Contemporary Potting Craft and Community Practices in the Lower Brahmaputra Valley: A Socio-economic perspective

Paper Abstract: This is a systematic study of the contemporary potting practices as observed across the four districts of Kamrup, Nalbari, Goalpara and Dhubri of the state of Assam in the North Eastern part of India. It is an attempt at documenting the prevalent specificities associated with pottery making in the selected area of my study. The different aspects of pottery manufacture such as raw material procurement, preparation of clay, potting, firing and the potential market have been observed and analysed. Two specific communities of potters known as Kumar and Hira will be compared in terms of their position within the social hierarchy, the specific types of wares they made and the pottery technology employed by them. The Kumar potters were mostly potting households with wheel made pottery where as Hira potters were primarily potting households where only women were involved in making hand made pottery. The entire study has focused on the micro and the macro perspectives of pottery manufacture and the market catered to within the lower Brahmaputra Valley. The impact of modernity on a pre modern craft; the present day challenges faced; and possibilities of extinction of this craft has been explored. Another aspect that I have looked at is the impact of the covid pandemic on the potting craft and community, and how did the community and craft adapt with the abrupt changes brought about by the pandemic. 
Overall, it is an attempt for a comprehensive understanding of the socio-economic processes shaping the craft in the contemporary times