Muslim family keeps alive tradition of diya-making

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 23

A woman sits on a ‘peehdi’ and pours paint on ‘hutdis’ to colour them. A few metres away, her husband uses his pottery skills and a small thread to make earthen lamps and ‘kujjiyan’, ‘dugna’, ‘jhakriyan’, ‘thulliyan’ and ‘hutdis’ at his house. 

The woman, Rafikan (48), is the sarpanch of Chaura village. “It was a reserved women’s seat, else I would have been the sarpanch,” Amjan Khan (51), her husband and former member of the village panchayat of less than 5,000 residents, said.

Born and brought up in Chaura village, Amjan has been making earthen huts to be used on the occasion of Diwali all his life. 

Kitte da koi dharma nahi, janab (Occupation does not have a religion, sir!), he said when asked about being a Muslim.

“We have been in this business since the beginning and no one discriminates us over here,” he said.

Two of his three sons assist him in the business. He said, “My sons are not interested in this business. It is not fruitful anymore. Making of earthen items requires a lot of effort, but it fetches meagre amount.” 

“We make earthen huts with reverence and sell them in more than 4-5 villages anywhere between Rs 60 and Rs 100 per piece,” he added.