The Last potter of Ladakh
- Sidak Kaur
Perched on the edge of the village Likir, originally known as Lhu-khil, is a lone Ladakhi home that belongs to a man who exists in an entirely disparate world. As you tread along the road climbing up to the Likir monastery, take the path turning left by the bridge over the river Indus. Follow it to the third largest rock, second chorten and ask a local for further directions to the house that goes by the name of Gahaan Johra.
Amidst the barley fields, you will find his house, overlooking the valley desolately. He sits inside his workshop, by the window frame. Ladakhi mud brick pots, earthen and imperfect, are strewn around him. He sits amidst them, his dedicated hands on the wheel, painted with clay, lined and fragile yet strong, being the beholders of such immense history.
The potter was a 15 year old boy when he started the practice of pottery. He has been doing it for 45 years now. His story dives into the time of King Gyalpo Namgyal, when each village in Ladakh was sanctioned with a different responsibility. The people of Likir were bestowed with pottery as their task and thus, natural progression lead to years of a practice that developed into a passionate expression of traditional art.
The process of procuring a pot is simple yet sophisticated, sustainably designed and collects all its credit from nature. Sand is refined and mixed with the local mud or zhasa and molded into a mound. Hence begins a rhythm in the movement of his hands, thumbs pressing lightly against the clay as he begins to spin the wheel. An intricate set of wooden instruments are used for various purposes as the process continues.
His life has dissolved in this art, which he fears is now vanishing. His attempts to preserve it have had no conducive consequences, however he carries on with his work and harbors no grievances. He has given his family, his children and grandchildren a life of great comfort while following his passion. He has evolved and flourished in his art, which he says has given him more life with each passing day.
The Potter’s Apparatus
The wheel is called Skor and the pot on which the clay is mounded is called Poh.
Zhema is a light wooden stick with a base that he dips in water and presses against the mud.
A small wooden bat called Khimbu, usually made from Juniper Roots is used for thumping the mound into shape.
A Purcha is used to make holes in certain pots that are used for burning incense.
For the finishing process, a sharp stick called Chaatshing is used to give the pot structure and fine cutting lines. In Ladakhi, Chaat means cutting and Shing means wood.
Ushing is another stick used to make the base of the pots smooth and for designs.
A goat skin cloth is dampened and used to pat the pot before it is removed from the wheel and left to dry.
The heating process is elaborate and begins with collecting dung, brought down from higher cattle trails. The pots are coated with chalay which is procured from a village called Puga in Changthang, covered with a tin and placed inside the oven like structure made from mud-brick. Two, sometimes three sessions are required before the pot is complete.