyers due to the innovative twists she lends to them, such as a perfumed diya, a lamp that burns even amid strong breeze, one that consumes less oil, and intricate diya clusters.
Anusuya’s workers joined a few years ago after the factory where all of them had worked closed down. “After it was shut down, they had nowhere to go,” Anusuya says. “When I got to know about it, I hired them. I started with employing two people, and now seven persons work here. Each earns Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month. My profit goes to their salary. I get little, but I am happy to keep the art alive.”
Among those who swear by her generosity is Leelamma. “After working for decades, I was getting Rs 6,000 per month at the factory where I earlier worked, and even that was not paid on time. I then approached Anusuya.”
Govinda (name changed) dropped out of school when he was in Class VIII. When he was 19, he left his village near Mandya, and came to Ramanagara in search of a job. He lived without shelter or food for many days. “I then met Anusuya, and she gave me food. I had no clue about working with clay. Initially, I was taught to filter soil, and then slowly learnt the art of making pottery,”’ he says.
Like Govinda, Gowramma, 52, had no work experience when Anusuya gave her a lifeline. All her dreams about her future rested on her son. When he died in a road accident, Gowramma was desolate. “It was then that she came to me. Now she is leading a decent life without depending on others,” Anusuya adds. The business generates over Rs 1 lakh a month, and the salaries are decided according to the product the employees make. For instance, they get Rs 50 for a one-foot artefact.
Anusuya sure has come a long way from the time when as a young girl in Baalageri village near Ramanagara, she was employed by the pottery unit at a salary of Rs 40 a month. Her craft has taken her to several parts of the world, including Australia, where she taught at a leading art school, the name of which she cannot recall. “I was approached by the Indian government to teach the process of making earthen items. I only know Kannada and a bit of Hindi. I conducted training sessions for three weeks with the help of a translator.”
Anusuya’s skills got wider recognition when she met H L Nagegowda, the folk art enthusiast who founded Janapada Loka. “I had learnt about Janapada Loka and approached Nagegowda, who agreed to give me space to display my products,” she recalls.
The opportunity helped Anusuya’s imagination grow. She started experimenting more with clay. Utensils, water bottles, decorative pieces, religious idols, animals, bells… clay was no more a barren medium in her hands. She soon started getting offers to be part of art exhibitions across the country. People instantly got fascinated with the intricate clay products that they saw. Though she does not use online marketing yet, many firms buy her products and sell them on e-commerce platforms. “Recently, my niece helped sell my products with the help of WhatsApp,” Anusuya says.
Her passion for the job even made her decide against getting married. “I was so much in love with the earthen items that I was scared that marriage may stop me from working. I have no regrets,” Anusuya says. Little wonder then that her work consumes her thoughts every moment. “When I go to bed, I think and dream about products that we can make the next day.”