Craftsman Muhammad Asrar, who has been making pottery for thirty years

Muhammad Asrar is a resident of Dalbori, a suburban village of Ogi tehsil of Mansehra district. They are potters and make pots out of clay.

Talking to Independent Urdu, he said that I have been associated with this profession for 30 years. Our forefathers also used to do this work from whom we have also inherited this profession. Now, along with Asrar Ahmed, his two sons also do this work.

“It is very difficult and laborious work,” he says. We first look for soil, which we usually get from the two neighboring towns of Kham Gali (Hamanu Gali) and Khairabad. And with the help of mules it is brought to the main road from where this soil is then brought home with the help of a tractor trolley.’

Muhammad Asrar explains that ‘here the soil is divided into two separate parts. One is very clean soil and the other is sandy or granular soil.’ He states that the purpose of separating them is that clean clay is used for making pottery while granular clay is used for making pans of various goods.

After that, both the piles of soil are mixed with water and a fine thread of wool and mixed well with hands and feet to form a slurry. Now this clay is ready to make pots.

From this clay, using their art and experience, objects of various shapes are made, ranging from fire-burning stoves to cooking utensils and ovens. These vessels are dried in the sun, but wait, the work does not end here, these dry items are placed layer by layer in a chimney-like special place known as ‘avi’ in the local language, and a fire is lit around them. So that they become more sustainable. Now these items are fully cooked and ready to be sold.

Mohammad Asrar calls it art and craft and says, ‘We make them with great effort and we also put flowers on these pots but despite all this effort, when our pots go to the market, there is no demand for them. .’

He explained the reason for this that ‘on the one hand, these vessels have been used since ancient times and their use is considered obsolete, and on the other hand, this vessel requires a lot of effort compared to steel, silver and other vessels, due to which it is relatively expensive. There are too.’

Regarding the daily income, he said that sometimes the work is very good and sometimes not at all, but still Muhammad Asrar is grateful to Allah Ta’ala.