GT Digital
The Kumbhar Pottery Studio in a quaint bylane of the Bicholim Industrial Estate in North Goa is the flagbearer of one of the oldest art forms in the State.
The potter's wheel started spinning in 1992 at this studio when it started as a modest household business.
The skilled craftsmanship is visible in this picture as seen from some of the clay decorative items and vases.
The studio produces some of the finest pots, bowls, storage containers, plates, lamps, idols and sculptures.
Pots as tall as 8 feet and above are handcrafted without the use of machinery.
Seventy-two-year-old Zilu Harmalkar, who keeps no track of time while at work inside the studio, shapes the clay artefacts with his artistic hands. He says, 'kala (art) lies in the hands, not in the tools.'
The red clay used for the pottery work is sourced from the fields of Bordem in Bicholim.
Once the clay items are ready, they are placed in the wood-fired bhatti (kiln). A bhatti requires more than a truckload of wood for a single blazing session.