Chattogram's pottery items are exported worldwide

Pottery industry is one of the most common traditional items of Bengali culture which has been threatened to be extinct for the modern plastic items' availability.Locals said, in the round of time, pottery industry has lost its beauty.

Although in this modern era, human interest has been decreased to this industry, artists, associated with this industry are going to continue to fight for life to survive in this industry.

Some thousand of pottery artists of the soil live in several villages under sitakunda upazila . Without being compromise, many of them are doing this rich heritage job with love and care.

They said with local language, "A Wolf had eaten the days before! The old good day had come to an end long ago. Other businesses are unknown. Age is growing up. Something is to do for living. Being compelled, we are making earthen utensil that we had learnt from our forefathers."

They farther said, earthen materials like pitcher, pot, dishes, bowls, yogurt pots, bunch, flower vases, statues, bird, utensils, dolls, toys and other domestic materials behooved in every house in the country in the past.

The vassals made of clay were widespread appreciation to the people. But widespread use of these things has decreased in a large content due to touch of modernity. Though rural people are using these utensils are very little but in urban areas use of these vessels is almost extinct.

The artists see light of hope with it. They get good price of it. Overall these potters still see light of hope with these industries. Crisis of fund is the major problem for them. No government and private companies want to pay loan to them. This rich heritage industry is possible to save providing soft loan facilities to the potters.

The history of Bangladeshi pottery as an art form is an old one, dating as far back as the Mohenjodaro and Harappa civilisation. Some earthenware was found after the excavation of Mahasthangarh in Bogra (300 BC). In addition to that, the Paharpur and Mainamoti excavation sites yielded some truly exquisite pieces.

The terracotta art used in the Kantajee temple of Dinajpur is fascinating in terms of texture and quality. The 'Neelpadma' found in Lalmai Hills of Comilla is unparalleled. Some of these artefacts have been carefully preserved in museums.

Folk arts of these categories are now being used most tastefully in modern designs, and for decoration purposes in contemporary lifestyle. During the Mughal period, Rayer Bazar was famous for pottery and most of the potters were from this region. The famous "lalmati" (Red Clay) was available in this place in abundance.

As a result, the potters of Rayer Bazar have a long tradition of working with red clay. According to Dr. Wise, this place was known as "Kumartoli" in the Mughal period. However, times have changed significantly and today most of the manufacturers have moved to Dhamrai.

After long time, again I felt a deep interest about Rayer Bazar's clay stores. My friend Pias Mojid, also a well-known poet and resident of the area, accompanied me to re-discover the famous clay stores of the area.

In my observation, these are not exactly retail stores; they are wholesale entrepreneurs. I was really fascinated with their traditional style of storing clay pottery. We started walking in front of Akra Mandir. First we visited an open green, which was a private land. Here, we found a very unusual scenario.

While we are all used to plant pots and plates and Hari for halim, I have never seen such clay potteries stock in a beautiful setting. Kumars are experts in placing one pot over another neatly, and safely. They stack the hari upside down. Generally, we can see these stacked up to three feet. But this time, some really huge half-circular hari were nicely stacked.

Plant pots were displayed all around. The Rayer Bazar of today is dotted with multi-storeyed buildings. The green field we were in was also surrounded by multi storeyed buildings. I felt that this garden of clay would soon be enveloped by concrete too!

We took some quick snap shots and started walking. We visited some old stores full of many varieties of clay utensil. The most interesting part of the clay store is how they maintained their store. It is very amazing; they used to create different sections for different items. Caves of clay products are made of bamboo.

The crisscross bamboo partition separated one section's product from another. For creating additional storage space, they created mezzanine floor or Macha. So, the kumars have their own style of store management. We bought a beautiful clay plate for our Pahela Baishakh lunch. Clay jug, bowls, glass, vases are really attractive for table décor.

Pottery is now a commercial product. The combination of pottery and green plants can be effectively used to upgrade any interior décor. Glazed and unglazed khumbamatkas (water pots), figurines of birds and animals, and many other items are easily available almost anywhere such as the Shishu Academy, Mirpur Road, the Dhaka railway station, and are all made locally.

Bringing about a few simple, but dramatic changes to your interior décor does not require a lot of money. Locally manufactured earthenware, in tandem with plants and rocks, logs, or other natural accessories can spice up any corner, within a low budget.