Demand for potteries high prior to Chhath festival

DHANUSHA: The demand for clay pots has been growing prior to Chhath festival. Along with domestic clay pots, various potteries required for the festival manufactured in India are also making inroads in the Nepali market. The earthen pots manufactured in India are doing brisk business in the bordering towns while the domestically produced ones are selling in greater numbers in the inner markets. The sale of clay pots has seen a rise in Janakpurdham, Mahendranagar, Sakhuwa, Dhalkebar, Bateshwor, Dharapani, Birendrabazar, Sabaila, the main square at Sahidnagar and Hatiya, among the main markets of Dhanusha. With the increasing demand for clay pots in the market, the potters have become busy. The demand for clay pots is high during cultural festivals such as Chhath due to the tradition of mostly using clay pots for various cultural rituals. It is considered auspicious to conduct the rituals using the fresh clay pots. "The sale of potteries like lamp, dhakana, chaumukhe deep, pala and statue of elephants has increased at various places and the bordering towns for the imminent Chhath festival," said Bishnu Lal Pandit, a pottery trader of Haraiya, Kshireshwornath Municipality-4. Pandit said that making clay pots was their main means of subsistence in the past. But these days their traditional profession has been displaced by the increasing use of plastic and metal pots. Kamal Pandit, a potter from Sakhuwa, Kshireshwornath-6, complained that their traditional profession is under threat in recent years due to the growing use of plastic and metal pots. The festival period is the only time for local potters to earn whatever income for the whole year. A set of clay pots for the Chhath festival costs between Rs 200 to Rs 300, said Kanhaiya Pandit from Janakpurdham. A majority of the local communities whose traditional profession is pottery making are abandoning this profession as it is not profitable. So, the traditional pottery-making business is under threat. By RSS READ ALSO:

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