A World Around Earth

For the several hundred families living in Kumbharwada in Dharavi, this is the season when business peaks annually. Heavy smoke rises up from a kiln as soft clay pots are fashioned out of mud, cotton waste fuelling the kiln to fire them into hard and durable pots, diyas, tea-lights and other knick-knacks.

Kumbharwada8217;s maze of narrow lanes, buzzing with the seasonal activity, got their name from the large number of Kumbhars or potters who came to the city from Kathiawada area of Saurashtra, several decades ago. Since then, this central Mumbai slum, often called Asia8217;s largest, has housed this little township that churns out thousands of pieces of earthenware every week.

And with three festivals 8212; Ramzan, Navratri and Diwali 8212; lined back to back in the coming days, these families are busier than ever.

8220;I have been making diyas for Navratri and Diwali for the past 40 years. We start our work even before Ganpati, as these diyas and pots take more than a week to dry. Then the designing work on them starts,8221; says 45-year-old Ebrahim Yusuf as he fashions a diya from a lump of blackish clay on a slowly moving potter8217;s wheel. Yusuf8217;s family moved here in 1956 and since then has been involved in the business. Like him, the business is passed on from generation to generation in other families too.

Work gets difficult in the monsoon, say these kumbhars, since their wares are dried in the open. 8220;We start our work on a small scale even before the monsoon. But it is very difficult as there is no place to dry what we create. Also, the kilns don8217;t work properly owing to the moisture in the air. We really dread that season,8221; says 50-year-old Lakshman Dewaliya. Interestingly, this Hindu family has been making kulhars, the little earthen cups that phirni, the must-have delicacy at Mohammed Ali Road during Ramzan, is set in. 8220;Most people are surprised to find Hindu families working for a Muslim festival. But communal differences are hardly an issue in this place,8221; says Dewaliya.

The cottage industry works hard to keep up with the stiff competition from modern ceramics.. 8220;I came to this place nearly 30 years ago. I learnt the art from my father. Since I have come here I must have made tens of thousands of pots. But things have definitely changed now,8221; says 60-year-old Vasaram Tank. 8220;My grandsons wanted to move to other industries, as there is more money involved there. They tried their hand at various occupations, but realised that they can8217;t quite take pottery out of them. So they now manage their jobs and their passion for pottery simultaneously, by lending a hand in the evenings and on off days.8221; Tank says this is also good to keep the tradition alive.

With the festive season around the corner, and Kumbharwada attracting customers from across the world, it is definitely a happy time for these families. These families have few material comforts, but that doesn8217;t daunt their industriousness.