New-age designs turn wheel of fortune

LOHARDAGA: Jako Prajapati had quit pottery, a family profession, about 10 years ago as demand for clay products dampened and his margins dwindled owing to tough competition from cheaper plastic goods flooding the market.
Five years later, the 58-year-old potter reinvented himself as a traditional clay artist albeit with a contemporary twist. Prajapati thanks his son Mantu for this wheel of change.
An economics graduate in his early twenties, Mantu readily understood the market mantra.
He encouraged his father to develop designer pots, toys and clay lamps, which are in demand during festivals, especially Diwali, the festival of lights.
"Change in design, keeping step with changing times really, enhanced the demand for our traditional products for which our entire family works day and night," said Anita, Prajapati's daughter.
"Five years ago when Mantu requested me to restart our traditional work, I did not pay much heed. But after seeing the market response for these designer products, I got a slice of present demand patterns. Now I give full-time during the festival season since our products are in great demand," said Prajapati.
The potter family now makes gas stoves instead of firewood chulhas and pressure cooker in place of cauldrons.
Mantu's idea changed the family's economic conditions too. Now the entire family, including his brother Anil, Anita and their parents are engaged in pottery. They have bought a van to carry the products to the market.
"In five years, we renovated our house and now we have asbestos ceiling and concrete walls in place of a thatched mud house," smiled Mantu as he added final touches to a row of clay lamps held by a figurine.
"This year too the family has developed new designs for toys and pots and expects brisk business," said Mantu, who is also preparing for competitive examinations.