Kumbhar (potter) and wada (colony) — put together it’s Kumbharwada. It is like a city of lamps within Dharavi, smack in the heart of Mumbai. Kumbharwada was born over a hundred years ago, when a mangrove swamp that local Koli fishermen relied on for livelihood transformed into an enormous slum. Potters from Saurashtra made Dharavi their home. There are various reasons offered as to why they chose this spot. One of them credits the richness of the soil for the birth and prosperity of Kumbharwada.
The kilns and the wheels at Kumbharwada have no respite till Diwali, less than two weeks away. This is the scene year after year, although Chinese diyas — made of plastic and fitted with battery-operated lights, as also cheaper — have hit the sales of earthen lamps across the country.
“Diwali is no longer a joyous occasion for us,” says Ismail, a resident. “The money we make from selling diyas is becoming less every year. We are losing the market to goods from China,” he says. He adds that he discouraged his son from learning pottery, a family tradition, and asked him to find a company job instead.
Ahmad, another Kumbharwada resident, is equally worried about the future of the community. Pottery became his bread-and-butter after he lost his job at a logistics company in Mumbai. “It saved me and my family during a crisis, but another crisis is looming large… I don’t know what else I can do to feed my family,” he says.
Photos by Paul Noronha