Potting Tradition, Firsthand
College friend groups, young people on dates, and creatives looking to learn something new huddled around small electric pottery wheels, in neat aprons and dainty paintbrushes, are a common sight in Bengalurus cafes and arts spaces. But this ancient crafts roots are not in city cafes but in the homes and workshops of artisans for whom pottery is a way of life, with designs and techniques passed on through generations. It is this heritage that Local Narratives one-day excursion to Doora village, just 25 minutes from Mysuru and around three hours drive from ooru, seeks to introduce to Bengalureans this Sunday. The form of pottery practiced in this pottery village, where once, founder Vaishnavi Somani says, every family practiced pottery, is different from the image urban residents are familiar with. She explains, It is a type of wheel pottery where you have to swirl the wheel manually using bamboo sticks, without any electricity. Attendees will get to learn everything from scratch and branch off into making their own creations from objects the artisans introduce them to. People will get a tour of the space, an understanding of the material - clay is not easy to mold how to spin the wheel at the right speed and get started. You can learn how to make all kinds of pots from diyas and vases to bigger pots, explains Nicole Fernandes Christ, a team member. The process of learning is part of a bigger move to bridge the urban rural-rural divide through tourism that gives back to communities, in this village, its an attempt to financially support an art form that has been slowly disappearing, while also spreading awareness about it. There are just 15 families who still practice pottery here today. We found out from them that this is because theyre having trouble reaching a market that wants to buy from them, says Somani. Christ adds, People usually travel, take pictures, and then forget about the place but this is an attempt to change travel from just consumption to contribution. People will be learning and giving back to the locals monetarily but the impact of stories being shared that come from villages to cities help them live longer.
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