On a pottery tour to Khurja

Will Khurja really become a tourist destination for pottery enthusiasts?

Our journey from Delhi to Khurja begins at the crack of dawn at sharp 5.30 am. I've managed to snatch a little sleep the previous night and a few hours later my photographer and I are sipping ginger tea at a roadside thela while watching the Delhi sunrise.

At 7.30 am, our journey begins in a comfortable coach and we are soon headed for a pottery tour organised by Foundation for Arts.

It is for the first time that the NGO has organised a tour on such a big scale. What's more, it hopes that with such tours it will be able to promote Khurja as a tourist destination for pottery enthusiasts like us.

Navina Jafa, president, Foundation for Arts, is with us, as well as a fairly large group of 30-40 people comprising expats working in different embassies, amateur potters from abroad, architects and interior decorators and others.

After a brief stop at Bulandshahar for breakfast, we look at some brick kilns, a reminder that we have stepped into the haven of potters. And even though there is enough excitement for us to take a look at pottery products, the place in itself disappoints. And especially if Foundation for Arts wants to promote it as a tourist spot.

"We want to take you home to the traditional potters," continues Jafa, as we make our way through narrow roads, fly-infested drains that lie uncovered and a strange stale smell that stands permanently in the air. Our first stop is at a school run by the Foundation. It's a makeshift classroom full of children ("thankfully we have been able to convince our friends in Khurja to send their girls for education," Jafa tells us) who dress fairly well but make use of old books.

The desks and chairs look uncomfortable too, and soon the children begin rattling off their aims and ambitions in life. This while some of the kids's fathers sit outside and create art while sitting behind the potter's wheel. "It looks a little stage-managed," says someone from the group, clearly an indication of people who want to meet potters and pick up some of their products.

The school, started at Zahir Ahmed's house (they are a joint family of 20 brothers including cousins), has the family's daughters pitching in as teachers at the school. With 10-12 people working as potters in the house, Zahir says they usually create 100-150 pieces every day.

These include bowls, plates, platters, dinner sets, vases, tea sets, mugs and much more. A majority of these are supplied to caterers in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Allahabad and Mumbai besides other places.

"We could bring out much more on a daily basis, but the government needs to support us," he says. The support, he elaborates, will be possible if the government decides to grant them Rs 10-12 lakh for double trolley kilns. The kiln Zahir uses currently gurgles 500 litres of diesel. "A double trolley will use 600 litres but we can bring out thrice the number of products," he says.

And though we hear that the government has already sanctioned Rs 60 lakh for the Foundation to help potters in Khurja, it will a) be given in installments and b) will take a long time, what with formalities to be completed before it can reach the potters.

"Our aim is to make sure that the traditional pottery of Khurja doesn't wither away," says Jafa. She mentions that a lot of potters and factories in the vicinity have begun using cheap China clay and the quality of pottery products is suffering immensely.

The "lead content" in Khurja pottery has, of late, come under scrutiny by a rising number of patrons. What's more, Jafa feels there is an urgent need to train potters to bring out products that will have cutting-edge designs and yet retain a traditional approach for the big city and expat customers.

Perhaps that's why a name like Anjolie Ela Menon has got associated with Khurja "" along with artists like Sanjay Bhattacharya and Satish Gujral, she joined hands with the Foundation two years ago.

Menon, if all goes well, says a source, might begin workshops with the potters and train them too. Jafa is tightlipped and doesn't divulge details but for the sake of traditional potters in Khurja, we hope it will be the beginning of an altogether new creation.