As summer returns, Ludhiana's Ghumar Mandi keeps earthen pot tradition alive

Come summer, earthen pots make their way back into most households across the city.

Rows of matkas and surahis, painted with flowers, leaves and rustic village scenes, line the shelves of potter shops across Ludhiana. In an age of refrigerators, these earthen pots continue to retain their charm and significance.

The city’s famous Ghumar Mandi was once a potters’ marketplace before Independence. Its name, ‘Ghumar’, is derived from traditional potters who once occupied the market, crafting clay utensils, lamps and earthenware. Today, only a handful of traditional artisans remain, and most of them are outsourcing production.

During British rule, the locality was used as a residential and administrative area for officers, eventually expanding into an important trading centre. Elders recall market residents helping freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh evade British authorities by hiding them.

“Pottery is no longer a lucrative business. As a result, almost all potters from Ghumar Mandi have changed professions. A couple of us who are left now outsource production to other states,” said Rahim, who runs a pottery shop at the market.

The pots on sale are no longer plain. Painted motifs, marigolds, mango leaves and pastoral scenes add an artistic finish. They are not just vessels, but canvases carrying echoes of the state’s rural image into urban kitchens.

“Fridge water can never match the taste of water in earthen containers. It reminds me of my grandmother’s courtyard. I buy a new pot every summer. It gives me a different kind of happiness,” said Arvinder Kaur, a teacher from Model Town.

“Till monsoon arrives, I drink water from the eastern pots. It tastes different and fresh. As Ghumar Mandi does not offer a wide variety, I buy from Civil Lines,” said Santosh Kumar, a senior citizen.

“I buy pots and earthen diyas from Ghumar Mandi. Even if they’re outsourced now, the mandi still feels like the heart of Ludhiana’s clay culture,” said Keerat Kaur from Sarabha Nagar.

The earthen pots tell a tale of continuity as well as change, and how a craft that once defined a marketplace now survives in fragments.