Introduction

ifjp; Introduction dqEgkjh dyk dk vkfo"dkj bfrgkl esa èkjrh ij The invention of pottery is the next revolution ekuo vorj.k ds ckn dh gh Økafr gS bls {ks=h; ,oa lkaL— in history after man’s appearance on earth. It is frd dyk ds lcls ewrZ ,oa vuqlkadsfrd rRoksa esa ls ,d considered as one of the most tangible and iconic ekuk x;k gSA bl dyk dk tUe lkekU;r% LFkkbZ thou elements of regional and cultural art. The occurrence of pottery is generally attributed to the beginning ds vkjEHk ls gh ekuk x;k gSA dqEgkjh ijaijk dks dsoy of settled life. It is considered to be an important çkphu laL—fr;ksa dh vofèk tkuus ds fy, gh ugÈ index not only to date the ancient cultures but vfirq mudk rknkRe; LFkkfir djus ds mís'; ls also to identify them. Therefore, the study of Hkh egRoiw.kZ :i esa Lohdkjk x;k gSA vr% ;qxksa pottery through the ages is considered to be an ls gh dqEgkjh dyk dk vè;;u çkphu laL—fr;ksa essential requirement to identify, understand dks igpkuus] mUgsa le>us ,oa mudh fo'ks"krkvksa and characterise the ancient civilizations. dks mtkxj djus ds fy, vfr vko';d ekuk In Indian-Subcontinent, early evidences of pottery making are noticed at Mehrgarh x;k gSA Hkkjrh; miegk}hi esa e`nHkkaM fuekZ.k (Neolithic) nearly about 8,000 BCE while ds lk{; yxHkx 8000 bZlk iwoZ esgjx<+ ¼uo culturally, the Vindhyan region has yielded ik"kk.k ;qxhu½ esa ns[ks x,A c?kkbZ[kksj ¼mÙkj çns'k the ceramic remains belonging to Mesolithic ds fetkZiqj ftys½ ,oa ya?kukt ¼xqtjkr ds esgjkuk period reported from BaghaiKhor (Dt. Mirzapur, ftys½ dh lwpuk vuqlkj Çoè;ka {ks= esa eè; ik"k.k U.P) and Langhnaj (Dt. Mahesana, Gujarat) small ;qxhu fljsfed ds va'k ,oa NksVs VqdM+s ik, x, tks iw.kZr% bits and pieces being found which are evidences of gLr fuÆer e`n HkkaMks ds lk{; gSaA blds vfrfjä ¼uo entirely handmade pottery. Besides this, pottery has ik"k.k ls eè;dkyhu ;qx rd½ fofHkUu lkaL—frd Lrjksa ij been excavated from various archaeological sites from different cultural levels (Neolithic to medieval period). iqjkrkfRod LFkyksa ls [kqnkbZ ds nkSjku Hkh e`n~HkkaM çkIr gq,A The pottery making tradition is still continuing in e`n~HkkaM cukus dh ijEijk,a Hkkjr esa vkt Hkh tkjh gSaA India. The potters of different areas are practising the inherited fofHkUu {ks=ksa ds dqEgkj muds iwoZtksa }kjk çnku fd;s x, iSr`d dkS'ky skills of their ancestors. In last three decades, ethnographical dk ç;ksx bl fn'kk esa dj jgs gSaA fiNys dbZ n'kdksa esa ekuo tkrh; and ethno-archaeological researches have been conducted in ,oa ekuo iqjkrkfRod vuqlaèkku ns'k ds dbZ fgLlksa esa fd;s x, gSaA bu various parts of the country. In these studies, the researchers are vè;;uksa esa 'kksèkdrkZ bfrgkl ls orZeku rd bl rduhd esa vk;s ifjorZuksa trying to identify the changes that occur from the past to present times dks tkuus dk ç;kl dj jgs gSaA ;g Hkh voyksdu esa ik;k x;k gS fd ijaijkxr in the form of