The Pottery Maker (standard:non fiction, 765 words)
Author: Juggernaut	Added: Sep 11 2013	Views/Reads: 5006/1988	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The story of hard working pottery maker.

The Pottery Maker 

Subba Rao 

Pottery maker Ramu looks always tired and sweaty; a tall heavy set 

fair skin man with deep wrinkled face from exposure to sun whole day 

working outdoors with clay. He makes earthen pots and idols over a 

large wooden pottery wheel to fire them in a mud oven burning dry 

paddy husk or coloring the products already fired in the oven. Ramu's 

turban made from a long piece of rough white cloth appeared more like 

a large white dome with terraces on his head. It covered both his ears 

and part of his upper cheeks from hot sun. A large dangling white 

mustache obscuring his mouth moved up and down while he spoke. With 

his ears and mouth covered respectively, one can see only his large 

nose and beady eyes. His front yard was a showcase of his finished 

products; a wide variety of cooking and flower earthen pots and a 

collection of colorful idols of Hindu god and goddesses. 

Working with pottery clay is an art passed on from generations. People 

in the pottery business as a group though occupy lower end of Hindu 

hierarchical society, as a caste they command some respect in the 

society not for making household earthen pots but for making clay 

idols of Hindu gods and goddesses. There are scores of Hindu gods but 

only handfuls were worshipped on a regular basis. The clay idols of 

Krishnan, Sita, Hanuman, Ganesh, Shiva and Lakshmi were always popular 

and in demand. The clay idols of gods and goddesses have a look of 

tranquility and holiness to make devotees feel sacred during the idol 

worship. The shape, color and look of clay figures of various gods 

sold in the market were made from molds developed over a period of 

long time, perhaps hundreds of years.  These molds were passed on from 

generation to generation among the pottery caste. 

The clay idol of Lord Shiva in shades of dark blue with a fierce look 

holding a spear with three sharp prongs standing on slayed demons with 

backdrop of snowcapped mountains is the run-of-the-mill idols sold 

everywhere. Similarly, Lord Hanuman is always painted in bright green 

in kneel down position with a club shaped weapon next to him. Serene 

looking goddess Lakshmi always in red sari stands on a giant lotus 

flower in the middle of a pond and goddess Saraswathi worshipped for 

knowledge always holds a replica of veena, a musical string instrument. 

The idols were colored bright with red, blue, and green and orange. 

Each god or goddess was improvised with a special ornament or personal 


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