Potteries on pavement
Pottery items with artistic decoration put on display for sale near Doel Chattar.Photo: STAR
The street-side business of potteries and terracotta showpieces are flourishing in the city helping hundreds of potters revive the traditional craftsmanship.
The biggest market of potteries is located near Doel Chattar adjacent to Dhaka University campus, which stretches all the way to the High Court gate. There are several other street-side markets in Dhanmondi-6 on Mirpur Road, Dhanmondi-32 and also near Mirpur-10 roundabout.
A dazzling collection of terracotta items attracts enthusiasts from all walks of life as well as foreign tourists. The shops also sell showpieces made of wood, bamboo, jute, cane and ceramic, often stealing business from established boutique shops.
Traders said business at Doel Chattar started in early 1980s. A few people were involved at that time. Today there are around 70 shops in the makeshift market operating on the pavement.
Majibar Rahman, a vendor at Dhanmondi Road-6 said, “People used to prefer foreign decorative items even a few years ago. But pottery and terracotta showpieces have found their way back as their popularity is growing among the city people in recent times.”
Earlier, only tubs for houseplants were the main item sold in these street-side shops. Now terracotta showpieces such as small sculptures, wall hanging, effigies of famous persons, animal figures, vase, ashtray, candle stand and pen stand are the most popular items.
Most of the pottery products come from Barisal, Comilla, Faridpur and from places surrounding Dhaka including Dhamrai, Savar and Nabinagar.
Jute and wooden items on the other hand come from Bogra, Narsingdi, Rangpur and Kaliakoir, Majibar told Star City. “The traditional pottery of the country was almost on the verge of extinction. Today many of the potters are back in business as we are helping to sell their products,” he said.
The sellers said they place order to the potters as per the customers' demand. Some of the products available here are faulty items that did not make their way to established shops. However, it would be hard to identify the faults of the products as they are minor and the products are almost perfect, sellers claim.
Mofijul Islam, a vendor at Doel Chattar said apart from individual buyers major business comes from decorators these days. “Street side vendors are the main supplier of decorative items for wedding ceremonies, Gaye Halud, office decoration and various stage shows,” he said.
Mofijul mentioned that the biggest sale takes place during festivals like Pahela Baishakh (Bangla New Year) and other such traditional Bangalee festivals. Other major customers are the film industry, theatre and package drama people.
The price of pottery varies according to the intricacy of design, size and rarity of the product. The price ranges from Tk 30 to 500, sometimes even more.
Most vendors make a sale of around Tk 2,000 to 5,000 per day.
Shukur Ali Matbor, another vendor at Doel Chattar said the business has several setbacks that need to be addressed.
“We run our business from the footpath as we have small investment. Although Dhaka City Corporation gave us permission to operate here, the fear of eviction always remains. It happened many times in the past,” he said.
“The business is now quite good and growing but we suffer a lot during rain or storm. If we had a permanent market like the hawkers market at Gulistan the business will flourish even more,” he said.
Most traders mentioned extortion as a major problem. Every street-side hawker has to pay a monthly amount otherwise they will face eviction, the traders said.
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