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WONDERS IN CLAY:
The state's oldest handicraft is certainly pottery, which achieved great
standards of excellence in ancient times. The commonest of art forms,
pottery is also one of the most fascinating. With the few turns of the
wheel and expert flicks of the hand, village potters mould an ordinary
lump of mud into a well proportioned and useful clay utensils, embellished
by their wives with paintings and colourful lines.
POPULAR THEMES:
Terracotta toys are another craft of the potters of
Kachchh, but it is in the Aravallis and
Chhota Udepur tribal lands that potters make the famous long necked
terracotta figurines of the Gora Dev (tribal horse God), said to protect
crops, villages and families from evil spirits, evil intentions and
natural calamities.
Potter communities also specialise in mud wall paintings, and you could
get plaques, inset with mirrors, made for your own house or garden shack
from Kachchh.
INEXPENSIVE MASTERPIECES:
At Poshina, these terracotta horses and elephants cost Rs 10 to Rs 50
each, and are good decorations for your home and garden, and the
Poshinagadh heritage hotel can arrange for you to shop for such tribal
artifacts. An entire wall panel of such terra cotta animals can cost Rs
3000/.