BELAGAVI: People digging up clay and moulding it into pots or beautiful objects was once a familiar scene in Khanapur, Belagavi district. Decades ago, this clay culture faded away as it faced stiff competition, especially from the plastic industry. In the hustle and bustle of today’s fast-paced world, this town is playing a very important role again, trying to keep the ancient craft alive – one which was integral to the boom of human civilization itself. And helping people ‘potter’ about and make a livelihood out of it is an institute based at Khanapur.
The Central Village Pottery Institute – the only pottery institute in the country – is working towards protecting and passing on the beautiful art of making pots for the future generations. Nestled on the eastern banks of the River Malaprabha, the institute plays a vital part in promoting the art of pottery through its research and training in pottery technology across the country. Abundant soil, water, nature, wood and the right atmosphere have enabled this town to nurture its expertise in this old craft, which has culminated in such a unique institute.
Institue Principal Prabhakar S says: “Black clay, tank clay, shadow clay, water, firewood and a good environment are needed nearby to meet the daily demands of pot-making. As Khanapur exclusively meets with all these requirements, the government identified the place for establishing the pottery institute.” Prabhakar says that in the current scenario, more than a thousand families in Khanapur taluk are engaged in the pottery business. The pots’ outstanding quality, artistic designs and creativity have also motivated the taluk’s potters to export their products across the globe. Social media has aided in marketing their products, bringing discerning customers from across the country to Khanapur to buy pots as well.
Besides, the institute has been guiding artists in honing their skills. The principal says that the institute has been ensuring that the potters are technically advanced, update their skills and go in for latest designs. The institute has six staffers, providing two pottery courses – wheel-pottery (four months) and terracotta artware (two months). Prabhakar adds that while the institute currently only has a boys’ hostel, it even trains girls. Some of these students have joined the session after completing their B Tech, Architecture and B Pharmacy courses.
The students who have completed the course are called ‘Master Potters’, who can then impart training and create awareness among budding potters at different locations across the country. Prabhakar says that under the Kumbhar Shashaktikaran programme, the institute has distributed more than 5,000 free pottery wheels to potters, with each wheel priced at Rs 16,500. Apart from this, the institute has provided free blungers and pugmills each for 20 potters.
Bhairu Pundalik Kumbhar, taluk president of Sant Gorakumbhar Samaj Vikas Mandal at Khanapur, says that earlier, the people of the Kumbhar (pottery) community were wholly dependent on pot-making for their daily bread. But gradually, the demand for pottery and related earthenware started to shrink and got replaced by similar plastic and metal (steel) products.
He adds that several members of the community had given up their traditional occupation and migrated to other places in search of jobs. “For those who continued with the occupation, pottery was their passion. It was then that we started creating awareness to bring our community members back to their occupation, convincing them that the pottery business is getting the demand it had once almost lost.”
Mohan Kumbhar, an industrialist, has also been creating awareness about the importance of pottery and earthenware among community members, for which he has built a hall and even donated a portion of his land on which the SGSVM office was built at Phulewadi (Dukkarwadi) village in Khanapur taluk. He says that the new craze of going traditional has brought back life to pottery, which was considered to be a dead occupation. “But for those of the Kumbhar community who are still unaware about it and are struggling to earn their livelihood, I am creating awareness as a social responsibility,” he adds.
Tandoor bhatti, the traditional part-oven, part-barbecue, has origins dating back to 2,600 BC — about the same time as the pyramids — according to archaeological sources. It plays an important role especially in the North Indian kitchen, and hence is in huge demand in the restaurant business, with Khanapur famous across the country for producing it. There are a few tandoor bhatti-makers among the potters in Khanapur taluk and the Sawant family members are noted for it. Vishal Sawant, a tandoor bhatti-maker of Ramgurwadi village in Khanapur taluk, says that his family has been in this occupation for the last 22 years.
“For making a tandoor bhatti, we need four types of soil, water, firewood and the right atmosphere, all of which are available in Khanapur. After mixing the clay in the required manner and processing it, moulding takes place and the bhattis are baked at a temperature of 800-900 degrees Celsius for about eight hours,” he says. Tandoor bhattis are of different types, usually priced between Rs 4,000 and Rs 35,000, or even more. He adds that the most common tandoor sold by him costs Rs 4,500. He has a permanent fabricator, who is specialised in fabricating the tandoors. It takes a minimum of eight days to make one tandoor bhatti.
How pottery made him a successful entrepreneur
When his educational qualification failed to provide him his daily bread, this physically-challenged youth turned to his traditional occupation of pottery and he became successful. Pundalik Manohar Kumbhar (34), a resident of Phulewadi, who is paralysed in one leg, had completed his DEd and BA. He went from pillar to post in search of a job right from Mumbai to Bengaluru, but in vain. He had sunk into depression, when a few senior members of the Kumbhar community asked him to return to his traditional family occupation, which he had discontinued. He agreed and mastered the art and skills required in due course.
He says that like him, his friend Madhukar Dhondiba Kumbhar too faced problems in finding a job. Eventually, both of them joined hands about 10 years ago and started pottery-making. The entrepreneur has also provided employment to 10 people of his own village, paying each Rs 300-500 per day. Today, the duo’s products are exported to as far as Japan, Canada, and Australia, among other countries. Pundalik Manohar found that products like cups, sapling pots with new designs, jewellery, toys, showpieces, and utensils had good value. “People wanted different and attractive products and we gave them that. People also shared our products’ information on social media, which helped us gain more customers. Modern pottery and terracotta art is the secret of my success,” he says.
Rs 1,200 Stipend paid per month to each student lodged in the hostel within the institute premises
Rs 700 a month to non-resident students