After years of misery, Rasoolabad potters hope for better Diwali

ALLAHABAD: With barely a week left the festival of light, the shabby hands of potters are working unstintingly on their wheels in the lanes of Rasoolabad and other potter's colonies. Having engaged for decades of artistic expressions, the colony of traditional potters are shaping all size of traditional and designer diyas ahead of Diwali.

With a substantial rise in the demand of traditional diyas among buyers, the potters are anticipating a bright Diwali this year compared to the previous years. Not only men but their women counterparts have also joined hands to shape diyas.

For Kamal and his family members, who have been shaping earthen diyas for past several years, the boycott campaign against Chinese light and subsequent demand for traditional diyas has undoubtedly yielded some fruitful results in the recent past and preference for earthen traditional diyas will be surely witnessing a rise in this Diwali.

"For the past two years, the demand for earthen diyas have increased slightly among buyers," said Kamal adding "community is hopeful for good business." He also said, "Potters are facing difficulty to arrange good quality of soil to shape designer diya and they have to arrange it on higher prices." He further said, "If we get better prices and demand, there has been no worry of arranging soil".

Like Kamal, Rajkali feels that after witnessing slowdown for many years when Chinese lights had considerably occupied the market and even forced many to take up other work to supplement their income, we hope for good days ahead. Our families too want to better on this festival. There are hundreds of families in city who are solely relying on the sale of earthen pots throughout the year, she added.

Majority of potters have started preparations for shaping diyas from the fortnight back and are shaping earthen pots for Diwali.

Shyam, a traditional potter of the Shilakhana who continues to eke out living by churning the potter's wheel, said, "Authorities concerned must take necessary steps to promote earthen pots among masses so that we could not face difficulty to earn our livelihood".

There seems to be hundreds of families all across the district in trans-Ganga and Yamuna belt who are engaged in shaping earthen pots. They now believe that the dying art would get a boost if people start purchasing earthen pots after acknowledging its advantages.

The designer lifestyle stores and Chinese lamps have taken over from the traditional craftsman but there are many who want to keep the tradition alive claiming that earthen lamps and allied clay goods will make a good comeback.

This Diwali, traders and other organisations have given advanced orders to potters for traditional and designer diyas.