Pot For Pongal

Mud bins are loaded up in the top side room. Smaller mud bins rest in the verandah. At the the front of the home, there are more bins and bins of several styles, together with mud ranges and colorful clay-based toys used to pursuit away wicked mood.

“These are just examples,” describes A.Ponnusamy.

“I can make items on obtain.” The 70-year-old knitter from Irugur is positive, for it's that period when enterprise grows. “I do fast enterprise on Pongal, maattu Pongal and uzhavar thirunaal,” he says.

They are a category of potters. Ponnusamy discovered his trade from his dad Akkayya Chettiar 50 decades ago. “My grandmother qualified my dad,” he says. Their household was well-known in Irugur for the bins they created.

Good earth

“There were about 20 knitter household members in the area. Those times, we would fill our bullock-carts with clay and trip to the Singanallur sandhai. Work staff would head straight to us after 4 p.m. Our products would be available out in two hours. During the Pongal period, we available bins like hot desserts — a client would buy over ten bins.”

Potters were an prosperous lot those times, says Ponnusamy. “The soil was genuine, back then,” he joy. “There was a hand field in Irugur from where we got such flexible clay-based. It was like kalkandu!” People would come from far-off towns to buy from the potters of Irugur.

“Each household had its own set of regular customers who were like household. Sympathetic customers would offer us large servings of their reap. They also provided us free use from their cattle.”

And when there was a marriage in town, potters rejoiced. “We got volume obtain placed during the period. We created huge bins to shop panagam and butter use at the mandapam. Groups of the couple also purchased ‘saalunkaragam', an understanding of bins of various styles loaded in climbing obtain. We coloured them using exotic juice and brownish-red soil. The marriage would come the past evening to gather the saalunkaragam to the complement of mela thalam,” he product recalls.

Edged out

But life became less wonderful as decades shifted on — clay started to lose out to precious metal boats.

“We do not get excellent clay-based nowadays. Sometimes, we take clay-based from the Sulur container when it cures up. But with effluents damaging its ocean, the quality of clay-based has experienced,” rues Ponnusamy.

Today, Irugur has only three or four household members involved in ceramic. “Everyone else has shifted on to other businesses,” says Ponnusamy.

But he has trapped to it — he still makes bins in a kiln before side of his home. “I form the bins, let them out to dry for a day and get the kiln ready.”

The bins are organized inside the kiln in the evening and are let to make until beginning.

Ponnusamy says that food baked using clay is excellent for health.

“The ailments we notice of these days didn't are available in the past. We used mud bins for everything. They are strong too; they need to be managed with care, that's all. I've been using the same clay-based tub to shop water for 45 decades. Materials such as precious metal and metal can liquefy, whereas clay-based cannot. Isn't that a excellent enough reason to use earthenware?”

It's on events such as Pongal and Karthigai Deepam that potters like him do excellent enterprise.

As we talk, a client obtain placed four medium-sized bins. Ponnusamy nicely packages them in a bag. “It won't separate,” he guarantees the client as he places the bag on his motorbike.

“Ride a little slowly, the road can get difficult,” he calls out after him. “It won't separate,” he repeat, viewing the man until be changes a part.