When you attend a Kashmiri wedding, you can barely hear the music made by Western Instruments. What you are going to hear is the music made by the Kashmir famous ‘Tambaknaare’ and ‘Noote’. These are made by Kumhars using clay.
Potters (Kumhars in Urdu and Krals in Kashmiri) are historically marginalized people traditionally associated with the art of pottery. Pottery was the traditional craft of Kashmir for centuries. Potters made clay utensils, fire pots (Manans or Kangris in Kashmiri) and flower vases. After designing them, these things were baked in furnaces. The womenfolk usually travelled around the village to sell them and earn a livelihood. People mostly used such utensils and other things, thus preserved this tradition. As the time flew, competition increased in the steel, metal and ceramic industries. This resulted in the decline of the Kral families. Sadly, only a few Kral families are left in the valley. These families live a miserable life and earn from hand to mouth. However, with the decline in this tradition, there are certain people who are trying to uplift this tradition. Saima Shafi, better known by the name Kral Koor (Kashmiri for Potter girl) jumped into the practice of pottery to escape depression. She displays a strong faith in a quote cited by Chinese philosopher Loa Tzu, “We shape clay into a pot but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.”
There was a time when on special occasions, only utensils made of clay were used. However, people are now giving preference to utensils made of other materials such as steel and copper. Ayurveda suggests that if the community starts using utensils made of earthenware again, there will be no threat of diseases at all. According to both science and Ayurveda, clay pots may add important nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and sulphur to the food. These nutrients are beneficial to our body and keep us healthy. The nature of clay is alkaline, which means it neutralizes the acidity in food, thus making it easier to digest. When cooking in a clay pot, less oil is required. This makes the food prepared in clay pots less fatty than food prepared in any other material. Due to its natural cooling properties, earthenware has been considered as the best choice to store water for centuries. Clay pots also act as natural purifiers for water because of their micro-texture blocks.
Pottery plays a significant role in the vast heritage and culture of Kashmir. Hence, this ancient art (traced between 3000 BCE and 1000 BCE in sites such as Burzuhama and Gufkral) needs to be preserved. Your one little contribution can create a big change for those families who sleep in cold without a blanket and sweat in scorching heat without a cooler.