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Potters' wheels keep spinning in Bamunkushia

BIMAN BIHARI DAS
"Good days are back again," sings Indranath Pal with a happy giggle, standing in front of a row of tin-sheds owned by potters in his village that is a sure sign of rural prosperity.
Prosperity has erased frustrating stagnancy for potters like Indra, a middle-aged member of the pal community in Bamunkushia village, four kilometres east of Tangail town.
"The change you see now began only five years ago," explains Indra, who pioneered the change. Thanks to a rise in the installation and use of sanitary latrines by the government and NGOs (non-governmental organisations), Indra and his fellow potters in the village reinvigorated their occupation by linking up with the sanitary product boom.
When he first saw the ring slabs of the sanitary latrines to be put in sanitary wells, it occurred to Indra that potters could make ring slabs with clay instead of cement.
Pursuing the idea, he found the cost of clay slabs would be less than those of cement. His next step was to campaign in the neighbourhood to attract buyers.
His campaign yielded the expected result and customers gradually began to put in orders. Once there was a steady flow of orders, other potters joined in. Chhidam Pal, Anil Pal, Lalchan Pal, Jogesh Pal, Gouranga Pal and Govinda Pal -- all started making ring slabs as well as flower tubs and small pots for seedlings.
"Some families have migrated to India. Some changed their profession. Ten years ago, I also thought of becoming a rickshawpuller. But eventually I
couldn't leave my ancestors' occupation like many of my community. We are artisans. Art is in our blood. It's not so easy to leave it," Indra remembered the hard days for his community before the new work became available.
The people in this ancient occupation have been having a hard time for years. The demand for clay utensils has diminished over time due to the availability of cheap, handy alternatives, made of aluminium or glass or plastic. The trade has also been hurt by the migration to India of many of the Hindu community.
In such a context, the success story of Bamunkushia stands as an exception.
Making ring slabs is not really new for the potters. "We used to make the same things for the dug wells which are no more in use," Indra said. "This is only a new use
of the old things."
"Our second daughter is now in class five," said Jharna, Indra's wife. She recalled they could not send their first daughter to school due to poverty at the time. "Children from other families also go to school now," she added. Indra said the potters were making refrigerators with clay that keeps perishables like vegetables or food as long as a month. "It is still at the experimental level," he said.
Potters from Basakhanpur, Inatpur and Taratia villages are also making clay slabs now. More orders keep coming in.
Seventy-year-old Chhidam Pal, one of the senior potters in Bamunkushia, happily observed the tin-shed: "We have done it with our own merit and labour."
"But getting fuel to burn the clay is a real problem nowadays. Nor are there as many boats today to carry the load of mud, as you found before. Not many boats now sail long distances," Chhidam said.
Siddhipal, another potter, emphasised the need to increase their sales. "We don't require NGO or government loans. We only need proper arrangements to sell our products. Bigger markets."
But Indra is full of hope for the future. Last year, he made a dug well in Bidyut Saha's house at Kalihati in Tangail. It was a Tk 5,000 contract.
"The well was dug to get arsenic-free water. I hope many more will call us to dig wells. People are returning to older days. Our pottery will surely have a come-
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