technology. It is also noticed that the traditional technology like hand beaten, wheel thrown, moulding over an old pot and many ways VSDuksyksth tSls feVVh dks gkFk ls vkdkj nsuk] pkd }kjk rS;kj djuk] iqjkus ik= of hand modelling like coiled method, slab pattern and a combination of both dks uokdj nsuk ,oa gLr çfr:i.k ds dbZ rjhdksa tSls dksbYM eSFkM ¼dq.Mfyuh fofèk½] wheel turned and hand beaten, still survive in some of the parts particularly in LySc iSVuZ ,oa pkd rFkk gkFk dk fefJr :i vkt Hkh Hkkjr ds dbZ LFkkuksa fo'ks"kr% rural areas where demand is almost same as compared to the past. xzkeh.k {ks=ksa esa tgk¡ ekax rqyukRed :i ls igys dh rjg gh gS] mi;ksx esa yk;s tk jgs This open air exhibition is entirely an outcome of pottery and terracotta gSaA workshops organized by IGRMS in the last 10 years. In different phases, potters ;g eqäkdk'k çn'kZuh iw.kZr% ba-xk¡-jk-ek-la }kjk fiNys nl o"kksZ esa vk;ksftr dqEgkjh from different parts of India were invited to IGRMS and asked to present their skill ,oa VsjkdksVk dk;Z'kkykvksa dk gh fupksM+ gA Hkkjr ds dbZ LFkkuksa ls dqEgkjksa dks fofHkUu and make traditional pottery and terracotta which are now part of an open-air exhibition “Kumhar Para” (potters village). Data is collected from primary sources iM+koksa esa vkeaf=r fd;k x;k ftUgksaus vius dqEgkjh dkS'ky ds çn'kZu ds lkFk ikjaifjd through direct interviews of potters and audio-visual documentation of pottery e`n~HkkaM ,oa VsjkdksVk vk—fr;k¡ tks vc eqäkdk'k çn'kZuh ÞdqEgkj ikjkÞ esa 'kksHkk ik jgs making processes. gSa] dk fuekZ.k Hkh fd;kA The present Exhibition endeavours to give a brief ethnographic account of çLrqr çn'kZuh Hkkjr ds fofHkUu {ks=ksa fo'ks"kr% vle] xqtjkr] y)k[k] pottery traditions of different parts of India specifically Assam, Gujarat, Ladakh, tEew&d'ehj] ef.kiqj] vksfM'kk] rfeyukMq ,oa if'pe caxky dh dqEgkjh ijEijkvksa Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. It explains dks ekuofoKkuh; :i esa çdkf'kr djus dk ç;kl djrh gSA ;s leqnk;] about the community i.e. population of people involved in pottery; dqEgkjh dyk esa yxs yksxksa dh tul¡[;k] muls tqM+s lkekftd & vkÆFkd their associated socio-economic facets, transfer of the traditional igyqvksa] ikjaifjd Kku iífr dk gLrkarj.k] ekU;rk,a] vuq"Bku] knowledge system, beliefs, rituals and technique of production and their consumption in terms of continuing tradition. mRiknu dh rduhd ,oa ijEijkvksa dh vfojyrk esa buds mi;ksx dks vfHkO;ä djrh gSA Open Air Exhibition KUMHAR PARA : Pottery Traditions of India xksMkjh iBsjk GODARI PATHERA leqnk;% xksaM Community: Gond {ks=% ÇMMksjh ,oa eaMyk Area: Dindori, Mandla jkT;% eè; çns'k State: Madhya Pradesh eè; çns'k ds ÇMMksjh ,oa eaMyk Godari Pathera is a unique ftys ds xksaM dykdjksa }kjk feVVh] structure designed by the ?kkl ,oa ckal ls rS;kj fd;k x;k Gond clay/mud artists of xksMkjh iBsjk ,d vuwBh lajpuk Dindori and Mandla