In my last post I had mentioned about my visit to Saidpur village, on the outskirts of Islamabad. I had also mentioned about my encounter with Rahim Dad, the potter of Saidpur. The village has had a pottery making tradition for generations. However, only two potters continue to carry on making clay pottery in the village today. One of them is Rahim Dad. Their children have taken to more ‘fashionable’ occupations such as taxi drivers etc.
Rahim Dad had taken me to his workshop and demonstrated to me how he made a piece of pottery on the potter’s wheel.
Making clay pottery is one of the oldest occupations of mankind; and the potter’s wheel is probably one of its earliest inventions.
The ancient man, when he needed to make a piece of pottery, would probably take a lump of wet clay and punch a cavity in it with his fist to turn it into a cup or a bowl. To make a bigger pot he probably pulled the wet clay into a rope and then coiled it up into shape. In the words, the potter had to move around the pot while making it.
By around 3000 BC people had begun to use the potter’s wheel. This was a little turntable made of wood. You placed the lump of kneaded and moist clay in the middle of the turntable on a little hub and then, rotating the table with one hand, you shaped the pot with the other hand. In other words, the potter sat still and did not have to move around the pot as earlier. This produced better-finished pottery but the process was still slow and tedious.
By about 2000 BC they managed to increase the speed of the potter’s wheel by attaching, with an axle, a sort of flywheel beneath the turntable. The potter, while seated at the turntable, kicked the flywheel into motion with his foot, which would then move the turntable at a higher speed. While the turntable was in motion the potter, using both his hands, would mold the pot and pull it out into the desired shape. This way the production became faster and it also produced finer pottery.
The contraption that Rahim Dad used was probably not much different than they used 2000 years ago, but he seemed to work effortlessly and produced a nice piece of pottery in no time.
Among the various pottery pieces carelessly scattered around his workshop were small water pitchers called gharrolis, traditional oil lamps (diyas) and what I would call candle pots. These are beautifully embellished conical pots with star shaped holes in them. When you place a lighted candle in them the light filters out of the holes casting beautiful shadows on the floor or the wall. I purchased two of these for rupees 50 each (less than a US dollar!). That has been his price for the last 10 years, Rahim Dad said. (No wonder, his kids have opted for other occupations.)
While watching the white-haired Rahim Dad turn a lump of clay into a beautiful piece of pottery in front of my eyes with such ease and speed, I couldn’t help but wonder if God had created man also on a Potter’s wheel.
As is evident, it is the passion that makes Artists (artisans?) like Rahim Dad tick. There is no money as his children have rightly discovered and found their livelihood elsewhere.
Even such an exquisite piece of pottery would not bring food to the table.
We patronisingly praise these creations and then walk away. I hate walking on a carpet after seeing the artistry, effort and energy that went into its creation - every bit a painting that we hang and adore, never to walk on.
prof. Najam comment makes me think of issue in a new way. Had never thought of craftsman as creative but you are very right.
well, i visited a crafts store at Hala, last year and saw workers working in dying hot summer.. Hope I had a camera at that time..
Interesting story on potters in Saidpur in The News:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=105893
I guess you have put Saidpur potters on the map
Mast Qalander
Aiy kooza-gar !bana to zara, ik but-e-ayyar,
bana to aisa bana, jab giray, tootnay keliay
Sanam-kadey ki riwayet ka pass rakh lena,
Ibadaton pay wo ataiy hein yun sanam keliay
Rafay kashmiri
I, too, am awed by the creative process of the craftsman. To take a lump of clay and to craft out of that an artifact of beauty as well as of utility is, indeed, masterful. Indeed, one has to wonder about teh tinge of divinity in this process of putting life into the lifeless!
I have always been in awe of the talents of those who can do so. Of those who can look at barren land and till it and work it so that food can grow out of it. Of those who can take a piece of wood and work in into a piece of furniture. Of those who can look at barren canvas and make it bloom with color and vibrance.
What the farmer, the artisan, the craftsman do is indeed grand and worthy of our respect. It certainly belittles what folks like me do.
excellent photo series. The creative process is awesome.
Again a beautiful post. Congratulations.
The wheel itself was invented and used in chariots and other moving vehicles. So, the axle was already there. A wheel without an axle will be simply a circular disk. These wheels were used in vertical (to earth’s surface) positions and the genius of the potters is to use it in horizontal position. The wheel is indeed an invention. Should we consider that the use of the same wheel in a different form than that of its origin is also an invention?