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Clay pots back in demand in Patna
by Ajay Kumar

     Patna: Earthen pitchers are selling like hot cakes in Patna. Spinning wheel potters in Patna seem to have come back into business; their wares making brisk sales in the shift shack- shops that have come up along roads. Priced at less than half-a-dollar, it is not just the poor who are buying the clay pitchers. Patna is one of the most ancient cities along the Ganges river where pottery thrives as clay is easily sourced from the river bed and banks. Over the past few years, however, the Ganges has veered off its original course along the city and clay has been difficult to come by. "We try to fulfil the demands as more customers come during summer but when the temperature rises then demand also increases. In such times, it gets difficult to fulfill because we do not get clay," said Ram Babu, a potter, Residents believe storing water in clay pitchers is also healthy. "I am buying pots because it keeps water cold and is also clean to drink," said Guran,a resident. Like most indigenous artisans, potters bemoan the advent of bigger, assembly- line producers and waning clientele. Poor power infrastructure in Bihar , however, means potters pitchers will never run out business.
-May 6, 2009

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