A Clay craft of Molela, Dinesh 09413665352
Molela village near nathdwara in rajasthan, is an old centre reknowned for its traditional terracotta icons and plaque (tiles). The craft witch has evolved over centuries has inherent charm in it on account of its individulality and to this day it attracts the tribal clients from far off places.
‘Pottery has been called lyric of handicraft…. But it is the
association of religion with this very humble object that has given it a deeper significance and wider dimension’ – asserts kamala Devi Chattopadhyay. Those who have seen the clay icons and plaques of deities and folk heroes produced by the kumhar potters of Molela will readily agree with her statement. Moreover, these clay plaques, icons and animal images are mostly used as votive offerings / installation in local shrines. The origin of clay craft of molela itself is steeped in myth and divinity as the kumhars of this village believe that their craft is ‘’God given’’. To substantiate that claim a story very often narrated by many of them, is that of a blind potter of the by gone age. The story goes like this-
One day Dharmaraj also called Dev Narayan (Vishnu) appeared in the blind potter’s dream and asked him to model his image on his ‘vahan’ – a horse, out of clay. Immediately he squatted on the floor and started making the ‘Murti’ of Dharmraj out of lump of clay, on the surface of a sheet of clay. Thus two dimensional hollow clay relief plaque was born. These are variously called as terracotta tiles, panel or clay tablets. As a token of gratitude (for having regained his eye sight) the blind potter continued to produce the Dharmraj plaque, witch in due course evolved into his profession. That may perhaps be the reason as to why generation after generation the practice of producing wall plaques of Dharmaraj and other deities continues to thrive in Molela. Even today kumhar potters young and old, can be seen busying themselves, working with clay in the centre court yard inside their houses. During ‘Maag’ month (January to February) every year, various tribal groups led by Bhopas (head priests) come as far as from Gujarat, for purchasing plaques of their favourite deities. Dharmraj plaques occupy centre stage in the most of the potters’ stock of terracotta’s. The other figurines which enjoy a pride of place are the Ganesh and Devi. Molela being a part of mewar region which is well known for bravery and chivalry, there is little wonder that ‘Devi’ the symbol of valour, is worshipped in this region with great devotion and zeal. As Devi is manifested into many different forms, her image has been a popular subject to the craftsmen of Molela. They call her as Mata. Plaques of Various Devis shown seated on their respective vahans, are lovely creation of superior craftsmanship. The most sought after Mata plaques by the tribal clients, are Chamunda on elephant, Kalika astride buffalo, Durga with lion, etc. Seeds of Change
Of the few change that had impacted the craft of the village, the major one took place in the year 1981 when the Aditi-India Festival was arranged. The senior most craftsman Mohanlal recollects, “prior to that, none of us made anything other than traditional subject like local deities, folks heroes and clay pots and kitchen vessels. But when the Aditi exhibition organizers met us in connection with the series of wall panels entitled ‘Fair Time’ for the festival, the size as well as the subject matter of our plaques had undergone major changes. They especially a lady member encouraged us to try something different from our tradition subject matter and other than usual votive images, like what we see daily around us in the village. Accordingly we shaped various square tiles depicting scenes of day to day life in the village witch were arranged in a single large panel”. Those panels gave birth to the contemporary – secular plaques. Subsequently these strikingly variant panels also led to reworking of traditional subjects by jumbling together of various unrelated gods, goddesses, folk heroes and symbols into one single panel. The changes among the youngsters in the post-independent period are of two types. Among those educated youngsters who were after white collar jobs or wage employment, a few dared to leave their village or their hereditary craft. The other youths while carrying on their traditional craft never hesitated to innovate and introduce new artefacts including utilities. Process
The clay is beaten with large wooden log and then the impurities and stones are removed. In order to make the clay suitable for modeling, donkey’s dung is mixed with sieved power clay in the ratio of 1:4. Water is added to this mixture and kneaded till the right consistency is obtained. The lump of wet clay is rolled out on a slab and evened out by pressing the sheet of clay using craftsman’s palm and flat piece of wood. This wet sheet of clay is cut into a rectangle shape of the plaque to be made. A corrugated board is used like a stencil, to get the required shape and size of the plaque. This is the back drop surface on which the image of the subject is built-up entirely by hands. Various sections of the subject like face, limbs etc., in crude form, are attached one after another with wet – soft clay. When the figure gets a firm shape, ornaments, eyes and other details are added. Baking/Firing
The finished clay plaque is allowed to dry for seven to nine days in shade / inside the house and for another two days in open sun. The dried plaques are stacked up one by one carefully, in kiln for firing. There after the fired plaques are taken out of kiln and painted with bright colours.
