During the winter months, as the sun sinks below the cityscape and the dark night of Amavasya gets nearer, some stay awake, trying to build a living out of clay in a world that is on its way to becoming a concrete jungle. The following day, shops are set up, buyers arrive, and bargaining over the value of their time begins. Diyas are almost synonymous with Diwali, as Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word Deepavali, with ‘deep’ meaning diya and ‘awali’ meaning row. There are several myths surrounding the lighting of clay diyas. On the day of Diwali, the Hindu deity Lord Rama, having vanquished Ravana and served 14 years in exile, returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya. The people of Ayodhya paved the entire route, passing through the hamlet and up to the palace with Diyas so that his entourage could easily find their way home. The lamps also represented his victory over evil and the victory of all that is good.
Another purpose is to honor Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, as lighting a diya represents the triumph of knowledge over ignorance, light over darkness, and good over evil. According to Hindu mythology, each component of the Diya is supposed to represent a goddess: Lakshmi is represented by the oil or ghee, Saraswati by the flame’s brightness, and Durga by the flame’s heat. Another reason why people light thousands of diyas around the country is because Diwali falls on Amavasya, the new moon day, which is entirely dark.
Image Courtesy: Orissa Post
The illumination and making of these diyas therefore is not just a process, nor is it just a craft, but an Indian ritual. Some communities have dedicated their whole life to understanding the diya-making process, its value to society, and the surrounding customs. The kind of lamps commonly used during Diwali are small clay pots known as ‘thumb pots’ because they are produced by pushing the thumb into a ball of clay and shaping it. They are subsequently baked in a kiln until they are ‘bisque’ warmed, firm, and appropriate for painting.
Traditionally, clay diya lamps are painted with colorful ground ingredients like turmeric using fingertips rather than paint brushes. This is due to the fact that our fingers represent the Panchatatva (the five elements). Because water makes up so much of the human body, the procedure of painting the Diya should begin with the ring finger, then Ishtar, which belongs to water. The work becomes calmer when you deal with the water element first, starting with this finger. The color was consistently applied in a clockwise manner. Next clay diya makers would employ their thumb, angushchya which represents the sky. The first finger or pointer, tharjani, which represents the wind or air, came next. The little finger must be used last to express gratitude to Mother soil for utilizing her. Because materials like metal, wood, and clay can deteriorate if heated after being exposed to water, traditional Diya painters would never paint with the middle finger (fire) right after the ring finger (water). In a sense, they would “dry” the Diya before applying “fire” by using a different finger, such as the thumb and first finger, which stand for the sky and air.
The significance and power of the diya comes from these customs, and is currently waning as people replace the traditional earthen oil lamp with electric light strings, floating candles, and scented wax lights for Diwali. For the traditional diya makers, who have dedicated their lives to assimilating the wisdom of successive generations, the national festival of happiness turns into a woeful time as their means of subsistence diminishes. Let’s examine a few of these communities to see how their way of life gives diya its gravity.
Uttam Nagar
Making earthen Diyas and Pots ahead of Diwali in Hyderabad. Photo: Anand Dharmana via Telengana Today
In Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, in the maze-like Kumhar Gram, or potter’s colony, over seven hundred households toil diligently to make Diwali bright. Since the community moved from Alwar to the urban enclave of Uttam Nagar in the late 1960s in an effort to fight unemployment and poverty, the colony has been home to its potters.
In the narrow lanes branching off from the main road, far from the colorful kiosks and stores, every home has heaps of clay dumped in front of it. The clay- Kaali mitti, laal mitti, china mitti- is usually sourced from Haryana. Via sifting, pebbles and dust particles are taken out to start the diya-making process. Water is carefully mixed into the clay after the impurities are eliminated, changing its rough texture into one that is more malleable. The clay is then spread in a pit called Chowkri and left there for a day to increase its strength.
Clay is shaped either using the potter’s wheel, using hands or with the help of molds called dye. The terracotta usually takes a few days to dry. The product is baked in kilns or bhattis once it has dried. In the bhatti, the pots and lamps are placed in a piling manner, inverted with small ones on top of big ones. To fuel these kilns and get the necessary temperature, sawdust or buradda is most frequently utilized. The pots take 4 to 5 hours to complete at temperatures higher than 800 degrees.
The last stage consists of several phases of detailing, which are typically completed by hand or coloring. After being painted and designed, the products are allowed to dry again. Designs of diya manufacturers of Uttam Nagar are inspired by the rich tapestry of Rajasthan’s culture.
Dharavi
Kumbharwada, which means “potter’s colony,” was one of the first communities in Dharavi, Mumbai, established in the second part of the nineteenth century by migrants from Saurashtra, Gujarat. In the little spaces between their homes, clay art makers throw fire pots of all shapes and sizes, from thumb diya candles to giant ornate vases.
Image Source : hilotherm
The potters, who had previously made their home near Mumbai’s southernmost point, were relocated to the city’s northern periphery by the city’s municipal authorities in the 1800s. They were considered a nuisance in the affluent portions of town because of the smoke from their kilns. Dharavi was a no-man’s land between two railway lines when they arrived, with a few villages scattered about that have subsequently grown into a single, sizable settlement.
Kumbharwada consists of five lanes with a dense concentration of homes and workshops surrounding the more than 120 kilns used by diya manufacturers that dot the area. The majority of the structures in this area are tool-house typologies, having residential space above and workshops on the ground floor.
Unlike Uttam Nagar, Dharavi obtains its red clay from the Western Ghats of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and mud from Mumbra, Kalwa, and Vihar. Instead of sawdust, fabric scraps from the local textile sector are put into and lit in a fire pit at the bottom of the kiln. This creates an unpleasant haze that clogs the roadways and causes black soot to coat the dwellings.
Dakshindari
Like in Dharavi, potters in Kolkata were evicted about eight years ago and relocated to a suburb named Dakshindari, which is nestled between Ultadanga and Lake Town. This was a component of the city’s effort to lessen pollution. An estimated more than 500 households in this area are engaged in Mrittshilpa, pottery art, and designing of diyas, showpieces, and idols with the help of matir chaka, and mud wheel. Due to transportation issues, clay that was previously collected from the ghats of Kumartuli and Baghbazar cannot be obtained, which has had a severe impact on the art.
This is the story of the Potters Colony of various parts of India. Generations of hard work are rewarded with paltry coins, with potters getting no more than Rs 2 profit for each output. The potters in Dakshindari charge just Rs 300 for a bag of 1,000 diyas, however, despite this low cost, the use of diya has been declining on the graph year after year. The makers of diyas are facing uncertain times due to escalating expenses, competition from Chinese imitations, and legal disputes about their kilns. Long hours and pitiful earnings point to a dismal future for this wonderful craft. Parents who would prefer that their children obtain more steady employment further contribute to the younger generation’s sense of alienation from the community. How long will the furnace burn, is the question.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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