Handmade in India

SURAHI-POTTERY
THE KUMBHARS,OR potters,of jhajjar
specialize in slim-necked
pitchers,surahi,which are made from a
combinatin of thrown and moulded
parts.Entire families participate in the
craft process,beginning with the
preparation of the clay by the women
and the children.
The wheel-thrown surahi necks are made by the men.To create the
containers,clay is rolled and stretched over an upturned port and then
pressed into hemispherical terracotta dies engraved with patterns.After
these hemispherical segments are somewhat dryd,they are joined together
with wet clay and left to dry in the shade.The clay shrinks,leaving the
surface of the dies and the spouts,necks and handles are attached by the
women.The surahis are dipped in a slip made of banni and sunaihri, the red
and yellow clays,and dried before they are fired in mud kilns.
Various dies-pressed patterns.
Users claim that water stored in these surahis
acquired a unique taste,probably due to the quality of
the clay available in this low lying area.The surahi is
essentially an islamic form; this factor, combined
with jhajjar`s position within the subah,province,of
Delhi during Mughal times,suggests that the craft
might have come into existence through local
craftsmen who were catering to specifications of the
Muslim community.The earliest surahi however,were
unembellished and fully thrown;the craft as it exists
today is an indigenous adaption.Pot,diya,golak and
kulhar are also formed through throwing,the water
pots serve to keep the water cool and are also used as
vessels for Hindu rituals in kuan pujan,as well as
during birth and death ceremonies.
Inset A bowl with a lid, the patterns on its surface are
die-pressed.
Production Clusters
Jhajjar district:
Chawani Mohalla
Jhajjar town:
Bahadurgarh
Faridabad district:
Faridabad
Products
Surahi-pitcher
Matka-wate pot
Rakab-shallow bowl
Kadhawani-pot for
boiling milk
Jamawani-Pot for
setting curds
Grains storage pots
Flower pots
Golak-coin bank
Diya-lamp
Figures
Sanjhi figures
Tools
Potters` wheel
Thappa - dies
Pindi-knob-shaped
tool
Khuria-scraper
1 A die-pressed hemisphere such as
this,is joined with another similar
one to form the belly of the surahi
form.
2 Coin Bank
3a, 3b New surahi forms being
developed by the potters.
4 A larger variation of the original
surahi form,these sport a gargoyleheaded
spout and a handle to
facilitate pouring.
5 The traditional surahi,small and
characterized by its long neck, which
is heldd in grip while water is being
poured.
6 A potter throws a closed
form,perhaps intended to be used as a
coin bank.
7 Stacked kulhads,clay tumblers.