districts gSA cM+h gksf'k;kjh ds lkFk rS;kj dh of Madhya Pradesh using clay, x;h çn'kZuh dk ços'k }kj vkfnoklh bamboo, and grass. Profoundly leqnk; ds okLrqf'kYi] lkSUn;Zijdrk designed, this entrance of the exhibition is an example of the ,oa dykdkjh dk ,d mngkj.k gSA eq[; architectural, aesthetic and artistic lajpuk ,d 'kSMM ços'k }kj ds :i esa rS;kj sense of the tribals. The main structure dh x;h gS ftlds nksuksa vksj Hk.Mkj.k ds cM+s has been designed as a shaded gate, fMCcs j[kus ds fy, nks NksVs NksVs Hkkx cuk;s having two relatively small sections on x, gSaA both sides with big grain bins inside. fofHkUu çdkj ds vuktks ds Hk.Mkj.k ds fy, Multiple sections for storage of various xksMkjh esa dbZ fgLls gksuk bls vnHkqr cukus ds lkFk vU; items is the unique feature of Godari which ik=ksa ls vyx cukrk gSA vukt ,oa èkku ds vfrfjä distinguishes it from other usual grain-bins. Besides pkoy] dksMks] dqVdh] laok bR;kfn ds lkFk vU; dbZ oLrq,a grain and cereals, rice, kodo, kutki, sanwa, etc. and tSls ngh] NkN] gafl;k] dqYgkM+h] c<bZ] jktfxjh ,oa —f"k many other items like curd, buttermilk sickles, axe, small carpentry tools, masonry and agricultural tools ds NksVs midj.k xksMkjh ds fofHkUu Hkkx tks mudh ç—fr are also kept in a different section of Godari specially ,oa vkdkj vuqlkj cuk;s tkrs gSa] esa HkaMkfjr fd;k tkrk designed for them which is suitable to their shape gSAtsojkr xksMkjh ds fupys fgLls tcfd ued vUnj dh and size. Jewellery and currency are also kept under vksj cus fgLls esa j[kk tkrk gSA iBsjk dk mi;ksx nhi Godari along with salt. ‘Pathera’ is used for lamps ,oa fpeuh dk mi;ksx dsjksflu nhi ds fy, fd;k and ‘Chimani’ for kerosene lamps. Chimani or tkrk gSA fpeuh vFkok ckrh dks jkrekbZ vFkok wick of the lamp is considered as Raatmai eqYdjh nsoh tks ?kj dks cqjh phtks ls cpkrh gSa] or Mulkuri Devi, protecting inhabitants dk çrhd ekuk tkrk gSA xksMkjh iBsjk of the house from the dark. Godari dks fMxuk vk—fr;ksa ls ltk;k Pathera is decorated with tkrk gSA ‘Dhigna’ motifs. Open Air Exhibition KUMHAR PARA : Pottery Traditions of India dqeSbZ 'käd Qwjksu KUMHEI SHAKTAK PHURON ¼mRloh dqaHk LraHk½ (Festive Tower of Pots) leqnk;&eSr;h Community: Meitei {ks=&,aMªks xkao] Area: Andro Village ftyk iwoÊ baQky] District: Imphal East jkT;&ef.kiqj State: Manipur dqeSbZ 'käd Qqjksu uke dk The tower of pots, named ;g dqaHk LraHk ¼mRloh dqaHk LraHk½ as the Kumhei Shaktak Phuron (festive tower of pots) ef.kiqj ds ,aMªks xkao ds dqEgkjksa comes from the Andro potter's }kjk rS;kj fd;k x;k gSA bl xkao esa village of Manipur. Pottery craft e`nHkkaM cukus dk ;g dk;Z dsoy fookfgr in this village is practiced only by efgykvksa }kjk gh fd;k tkrk gSA ;s fofHkUu married women and they endorse lkekftd foÜoklksa ,oa fjfr&fjoktksa dk leFkZu discrete social belief and practices, breaching of which is a serious offense.

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