Traditional fine pottery making a comeback

Bangali culture, for thousands of years, has been recognised for its exuberant fine arts and crafts all over the world.

Pottery, pots, dishes, and other articles made of earthenware or baked clay – a tangible and iconic element of our history and once a famous art form – is now getting lost in the crowds of modern synthetic products.

In Bangladesh, clay items have become out of fashion day by day. But after 2015, clay-made items and terracotta art are getting popular, especially in urban households.

Vases and wall hangings made using clay give a modern and aesthetic look in the drawing-room. Clay utensils are the most selling items according to artisans and sellers. People are not only buying such items for their dining room, but restaurants and tea/coffee shops too are using these to give their restaurants a more traditional look and attract more customers.

Aarong, a leading lifestyle retail chain in our country that works with rural artisans, has been trying to popularise our ethnic cultural heritage since 1976. There is an earthenware and terracotta crafts section in every Aarong retail shop, where they sell locally produced clay-made utensils and decorative items that match the modern urban taste.

Alongside popular retail chains, earthenware and decorative clay items can be found everywhere in Dhaka city. Small vendors sell clay-made items using vans on the street. Some vendors set up temporary shops on the footpath at important places throughout the city.

Rezwan, a pottery seller near Mirpur Stadium, said, “Business is not bad at this time. I get my items from different places. Most of them come from Barishal and Cumilla, and some come from Savar and other regions. Earthen tubs and vases are the most sold items here.”

Ananda Pal, a wholesaler and third-generation potter at the capital’s Rayer Bazaar area, told The Business Post, “Demand is very high, and during the lockdown, many online shops had bought from us.

“However, business is not that good here. Nowadays, many people are joining wholesale businesses, and competition is hard. The potters are not getting fair prices and many are leaving their business.”

Clay Station Dhaka, an initiative for urban people to experience the pottery-making process as well as making them with their own hands, has been organising workshops at the Banani area for some years. They also offer customised pottery printing services.

Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, co-founder of Clay Station Dhaka, said, “Clay Station is inspired from a clay studio we visited in the USA. Anyone can join our workshops and make clay crafts. They can experience all the fun processes involved in creating clay items.”

A huge portion of pottery items that are sold all over the country comes from Bauphal, Patuakhali. Bauphal has a long tradition of making countries some of the best pottery items.

During the late ‘90s, NCCB Lifetime Achievement Award winner Shri Vishweshwar Pal took the initiative to popularize the artistry of Bauphal’s potters.

At present, more than 500 families are involved in this industry in Madanpura, Konkadia and Boga Unions of Baufal and Bilbilas area of Baufal Union. In addition, more than 500 families are involved in the industry as co-artisans.

Komol Paul, a Golden Jubilee of Independence Honors Award winner, took responsibility for his father’s ancestral pottery business in Baufal back in 2016.

Komol used to be a construction security worker in Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia before he took over his father’s business. Since then, he is working hard to improve his business, as well as other families of potters in the Baufal area.

Speaking about the difficulties he faced in the first few years, he said, “At first I couldn’t get any loans because I did not meet the lenders’ criteria. Potters do not get loans from banks. So, many of them take loans at high-interest rates from money lenders.”

Komol slowly saved up money and grew his business. At present, he is shipping earthenware all over the country, and retail chains such as Aarong are buying from him every month.

But still, potters are facing difficulties sourcing raw materials. For some years, they could not dig out clay from khas lands. After a long time, last year they came to an agreement with the authorities to get clay from khas lands.

Lack of modern machinery and techniques, the production was slow and they could not get fair profit. Komol, with the help of YouTube, came to know about machines that could increase the quantity of earthenware they produce and ease some of their laborious processes.

So he went to India to learn how to build those machines and brought a small one with him. After some trial and error, he was able to make a working machine. At present, the wedging and bisque firing process is done using machines.

He also replaced the hand-operated wheel with motorized wheels. This has increased production with less labor. Many potters are now making machinery with the help of Komol.

“This is our ancestral heritage. Better a poor horse than no horse at all,” he said.

At present, Komol has 35 permanent artisans and workers, and during festivals, he employs about 100 more to meet the demand. He also ensures a strict no-child labor policy at his workshop.

In 2020, he organised a tour for his employees and their families at the Cox’s Bazar with his own money.

“I wish the pottery industry will flourish just as it did in the past. The government and concerned organizations should take more initiatives for the betterment of the potters,” he added.

Rahul Barua, Assistant General Manager, Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation of the government said, “Our relationships with the artisans of small and medium entrepreneurs are better than any other industry. We visit and arrange seminars and workshops at their houses.

“Last year, we arranged a discussion meeting at Bauphal. We know their problems and have been working to solve them. Finance is a major issue and we are trying to provide assistance to help them get loans.”

Archeologists have found evidence of clay-made items dating back to the Mesolithic period, indicating their durability. Pottery has been found at its earliest form in India among Vindhya hunter-gatherers – a group of people who lived in west-central India during 7,000-6,000 BC – during the Mesolithic period.

Over time, India’s simple style of molding clay went into evolution and created some of the best clay-made items in the world like West Bengal’s Terracotta pottery or Gujarat’s Khavda Pottery.