Proud to be a POTTER

Proud to be a potter- Says Shivaraman

Shivaraman feels superior to introduce himself as a potter. For years he and his family member’s works with fulfilled passion in making pottery and coloring them. He belongs to a family of potters. He considers his father as his master who trained him in pottery making.  

Mr. Shiva believes, it’s the duty of every individual to take equal responsibility in making the clay mixture. Further he explains about the pottery making; he says,’ we mix a range of clay varieties to get the proper homogenous mud used in pottery. At least for two days we let it to dry and then paint them with enormous colors to make it look brighter. 

Discussing about the sales, he said Pongal is the period for vigorous sales. Nowadays, the sales have come down by more than 80 per cent and hardly sell hundred pots every day. At the beginning the sale was comparatively better than now. I make around 50% more profit during Pongal season than the rest of the year. With whatever little I earned, I have successfully brought up my two daughters.

He also added that his aim is to sell his work to different parts of the country and also feels very proud to say that he helps to develop ‘Self help groups’. He, his wife Lakshmi and their two daughters trains women to make pottery of different designs and sometimes with decors. Around 60 women are working with him and recently they took initiative to exhibit these mud pots in the ‘Mother Teresa complex’.

“I am very glad to work with Shiva Anna and his family; they helped me a lot building my career. I realized Pot making requires expertise as the bottom has to be perfectly round. The circumference of the pot and the neck should be proportionate so that the pot sits on flat ground. Initially it was very difficult for me to learn all this but later I learnt with perfection.” Says, Vaishnavi.R (35) member of SHG. 

However, Mr. Shiva believes that this tradition won’t  fade with time and even his next  generation will work with all love and passion.