Along with the Country the people of Karbi Anglong hill district also celebrate traditionally the festival of lights Dipwali. The traditional clay lamp makers of Karbi Anglong, are also getting ready to light by selling earthen lamps home to home. But the modern era’s different styles of fancy lights flooded in the markets and exorbitant price of goods, are giving a tough challenge to clay earthen lamp makers.
The poor potters are worried lot as the sale of earthen lamps (Diyas) are declining day to day because of the majority of the people at present prefer to decorate by Chinese made fancy lights. It may be mentioned here that there are as many as 12 to 15 potter families are doing business at Samaguri, Garakhia Pukhuri and at Dokmoka adjoining area of Howraghat.
They said that at a time people decorate homes or during any Hindu religious functions using clay earthen diyas (lamps) but the present irrespective of the competition posed by the Chinese electric lights, are downgrading the traditional clay lamp makers, a potter of Howraghat admitted. He adding said that they manage to sell some few numbers of pots they made during the religious season only. But these numbers of pots sale made by them are not enough to maintain their families, a potter said with grief.
He further said, ‘we are just following our ancestor’s doctrines because of we are ‘Kumar’ (potter) by cast’. Yes, though the potters displayed exemplary artistic skills as they made innovative pieces from clay like a hand holding the lamp, a woman carrying diyas, or an elephant with a bulk of diyas etc but the miserable economic condition of the potters badly obstructs though they have innovative skill on making earthen pots.
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