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Theatre is more to pottery than pots
By Anjali Malhotra

There's a lot more to pottery than just pots. That's what hits you as soon as you enter the Delhi Blue Trust Pottery exhibition currently on at the Visual Arts Gallery in India Habitat Centre.

Exhibiting the works of 101 potters from all over the country, the week-long exhibition that concludes on Sunday, displays individual creativity shaped in clay concentrating on the theme of water. The display of over a thousand articles born from clay speak of love, need and concern for water, the most basic necessity. And despite a unified theme binding the show, the wealth of individual interpretations and depictions add to the innovative and colourful -- though centred on shades of blue -- display.

Besides its universal need, water is the basic ingredient for a potter. ``I recently read somewhere that by 2004, all people living in metros will have only four buckets of water per day,'' says potter, Rekha Bajpe Aggarwal. ``That is quite a shock to a potter as water is one of the essential materials in pottery.'' Her exhibits include ``happy fish'' bowls and waterfalls contrasting with a dish with fish bones depicting a future with water and one without it.

Organised by the Delhi Blue Pottery Trust under the aegis of Sardar Mansimran Singh, the exhibition has been organised to mark the birth anniversary of late Sardar Gurcharan Singh, founder of the Delhi Blue Pottery Trust and a renowned potter. Sardar Mansimran Singh himself, a well-known potter, has carried on the tradition of promoting pottery in the country established by his father, Sardar Gurcharan Singh.

The 101 potters participating at the exhibition include a fair mix of renowned artists such as Ira Chaudhri, Jyotsna Bhatt, Rachna Parasher and several beginners. The list of participants include Mamta Rajpal, Gina F. Gupta, Pragati Malhari, Usha Garodia, Monica Agnihotri, Punnet Brar and Shruti Jain.

And to give visitors a feel of clay, Palm Court outside the Visual Arts Gallery has been converted into a mini studio with a potter's wheel and two display kilns. For the more adventurous -- like Rohit Bal who also visited the exhibition -- a turn at the wheel was recommended, but those who just want to see a mound of clay turning into a pot, can stand aside and watch master craftsman of terracota, Harikishen, at work.

The display also includes a photo-exhibition on the life of Sardar Gurcharan Singh.

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