Assam: Potters in Bajali prepare diyas for Diwali festivities

The Potter community in Assam's Bajali district are busy in preparing diyas or earthen lamps on Diwali eve. 

The potter community of Batiamari, locally known as Hiras, are busy in preparing diyas, locally known in Assamese as Sakis. Each family is engaged in making diyas as huge demand continues to pour in view of Diwali festivities. 

These potters, who are known for making earthen pots and utensils, make a good amount of money from sale of earthen lamps during Diwali season. Each family, during the hectic festive season, produces from two thousand to four thousand diyas. 

Interestingly, the soil required to create the earthen lamps are procured from the Deepor Beel area close to Guwahati. 

Once the lamps are ready, they are sold as per size at Rs 10, Rs 5, and some as cheap as Rs 3 or Rs 2. 

Himani Hira, a woman engaged in making earthen lamps, talked about the diya making process and how much they earn from it. 

"We make around 2 to 3 thousand lamps and sell them. We sell them in our village itself. Vendors come and buy them from us. The large lamps are for Rs 10. The medium ones are for Rs 5, and the smaller ones are for Rs 3 or 2. We sell them as per the requirements of the buyers. We bring the soil for making the lamps from Deepor Beel near Guwahati. We are charged a lot of money for that soil. We run the family largely on those soil. I have two daughters, and I am working on earthenware and bringing them up through it," she said.