Post News Network
Rayagada, Nov 30: Despite steel and fibre utensils becoming commonplace, a tiny village in Rayagada district continues to stick to its traditional occupation of pottery – with several families still eking out a livelihood by selling terracotta items.
Amalabhatta village of Penta panchayat in Rayagada block is home to several potter’s families who refuse to give up their traditional vocation.
Most of the people of the village, however, are of the view that they are facing a tough time selling their produce in the absence of market demand. The government is not doing enough to save this trade which is on the verge of extinction, the potters said.
Amalabhatta is popularly known in surrounding areas as a village of potters. About 160 families – all Telugus – make a living through this trade. Men and women of the families are at work for most part of the day, moulding the soil to produce different items of various shapes and sizes. Their products include cooking utensils, water containers, pots, lamps, wood ovens and coal ovens.
The terracotta products comprise tea cup sets, decorative pieces, animal figures such as horses, elephants, and fish, mobile stands, vases, piggy banks and idols of Lord Ganesh, Goddess Saraswati, Viswakarma and others.
The potters from here often migrate to various regions of Andhra Pradesh and make idols according to the requirement of the customers.
Not long back, the weekly market of Amalabhatta used to be a flourishing centre for pottery trade in the entire district. The village market used to be frequented by people from across the district and even from the neighbouring southern state, with earthen products high in demand. However, the business began going downhill ever since the administration ordered a closure of the market in January this year, a potter named T Venkat Rao said.
The local potters said a family of four members earned about Rs 6,000 a month after working full time. They said they faced a lot of problems in collecting soil from the Nagavali river and bringing it to their village. Women have to carry the soil on their heads as there is no proper road from the riverbank to the village to transport them in tractors. Similarly, the villagers find it difficult to source wood and coal at affordable prices to manufacture the pots.
One major hurdle they potters are likely to face in the near future is the wheel, the main equipment that is used to give shape to the products, K Viswanath said.
P Krishna, a Class VI student and a differently-abled boy, had taken up the profession at the age of five. Krishna said he tries to supplement his family’s earning during his free time.
In 2005, a special training programme was held for the potters by the district industries centre and each family of the village was given a wheel in 2008. However, they haven’t received further assistance since then, an elderly potter T Shankar said. The administration set up 30 pottery units for 100 families in 2008 which are in ruins at present, he added.
The families said they want enough wheels, reopening of the Amalabhatta weekly market, a terracotta sale counter in Rayagada and assistance for the repairing of their units so that they can continue with their profession.