Dark Days For Earthen Diya Makers Of Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Is pottery slowly disappearing from society? Are the diyas from Kolkata and China replacing our earthen lamps during Diwali? Why our income during Diwali has been decreasing year by year?

These questions are disturbing the potters of Basantpur village near Dhauli on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

With only a week left for Diwali, these traditional Diya makers of Basantpur village are on their toes to prepare various sizes of earthen lamps with a hope to make a fast buck during the festival of lights.

The only source of income for 10 families at Basantpur village is pottery. They make different varieties and sizes of earthen lamps during Diwali and other earth works throughout year.

But they are not getting much profit compared to their labour.

An artisan, Balaram Muduli (65) said, “I have been working for the last 60 years here. My father was also doing pottery work and making earthen diyas. At that time, clay works were great in demand. After introduction of kitchen utensils of different materials, the demand of clay work has decreased.”

During Diwali

“The festival of lights is giving pain to us now days. We do not have that much income during Diwali compared to our labour,” he said.

Entry of Kolkata Diyas, decorative lights of China and fancy lamps into the market have changed the choice of people. They are preferring decorative lights and candles more than earthen lamp.

Both the men and women of these families have been engaged in the work, every year, before Diwali. They used to get busy with preparations of earthen diyas and other decorative materials for home.

They used to supply diyas and other clay materials to different markets of Bhubaneswar  and other parts of the state also.

“Clay is getting costlier in each year. The demand has fallen, cost of raw materials has gone up. We are also facing difficulties to get the clay and wood, as forests have been cleared. We are now buying wood. That is why we are not getting much profit out of it,” said Balaram.

Our Labour

“At the time of Diwali, we used to make 1,000 diyas in a day. We used to sell them in Rs 700,” he said.

“It is very difficult to polish the clay by hand. We make small diyas in hand and big diyas on wheels. Then we have to hit them in a ‘Bhati’ and colour them. But all our hard work goes waste as it is the Chinese lights that sell in the market,” said Balaram.

“The population has been increased now. Our business has been down. Per family we used to earn Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 during Diwali. All our family members used to involve in this work. As per labour, we do not get that much money,” he added.

What Help We Want From Government

“We need wheels, modern Bhati and machine to polish the clay, as we cannot afford to buy these machines. In kolkata they are using gas and charcoal in Bhati. But we have to do it here manually, using wood. After deforestation, wood has become shortage. For machines, they are producing polished works in less time. We will be obliged if the government would help us in buying all these machines,” said Balaram.

He also said, “We even did not get any help from the government after the devastated cyclone Fani. We had to repair all the damages after the cyclone.”

Notably, around 30 artisans of 10 families are doing pottery work in Basantpur village.

These potters have been doing this clay work since their childhood.