Rains dash hopes of potters

Tirupati: Potters wait for the whole year to make clay lamps (Diyas) for Deepavali in a traditional form. The whole family of a potter involves in the work for nearly 20 days. Fighting against all odds in the changing scenario which make their products outdated, they look for every opportunity to earn some money to make their ends meet. But this year, heavy rains dampened the spirits of potters in pilgrim city.

• Ten families in pilgrim city are involved in making of traditional diyas
• Potters say they are facing stiff competition from modern diyas

The potters, who were mainly located in Salivahana Nagar, were seen in desperation on Monday as incessant rain hits their work. Their work normally starts at least 10 days prior to Deepavali with making of traditional diyas which people buy in large numbers. But, this year, the monsoon was so vigorous almost from the beginning of the month which hit their plans. In Salivahana Nagar, there are at least 10 families involved in pottery.

A traditional diya maker Saraswathamma told The Hans India that no one never comes to their rescue and they were facing severe hardships even to get the raw material. It has to be brought from faraway places which involves huge costs. The demand for pots and other products was totally hit by electrical appliances. This year, making of lamps was also badly hit, she said. One potter wheel can make around 2,000 diyas per day under normal conditions. They sell each normal size lamp to the retail buyers at Rs 2 to 3. It will cost even more in the market.

It involves hard work and requires many hands in the family. The potter will take every care from procuring clay to firing the finished product. They mix the clay to make the required raw material for diya. But, continuous rains have washed out their clay. They were saying that the weather was not at all cooperating. The forecast also shows that there were heavy rains for the next three to four days. By that time, Deepavali will be over.

It was almost certain that this year Deepavali brings us darkness with rains eating away our business said a potter Suma. She said that they keep high spirits on Deepavali every year. But, this year they were dampened. They were also getting huge competition with modern diyas, which people who were not potters by profession, import from other places and sell.

As they attract the customers with their designs and shapes, they will have high demand. They come places like Chennai and Rajasthan. Depending on the size and design, the price of modern lamps varies between Rs 1 to Rs 250, said Kalavathi, a seller on AIR Bypass Road. But, some people only prefer traditional lamps still and will go to Salivahana Nagar, popularly known as Kummari Thopu, in search of them.