“Slowly, slowly; it’s like writing with a pen,” instructs potter K. Arjunan, his hands guiding mine over the spinning mound of smooth clay on the potter’s wheel. It feels like a breathing creature that responds to every turn of the wheel. We watch in fascination as the clay takes shape. “Slightly press the edges with two fingers,” he adds. And just like that, a lamp emerges from the brown mass. It’s nowhere near the perfectly-crafted ones that Arjunan makes, but he’s appreciative. “Yours is unique,” he says. In fact, every exhibit at Tre Organic Farmers Market’s (OFM) terracotta exhibition ‘Bringing Mud Back’ — be it a mud plate, a mug or an ornate lamp — was unique in its own way.
“The exhibition was organised for the potters,” says Rekha Ramu, who’s part of OFM. “The next four months will be tough on them. The rains will make it difficult for them to work.” The exhibition was a platform for the potters to showcase their work and network with the city folk.
K. Arasu from Selaiyur had brought an interesting range of cookware. He runs Mayan Arts and Potteries, and was happy that the visitors showed interest in learning about their roots. “Our ancestors used mud pots for cooking and storage and led a healthy life,” he says. “There is a tangible difference between food stored in a mud pot and plastic or metal containers.” The panagam served at the food stalls proved this. Stored in a mud pot and served in mud tumblers, the drink was deliciously cold, laced with the organic fragrance of mud.
“We need the sun to dry our ware and bake them in the kiln,” says Alladi Mahadevan. He is from the village of Cheranmadevi in Tirunelveli, where there are less than 150 practising potters. “Some 10 years ago, there were over 3,000 of them.” But he was hopeful that his gardening, composting, decorative and cooking pots would find takers in the city.
While the terracotta stalls made brisk business, hot organic bondas were being downed by the plateful. Then there were terracotta jewellery-making and composting demonstrations happening alongside. But it was Arjunan who drew most of the crowd. The man patiently guided one person after the other at his potter’s wheel — he can make over 200 lamps in under an hour.
The two-day event, which took place over the weekend, generated zero-waste, according to the organisers. For details on OFM, visit www.ofmtn.in
