Visit to a potters' village - Narayanpur
Narayanpur is a small village near Yelhanka. Its a small village in the vicinity of bustling urban life. As you take a turn from the broad multilane highway, the scene is complet
e contrast to what our eyes are used to. Beautiful green fields flanking by you, are so soothing. And believe me, they just make you forget the bad roads. After about a m
ile you enter into a village to see most households having clay wheel in front of their houses. The primary occupation here, besides cultivation, is making clay pots. As against the modern day equipments that can churn out probably 10 times, these people do every thing manually. They use a manual wheel which carries a lump of clay. As the wheel rotates, some skilled hands transform the clay lump into beautiful pots.
I went there just before diwali so everyone was busy making diyas of various size and
shapes.We met Naveen Kumar, who is a BSc Agriculture, second year student. Pottery runs in his family and he learns the art, in his free time, which seems to come naturally to him. Since it was a Sunday he was making diyas. It is interesting to know, how the soil is dug up from the bed of a water body. The deeper 
layer soil is sticky and is used to make pots. On an average, one can make 3-4 small diyas before the wheel slows down and has to be rotated manually and up to 80-100 diyas take shape every hour. They are then dried in the sun for 3-4 hours depending on the weather. Then they are baked in a hand made kiln which can accommodate around 6000 diyas. In this process the diyas that are on the outer edge get burnt and break easily, hence are discarded. The kiln uses dried eucalyptus leaves to achieve high temperatures. What comes out are the beautiful diyas that we see every Diwali.
The interesting facts here are -
1> the young generation is interested learning the art, they are educated and can think of new and innovative ways to promote the art.
2> the villagers like Mr Ramkrishnappa and some other have taken professional training and they are sharing their knowledge so that all the villagers benefit from it.
3> The entire process is natural and eco friendly. They do not use electricity. For the kiln they use dried eucalyptus leaves.
It is so good to see our villages also on the path of development. This village makes me believe that our country is progressing.
e contrast to what our eyes are used to. Beautiful green fields flanking by you, are so soothing. And believe me, they just make you forget the bad roads. After about a m
ile you enter into a village to see most households having clay wheel in front of their houses. The primary occupation here, besides cultivation, is making clay pots. As against the modern day equipments that can churn out probably 10 times, these people do every thing manually. They use a manual wheel which carries a lump of clay. As the wheel rotates, some skilled hands transform the clay lump into beautiful pots.I went there just before diwali so everyone was busy making diyas of various size and
shapes.We met Naveen Kumar, who is a BSc Agriculture, second year student. Pottery runs in his family and he learns the art, in his free time, which seems to come naturally to him. Since it was a Sunday he was making diyas. It is interesting to know, how the soil is dug up from the bed of a water body. The deeper 
layer soil is sticky and is used to make pots. On an average, one can make 3-4 small diyas before the wheel slows down and has to be rotated manually and up to 80-100 diyas take shape every hour. They are then dried in the sun for 3-4 hours depending on the weather. Then they are baked in a hand made kiln which can accommodate around 6000 diyas. In this process the diyas that are on the outer edge get burnt and break easily, hence are discarded. The kiln uses dried eucalyptus leaves to achieve high temperatures. What comes out are the beautiful diyas that we see every Diwali.
Naveen also introduced us to Mr Ramkrishnappa who is trained artisan. The good part is that
he promoted the art in his village. He trained villagers and exposed the art to other parts of the country. Today he is affiliated to the crafts trust and exports crafts to different cities and states and I would be waiting for the day when its exported to other countries. Mr Ramkrishnappa also teaches the art of pottery to school students. He organises an exhibit in chitrakala parishad every year and travels to different states for art and crafts fairs. He has extended the art the art from simple diyas to more artistic ones, pots, dolls etc. After they are baked they are polished with touch wood. No artificial coloring is used, all colors are natural and depend upon the heating mechanism, they range from light brown to black.
he promoted the art in his village. He trained villagers and exposed the art to other parts of the country. Today he is affiliated to the crafts trust and exports crafts to different cities and states and I would be waiting for the day when its exported to other countries. Mr Ramkrishnappa also teaches the art of pottery to school students. He organises an exhibit in chitrakala parishad every year and travels to different states for art and crafts fairs. He has extended the art the art from simple diyas to more artistic ones, pots, dolls etc. After they are baked they are polished with touch wood. No artificial coloring is used, all colors are natural and depend upon the heating mechanism, they range from light brown to black.
The interesting facts here are -
1> the young generation is interested learning the art, they are educated and can think of new and innovative ways to promote the art.
2> the villagers like Mr Ramkrishnappa and some other have taken professional training and they are sharing their knowledge so that all the villagers benefit from it.
3> The entire process is natural and eco friendly. They do not use electricity. For the kiln they use dried eucalyptus leaves.
It is so good to see our villages also on the path of development. This village makes me believe that our country is progressing.
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