history in clay




This town is painted red. Literally.
This little town called Manamadurai is among the last few living hubs of pottery and home to my dear and heavy eating friend from The American college. As we are familiar with our 2600-year-old history of pot making, which we recently celebrated with the discovery at keeladi, seeing the tradition and culture live here felt mystical for some reason!





But this place is not famous just for clay pots. This place is very special for the musical instrument, Ghatam. One of the most ancient musical instruments in India.


As we know, Ghatam Is a musical instrument that resembles a clay pot but is not like any other household mud pot. It's made to be played as a musical instrument. Each pot is made to produce different tones and scales of sound and it is done by changing the size of the pot's mouth and by altering the metals, water, and clay composition.
But this place is not famous just for clay pots. This place is very special for the musical instrument, Ghatam. One of the most ancient musical instruments in India.

As we know, Ghatam Is a musical instrument that resembles a clay pot but is not like any other household mud pot. It's made to be played as a musical instrument. Each pot is made to produce different tones and scales of sound and it is done by changing the size of the pot's mouth and by altering the metals, water, and clay composition.

 



Though there are other places where Ghatams are made, Manamadurai Ghatams seem to be much more special, mostly for the inimitable quality in its tone and the belief that the clay is found in the lands of Manamadurai is special!


 
But the glory days of this art are long gone. As we walked through the pottery village looking for Ghatam makers, we kept hearing that there was just one Ghatam maker left in the whole town that's hailed for Ghatam. People pointed us toward his home. Mr.Ramesh (above) and his family (below) of three are the last Ghatam makers in Manamadurai. As we walked through the small streets connected like artistic mazes, we caught them in the act at the far end of a street. The home oozed clay, mud, pots, and the color brown. It was beautiful.

We spoke with them for some time, soaking in the rustic appearance of the environment and admiring the beautiful art and techniques involved in making a Ghatam. As the conversation went towards the life of this art, we weren't surprised by their response as knowing something dying slowly is a familiar feeling.
Like our Planet. Humanity. Democracy.

PS: Never try to play the Ghatam like you know it. You can't press the shutter button on your camera later. - Definitely not out of the experience.




I have added a few pictures below just so you can soak in the vibe of this beautiful place. 


























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