Unassuming and fragile, earthen pottery nevertheless has a rich tradition in India. In most States, the potter fashions clay into pots, jars, tumblers and platters of myriad shapes, ornamental as well as useful. Except in the rains, the village potter's wheel is never idle. Like the weaver and the blacksmith, the potter too is part of the traditional village community.

Gujarat provides cooking and storage pots painted in red, black and white with geometric, floral and animal patterns, Uttar Pradesh tall jars with shiny black finish, Rajasthan highly polished black ware for preserving oil and ghee, the Kashmir Valley, Delhi and Jaipur (State : Rajasthan) pottery with blue glaze and flowery motifs

In Northern India, diyas (small earthenware lamps) and small clay icons of Ganesha and Lakshmi flood the market around Diwali, the Festival of Lights.

In Bengal, life-size images of Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Kali but especially of Durga (astride a lion accompanied by her four children, killing a demon) are made every year with the utmost of care and decorated with great splendour – only to be immersed in the water after the act of worship. 

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