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 on the streets of Jaipur
A pottery shop on the streets of Jaipur
[ 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.

Women give finishing touches to the pots in Jaipur
A Woman gives finishing touches to the pots in Jaipur
A Man gives finishing touches to the pots in Jaipur
[ Craftsmen giving finishing touches to the earthen pots ]

The finished earthen pots being dried in the sun
The finished earthen pots being dried in Jaipur
[ 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.

Surahis which keep water cool naturally
[ 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!!

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28 Comments

  1. My goodness -- so beautiful!!

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  2. "kesariya balam, aao ni padharo mhare des ... padharo mhare des"

    beautiful sets of pottery !!!

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  3. These pots are beautiful, I just had to click on some pictures to enlarge and see more! I'm glad you show a few of the different stages of making them. I've already picked out two that I want!! But the surahis, wow!! Why don't we have any in this country, it seems so amazing!! How long will they keep the water this cool? It works kind of like a thermos?

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  4. The pottery is beautiful! I like the lion-mouthed pots that you purchased. They sound like a wise buy, if they keep water as cool as claimed!

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  5. They are spectacular...I am a potter and I know how much skill is involved in making those...and they do keep water nicely chilled too.....wish i could find one here in Canada!

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  6. How beautiful - all those vivid reds are simply stunning.

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  7. The pottery is awesome. So you possess 2 surahis now. I think you have to pour the water through the spout of surahi.

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  8. Great ArtWork "I'm Proud to be an rajasthani" and great matka's too -- LOL,
    Very very great post...
    You've got an new follower.

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  9. These pots are so beautiful. I loveee them :-)

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  10. Beautiful, unique pottery! It would be hard to choose just one of those pots! Talented artisans, too!

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  11. Wonderful looking pots! The Surahis pots for keep water cool sound like a great idea.

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  12. So beautiful ,i love the colors they used in their art ...awesome

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

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  13. What beautiful work - both the vivid earthen pots, and the more subdued ones for water. Lovely photos.

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  14. wonerful pictures!!! portrays the art of jaipur potters... there r so many artists widespread in india... they do specialized things... govt must take efforts to spread the things!!!

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  15. Arti -- those are beautiful pots and I love that yor photo essay showed some of how they ar made. That is such an interesting bit about how the kind you bought can keep water cool. And the power cutback makes me count my blessings and vow to conserve water and energy as much as I can.

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  16. Wow they look so beautiful .I madly collect all these.

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  17. This pottery is so beautiful and inspiring - and the women in their saris! Aw, this is what i love about india, they are not scared of colors. Such beautiful pix Arti, the beauty of everyday life!

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  18. Beautiful, what a dream to shop around there!

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  19. great art work, hope they get decent price for them

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  20. great finishing touches of earthen pot and great collection of photographs.

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  21. Arti, sorry for such a big late. But thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful post. I have never seen these beautiful pitchers, never thought, imagined. I mean never seen, so couldn't think and imagine. :).

    I feel envy seeing these Surahi, really the taste of natural cool water is beyond words and artificial cooling never brings it.

    Thanks for sharing.:)

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