BENGALURU: It’s daybreak! Narayanapura wakes up to yet another day in the clay. A jaunt of about 25km from Bengaluru gets one to this quaint village, tucked between sylvan farms and urban pockets. The air here carries a soothing earthy whiff, whilst its little roads exhibit the masterpieces of its residents – the potters of Narayanapura.
Narayanapura and pottery share a time-honoured tryst going as far back as eight decades, when the first families of potters settled here. Today, this village is steadily gaining prominence for its clay artisanry.
Rising with the sun
Blending skill, creativity, and physical labour, pottery work begins early in the morning, which is also the best time to catch the potters at their wheels, with their stories. Nandish Kumar, a resident potter, is well-acquainted with the history of his village.
“Pottery is the principal occupation in Narayanapura. There are at least 25 households still practising the trade of our forefathers, with all members, including women, taking part in the process,” he mentions.
Almost every dwelling in Narayanapura breathes pottery, with batches of freshly-fashioned pots, tea kulhads, hundis, lamps, dhoop-stands, plates, and other clay creations being kept out to dry in the sun. Munchinappa, another potter, is busy firing up the furnace of a kiln. “This task alone takes at least six hours, before the kiln heats up to the required temperature, and bakes our wares to perfection,” he says, adding that the fire’s intensity is maintained by a constant supply of eucalyptus leaves and twigs.
While the potters are busy through the year, their work is defined by the flavours of the season. Up until the end of August, they were crafting clay idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Gowri for Ganesha Chaturthi, and have since shifted to making diyas for Deepavali. “Today, it’s encouraging to watch people’s interest in things organic and earthy, even for festivals. That’s a boon for us as we make clay Ganesha idols and other naturally-derived products,” says Babu, whose deft fingers are picking up one dhoop-stand after another from his wheel.
His father, Munikrishnappa, informs that earlier, they used to make flower pots as well, but have since stopped due to paucity of space and demand, choosing to stick to seasonal trends. Pottery is not as simple it seems, requiring single-minded dedication, in tandem with logistical planning and conducive weather conditions. The clay used by these potters is sourced from lakes, from a depth of 2 feet. It ought to have a sticky, yet elastic consistency, to be shaped into any form.
The clay is left to dry for 24 hours by when it gets caked. At this stage, water is added and mixed thoroughly, spread and wrapped in plastic sheets, and stored. This process arrests the moisture within the clay, preparing it for modelling. Once each work is created, it is given finishing touches mostly by women, and each batch of items is dried in the sun for a few hours, before being baked in the kiln. Today, Narayanapura has attracted some necessary attention from art lovers, customers and those fascinated with pottery. The village’s clay works are also shipped to retail markets in Bengaluru. While a few families have set up makeshift shops near their homes, one also comes across city youngsters who are here to try their hand at the wheel.
“There is interest among people in pottery today. But as a community, we expect more to preserve our way of life and sustain ourselves. We cannot hope that our future generations will be as motivated as us to take up this ancestral profession. But we are content with what we do, something that is in sync with the environment,” says Nandish. American author Og Mandino once stated, “A field of clay touched by the genius of man becomes a castle.” The romance and nostalgia of pottery has largely remained unchanged for millennia. In Narayanapura, too, some wooden wheels have become electric, Ganesha Chaturthi heralds the onset of Deepavali, and the monsoon plays hide-and-seek. But the potters’ wheels continue to spin, granting new life and future to fistfuls of earth.
TALE OF THE POT
The World History Encyclopedia mentions that “pottery is the first synthetic material ever created by humans”, and echoes the beginnings of civilisation. The oldest evidence of pottery manufacture was discovered at an archaeological site, ‘Odai Yamamoto’, in Japan, where fragments sourced from a specific vessel have been dated to 16,500-14,920 years ago. In India, however, pottery can be traced back to the days of the Indus Valley civilisation, whose pots have revealed several facets of the daily life of its people. Almost every culture on earth has some interesting tales spilling out of its pottery.