Discover the Art of Pottery Making – Your Journey to Mastering the Craft

Traditional pottery in India, like the black pottery in Mirzapur, blue pottery in Jaipur, and earth-toned pottery in Pondicherry, isn’t just about preserving old techniques. It’s also a significant way for villages to make money and support their communities.

Book airfare from Canada to India and travel through a village, go shopping, and pick up that terracotta pot or vase. Remember that you are helping to keep these age-old traditions alive.

The Impact of Festival of India Series and Rise of Eco-Tourism Initiatives

In the 90s, the Festival of India series held abroad played a big role in bringing back and promoting many forgotten Indian handcrafting traditions. This led to a push for more eco-tourism initiatives across the country, with support from private entrepreneurs in the business and craft world. It also highlighted the importance of reviving, nurturing, and promoting some of India’s finest but endangered crafts. These crafts are practical and also showcase India’s creativity, traditional skills, and rural lifestyles. To meet modern needs, there is also a focus on design development, skill improvement, and marketing strategies for these beautiful products.

Jaipur Blue Pottery

It may surprise you to know that Jaipur, sometimes known as the “gridiron city,” became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in 2015 and was chosen as a “City of Crafts and Folk Arts.” A precious piece (or pieces) of the region-exclusive Jaipur Blue Pottery is a must-have souvenir to take home from your mad dashes to the best shops and attractions in Jaipur.

Explore the Jaipur Blue Pottery trip with Unusual Masters, where you will learn that this craft has Turko-Persian roots. Historical accounts indicate that Jaipur adopted blue pottery in the early 19th century, under Sawai Ram Singh II (1835–1880), after the Mughals introduced this form of ceramics to India. The Maharaja dispatched his craftsmen to Delhi to receive instruction in this art.

Sadly, by the 1950s, the skill of making blue pottery in Jaipur almost disappeared. But thanks to an artist named Kripal Singh Shekhawat and the help of supporters like Culture Czarina Kamladevi Chattopadhyaya and Rajmata Gayatri Devi, blue pottery came back to Jaipur. Blue Pottery is created using crushed quartz and sodium sulfate, and it can be found in various shades of blue. People often decorate it with flowers, arabesque, and animal patterns.

The Unique Process of Jaipur Blue Pottery

Jaipur Blue Pottery is made with a specific dough rather than clay, Unlike other pottery. To make this dough, combine Fuller’s Earth (Multani mitti) with water, gum, borax, quartz powder, crushed glass, & soda bicarbonate. The pottery pieces are quite fragile because they are low-fired and glazed. The main purpose of them is adornment. The vibrant blue hues that characterize the ceramics are what gave rise to the term “Blue Pottery”. Jaipur Blue Pottery is now protected being a Geographical Indication (GI) as a traditional skill in the region.

Hands-On Experience at the Jaipur Blue Pottery Factory

When you visit the factory, you will see the whole process of making blue pottery, including traditional designs now found in items like tea sets, cups and saucers, plates and glasses, jugs, ashtrays, and napkin rings. You can also meet the local artisans, for whom this craft is a crucial source of income. You can even try your hand at making blue pottery on the spinning wheel. And color it with an eye-catching blue hue. Don’t forget to check out the range of accessories like tiles, lampshades, and ashtrays for your home and office.

Madurai’s Traditional Village-Style Pottery Making

Check out Online Flight Tickets from Canada to Madurai and head to Madurai. It is one of the oldest cities in South India, to witness traditional Indian village-style pottery making. After exploring the city’s regal palaces and mansions, take a trip to a traditional potter’s village with Story Trails. In this quintessential Indian village, you will see skilled artisans shaping humble clay into divine figures, preserving their ancestral techniques. Observe as they carefully fire hundreds of dolls and delicately paint the terracotta, adding a rosy glow to their cheeks. Don’t miss the vibrant terracotta horses at the local Ayyanar temple, a unique tradition in these parts. These horses, often mounted by fierce riders, hold deep symbolic significance and are integral to the rural landscape in Tamil Nadu.

Ayyanar is a respected hero in Tamil village stories. People think of him as a strong warrior who rides horses, holds a trident, and keeps the villagers safe from scary creatures. Watch for these clay horses; people give them as gifts to bring good rain and a lot of crops. You’ll find them in different sizes, from tiny statues to big, brightly painted horses.

Kolkata’s Kumartuli

Affordable flights from Canada to Kolkata allow you to discover another unique pottery tradition that has evolved over the years in Kolkata. Located near the Flower Market and the boatmen community, you will find Kumartuli, home to the Potter community. If you visit around the time of Durga Puja, join Calcutta Walks’ ‘Bringing the Goddess to Earth: Flower Market to Kumartuli- Life by the River Walk’ to witness the magical process of transforming clay into the magnificent image of the Goddess Durga – the revered deity of the city and the central figure of the Durga Puja celebrations. Immerse yourself in the city’s culture, heritage, and history during the festival. Join the locals on a pandal-hopping spree to witness the enthusiastic worship of these beautifully adorned Durga statues across the city.

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