In Nizamabad, being black is the calling; put away the pot and kettle

AZAMGARH: On a warm day, Angad Prajapati uses his carving needle as a skimming board to create exquisite designs on a recently created claypot, completely unaware of the intense heat. With a laugh, the 38-year-old with the baby face explains, “We all need to experience heat in order to improve. similar to this pot, which, until it becomes completely black, will now burn all night in a furnace.”

The major draw of Nizamabad, a tiny town in the Azamgarh region of Uttar Pradesh, is its well-known black pottery, a distinct kind of clay pottery distinguished by its dark, lustrous body with carved silver designs.

In December 2015, it was given a Geographical Indication designation. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Germany in June 2022 to meet with the leaders of the G7, he gave Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida some black pottery from Nizamabad.

Around 500 recognized artists, the majority of whom are from the Prajapati caste, make black pottery, which has garnered significant popularity and regular revenue after recent worldwide exposure.

With decades of experience in this skill, Angad’s family maintains a respectable studio where they create their distinctive ceramics.

40-year-old Shiv Kumar Prajapati adds, “We have been doing this for a very long time.” This was being done by my grandfather and even his grandfather.” His spouse and more family members assist him with his trade.
In Delhi, Angad resides. He has spent many years instructing pupils in ceramic art at esteemed institutions in the nation’s capital, including KR Mangalam World School and Sanskrit School. He presently has a workshop and studio in Uttam Nagar, Delhi. In Nizamabad, his brothers are in charge of the family’s traditional black pottery business.

“I just got a large order from an Italian company. They asked us to create in the black pottery since they had seen some design in a Roman workshop,” he explains.

Nizamabad’s black pottery, like the exquisite silver patterns on the lustrous, burnt black clay, is a representation of history threading its way through time, rearranging the silts of many places.

In ‘Aspects of Ancient Indian Technology’ (1979), Hari C. Bhardwaj notes that the black pottery found in the settlement has a striking similarity to the Northern Black Polished Ware pottery seen in urban Iron Age Indian Subcontinent civilization (700 BC–200 BC). It should come as no surprise that several NBPW sites have been found in the area.
On the other hand, the silver work draws inspiration from medieval Bidriware, which uses silver wires to embellish pots.

Bidriware is a metal handicraft from the Karnataka city of Bidar that was developed in the 14th century under the reign of the Bahmani Sultans. Silver is inlaid into white brass that has been blackened. Numerous styles and methods are influenced by bidriware. The famous sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti (born in Sistan, Afghanistan, in 1143 AD) is credited with bringing the art of cutlery to India. Later, Iranian artisan Abdullah bin Kaiser may have contributed Persian influence in the shape of floral designs. Sultan Ahmed Shah Bahmani had summoned Abdullah bin Kaiser to Bidar to work on adorning the royal residences and courts.

The ceramics produced at Nizamabad are made differently than in Bidar, yet the silver work produced here is intriguingly referred to as “Bindri.”

The origins are variously told by the locals. Some of them think Gujarati craftsmen introduced the method during Aurangzeb’s reign. According to a different account, a local ‘Qazi saheb’ (judge) in the Mughal Empire had seen the handicrafts employed by Gujarati craftsmen and had invited them to come and instruct local potters in their skills.

There is no absolute knowledge.
Black pottery is a laborious and careful procedure to make. To produce forms, the best clay is taken from neighboring ponds and kneaded by hand before being placed on the potter’s wheel. A tiny needle is used to create intricate carvings, and clay is used to apply a layer of a darker color. Before the pots are placed in the oven for the whole night, they are additionally sprayed with some mustard oil. There is no oxygen supply and very high temperatures to maintain the distinctive glossy black color. Now, before adding the final details, a powdered mixture of lead, mercury, and zinc in equal amounts is poured into the carved pattern.

The One District, One Product (ODOP) programme of the Uttar Pradesh government, launched in 2018, has brought back the fading craft.

According to 35-year-old Sarita Prajapati, the Central government has established a neighborhood facilitation center that supports small-scale artists who lack the resources to produce black pottery. The potters have unrestricted access to the center, which is furnished with all the equipment and tools required to create pottery. To aid in the selling of its products, it also has a marketing division.

A bigger item may bring in several thousand rupees for the potters here, but a 10-inch flower vase made of black ceramic sells for Rs 1500.

Angad wishes for his daughter and son, who are enrolled at a Delhi school, to succeed in their chosen fields of work. However, this is our history and sense of self. And as my predecessors and I did, I would want them to continue it,” he declares.