Diwali or Deepavali thefestival of lights' is here in Mangalore in all its glittering glory. Derived from the Sanskrit word,Deepavali' signifies a line-up of lighteddiyas,' (lamps). Display of clay or earthen lamps is a distinctive feature of this Hindu festival of five days. In days of yore small traditional lamps were being used to usher in Goddess Laxmi into people's homes.
However, with changing times there has been a transformation with lamps of myriad shapes, forms, sizes and designs seen all over the marketplace. Even the latest multi-hued aromatic candles in the market haven't made a dent in the production or the demand for the earthendiyas.' Against this backdrop, how can one forget the potter's community calledKumbharas.' They toil behind the scenes to make this auspicious festival a memorable one. Not only do they light up homes but even the lives of people of the city with their creations.
One such person in Urwa Stores, Mangalore is Gopala Kumbhara (50), who has been a potter since past 35 years. Majority of his family who are womenfolk are engaged in making earthen lamps, months in advance, in order to tackle the deluge of demand for their artifacts, especially during Deepavali. Around 15 of his family members are tirelessly working behind the scenes on this job daily from dawn to dusk. They have just completed an order of one and half lakh traditional oil lamps. This comprises of exquisite small, medium and large size lamps of varied designs depending upon the client's preferences.
Gopal informs that his family has been in the pottery business for generations. In-fact they have been in this profession since 300 years. They originally hailed from Andhra Pradesh, but later migrated to this city. He learnt the tricks of the trade from his father Subrayya K, but it took him around three years of sheer hard work to master the craft. He gets the raw clay from Puraal in the Polali region. After it is brought here it passes through three ground water tanks to get it cleared of impurities, reducing its quantity. After which the lamps are given shape using rotating wheels manually.
The womenfolk do most of the task and also give the finishing touches to thediyas.' Later it goes into a huge shallow mud kiln with logs used underneath to heat it up. The baked clay lamps once it comes out is indeed a sight to behold, changing color from grayish brown to reddish tones. Say the womenfolk that all year round there is demand for lamps duringDeepothsava' (festivals), Jatra (fairs),Mahashivratri,' from within Mangalore city as also from Suratkal, Mulki, Udupi, Madikeri, Bantwal. For which they make different types of clay artifacts such as Tulsi Kalasha (pots) for the auspiciousBrahma Kalasha,'Loban Deepas' andThibila Deepas' (lamp wicks) of different sizes,Mogulee' which is again a earthen lamp hanging over temple and house tops, flower pots, water pots etc.
On a sad note Gopal K informs “Mine will be last generation to carry forward the pottery tradition as it is slowly dying out. The children from the family have already moved into other professions as this is no longer lucrative and requires lot of manual work.” He urged the State Government to provide facilities and welfare measures for the un-organized workers belonging to their community, who number around 400 hundred spread across Udupi, Karkal, Bantwal, Bolvai and Kinikoli. He opined that some kind of a co-operative movement to bring together the diverse group under one roof would help to rejuvenate the dying pottery art in the city.
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