As the auspicious festival of Diwali approaches, the renowned pottery village of Thikarda in Bundi district has immersed itself entirely in preparations for Deepotsav. While the city displays modern decorations and markets overflow with colorful Chinese lights, far away from this glare, artisans in Thikarda village are shaping raw clay into traditional forms. The lamps created here not only preserve our centuries-old heritage but also serve as a symbol of struggle and hope for better earnings among local families.
Families Toil Day and Night on Wheels
Around 25 to 30 families living in the Thikarda pottery village are putting in immense effort with high hopes during this festive season. Waking up before sunrise and continuing late into the night, entire families remain occupied with pottery work. The male heads of the families operate the potter's wheels to craft lamps and earthen pots, while elderly women and other members decorate them with traditional carvings and motifs. Hiralal Prajapat, an elderly artisan, shares that multiple generations of his family have spent their lives spinning this wheel, and they jump straight into work as soon as the monsoon ends after waiting all year.
Heavy Demand from Karwa Chauth to Deepotsav
According to the artisans, the demand for clay utensils and lamps surges significantly during the festive season. Traditional lamps, pots, worship pitchers, special Karwa Chauth vessels, and decorative flower vases are crafted on the wheel during this period. Local artisans Hanuman Prajapat and Bhagwan Prajapat state that the workload is so immense that families have to work continuously for hours. Meanwhile, Sugna Bai explains that women handle tasks ranging from drying the vessels to painting and creating intricate traditional designs on them.
Promoting Local for Vocal and the Value of Earthen Lamps
These earthen lamps, which have illuminated every household since ancient times, are also giving a grassroots boost to the Vocal for Local campaign. The potter community is keeping this ancient cultural heritage alive through sheer hard work. This Deepotsav, when people illuminate their luxurious homes with expensive lights, they must also place an earthen lamp made by a potter's hands in a corner of their house. The flame of that lamp does not just burn a wick, but keeps the year-round hopes of a hardworking family glowing.
