Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh): With Uttar Pradesh entering the final phase of voting, Azamgarh, also known as the bastion of the Samajwadi Party in Purvanchal, has gone to polls. In the 2017 assembly elections, despite a strong wave in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the saffron party could manage to secure only one out of 10 assembly seats in the district. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Akhilesh Yadav, all-India president of the SP and former chief minister, was elected the MP from here.
Potters in Azamgarh district’s Nizamabad assembly constituency are known all over the world for their splendid craftsmanship in designing shiny black pottery engraved with silver floral or geometric patterns. Black pottery from Nizamabad has been registered under the government’s One District, One Product (ODOP) initiative and Geographical Indication tag scheme. Despite this, however, nearly 200 families of craftspeople settled in Nizamabad market are struggling to survive and keep their art alive.
The Qazi dynasty of Nizamabad emerged during the time of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. In a book titled Itihaas ke Aaine Mein Azamgarh (Azamgarh in the Mirror of History), author Pratap Gopendra Yadav writes, “Between 1696 and 1697, Abdul Farah was the Qazi of Gujarat and Sarkhej. Qazi Abdul Farah brought along some black clay artisans of Gujarat to Nizamabad town. Over a period of time, their descendants in the town’s Prajapati community acquired and developed the art to its current form.”
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In the potters’ locality, both women and men are busy making utensils. One also finds clay pots lined up in rows for drying. In a neighbourhood bustling with so much activity and production being carried out on such a wide scale, one hardly gets an inkling of anything being wrong. But a closer look reveals that red clay pots, lotas meant for Karva Chauth, and diyas (despite Diwali being several months away) have largely replaced the silvery black utensils.
Ramjatan Prajapati has been awarded for his craftsmanship by various governments. “We are potters and clay is everything for us,” he says. “What will we do without clay?”
Ramjatan and Anand Prajapati. Photo: Abhyuday
A few years ago, clay was available in his vicinity at Rs 300 to Rs 400 per tractor. The local administration also granted land which was later occupied by local strongmen. In addition, 27 people were granted land on lease where the tehsil building stands today. The land was seized in the name of beautification and a pond was constructed there.
Today, artisans are forced to fetch soil from distant villages. Priced at Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 per tractor a couple of years, half the quantity of the same clay is now sold at Rs 2,500 per tractor. As a result, the cost of production of black clay utensils has increased dramatically. The cost of zinc, lead and mercury used to fill the grooves in the clayware to give the engravings a silvery look has also increased significantly during the past two or three years. Mercury, which was available for Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 earlier, is now sold at Rs 14,000 per kg.
Anand, a young artisan, says that the quality of clay has also deteriorated as it has to be filtered several times to make it fit to be used. Earlier, he says, his father and grandfather used to sift it only once before they could work with the clay.
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In the traditional furnace, known as aawan, up to 5,000 pieces of small red earthenware can be made at a time. The kiln for black clayware, on the other hand, produces 250 to 300 pieces at once. While it takes only one or two days to completely bake the red clay utensils, black earthenware requires 15 to 16 days, thereby increasing fuel consumption manifold.
When asked about the government support extended to the craft after getting registered for ODOP and the GI tag, and whether it is being promoted, local craftspeople claim that officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce rarely visit them. The market does, though, supply Ganesh idols and other decorative items to official functions and programmes. The craft has also been displayed at the Vikas Bhawan, the tehsil, and other places in the district. But no marketing or government procurement has been carried out as potters struggle for basic raw material for the craft like clay and tree bark.
Sachin Prajapati with bhatthi for black pots. Photo: Abhyuday
Three or four years ago, artisans were asked to fill a form and told that a committee would be formed following which they would be provided with modern technology. The move would help reduce both the production cost and labour, it was claimed. It was led by then MP from Lalganj Neelam Sonkar.
A Social Upliftment Service Committee was also set up in Nathupur, Rani ki Sarai in Azamgarh. Later, on February 22, 2021, Mini Black Pottery Clusters with state-of-the-art machines were set up at a cost of Rs 132.9 lakh under the Union government’s SFURTI scheme. One such cluster was inaugurated by then Union minister Nitin Gadkari in Dodpur village, four km away from the potters’ locality. It was assured that 300 craftsmen would be directly or indirectly connected with it. But local artisans claim that they rarely visit these clusters. Neelam Sonkar, BJP candidate from Lalganj, could not be contacted for comment as she is busy in the poll campaign.
Local potters Ankit and Kanchan claim that they get electricity at commercial rates. “If the government wants to promote our work, they should at least offer us electricity at cheaper rates,” they say.
Ramjatan Prajapati’s shop. Photo: Abhyuday
When asked about local public representatives and party candidates in the fray in the ongoing elections, people claim that no one has visited them till now. SP’s Alam Badi is a four-time MLA from the seat and is contesting this year as well. Rajiv Yadav, general secretary of the Rihai Manch, is contesting as an independent, supported by the CPI (ML) and various civil society organisations and intellectuals. But no SP, BSP, BJP or Congress candidate visited the area for canvassing. The outgoing MLA has also failed to raise their problems, let alone meet the people.
The question, therefore, arises – will the future generations of these craftsmen, who are incessantly battling the crisis of dearth of raw materials along with inflation and neglect from the government and the administration, be able to keep alive the legacy of this beautiful art?