Jaipur Pottery

    Rajasthan is renowned world over for its exquisite arts and crafts. There are still entire lanes in Jaipur where craftsmen can be seen displaying their artistic skills and shaping their products into items of great beauty.

[ A pottery shop at Chaura Raasta, Jaipur ]

    I came across one such group of traditional potters known as Kumbhars on the Chaura Raasta area of Jaipur, giving final touches to their wares. These earthen pots were being skillfully painted in bright colors, decorated with mirrors and golden frills finally giving them the most attractive forms.

[ Craftsmen giving finishing touches to the earthen pots ]

[ The finished earthen pots being dried in the sun ]

These beautiful pots are then used during various festivals like Navratri, Teej and Deepavali and other auspicious occasions. Other stuff like statues, lamps, piggy banks, lanterns etc. were also on display.

    One thing that caught my eyes were these couple of beautifully carved, long necked, lion mouthed earthen pots known as Surahis, used for storing drinking water. With the state facing long hours of power cuts and the temperatures soaring as high as 48 degrees in the summers, these Surahis come to the rescue of the common man.

[ I brought these twin Surahis, 

known for its excellent cooling properties ]

They keep the water immensely cool naturally, easily rivaling the water cooled by  refrigerators!!