Gufkral: Kashmiri potters who are keeping alive the neolithic heritage of India.

In India’s ancient past, the Indus Valley Civilization is often attributed to have dwelled in the best planned colonies ever built. They have also been remarked as the best craftsmen who sculpted bronze, built sturdy fire brick houses, and made a variety of terracotta figurines. Their age was the Harappan age, whose mature phase began 4700 years ago.
During the same time, in the extreme north of India, Kashmir was still in the neolithic period with no access to any metal. There, they had no bronze to sculpt, no knowledge of bricks. Despite the golden era of Indus, this population of Gufkral lived in caves, unexposed to any major trade routes, though Kashmir later became a central station of trade with central Asia.
The name GufKral is made from two Kashmiri words, Guf which means a cave and Kral, a potter. Pottery has seen its advent in the Indian subcontinent in the earliest neolithic settlement of Mehrgarh, which falls in modern day Baluchistan in Pakistan but this was the coarse grey pottery, devoid of any precision or definitive curves.
6500 years ago, the potter's wheel was discovered, somewhere to the west of the Indian sub-continent and 3800 years later, it probably found its way to Indus valley and to the valley of Kashmir.
The Kumars (Kashmiri lineage of potters) of Gufkral have made exhaustive use of this wheel and have displayed an exquisite art on clay, which has been kept alive even till this date by a handful of families who call these caves their home.
At Banmir village of Pulwama district of Kashmir, Abdul Khaliq Kumar, 69, cups both his shaky hands into a mound of wet clay placed atop a potter’s wheel. The foot driven wheel has been replaced by an electric one now. This time, he is making pots for the Kangris, the fire pots that keep Kashmiris warm through the harsh winter.
“We have been in this business since ages. It is more than a source of income to us,” he says.
“We don’t only make earthenware for eating and drinking but have been catering to Kashmiri culture since times immemorial. From Tumbakhnaris (vase shaped music drums used in Kashmiri weddings) to exquisite flower vases, we have been doing it all. The government never took interest in preserving this art and now it is struggling to survive,” he adds.
Asadullah Kumar, 75, another potter says that their ancestors have lived in these caves for over 1400 years. “I was born in this cave, and my great grandfather even told me that he too was born here like his ancestors. My children have been born here and now suddenly, the government is mulling to take them over,” he sobs.
Gufkral shelters over 40 households and each of them earn their livelihood from pottery. ‘The earthenware has now been replaced by other metals like aluminium, copper and more. The Kangris have now been replaced by heaters. The pots that we prepare for these Kashmiri kangris or even the eating utensils fetch us a meagre rupees 10 for each pot. We are living hand to mouth,” he says.
Asadullah Kumar adds that they own no cultivable land and have dwelled in these caves ever since. Although, they have constructed small concrete structures just outside these caves, where they live now, yet they practice pottery in these caves.
“The pottery earns us less. The expenses are high. We cultivate the land of Sikhs in our neighbouring village and that’s how our ration needs are fulfilled. Rest whatever we earn from pottery, goes into our health and other household expenses. If we are expelled from these caves, we would barely survive,” Khaliq adds.
The caves also act as drying rooms for the wet freshly made pots as temperatures, even during the freezing winters, remain comparatively warm inside.
Another potter, Abdul Rashid while condemning government’s inattention at these caves says that they are getting dilapidated with each passing day. “While, we have been taking care of them for centuries, the government has never made a practical effort to preserve them.”
He said that the government should immediately make arrangements for their accommodation and employment elsewhere if it was planning to take up these caves.
“We have taken care of these caves throughout our lives and we at least deserve some reward for the same. The government might be sincere in preserving the heritage but this should not be at the cost of our livelihood and lives. Simply, throwing us out would mean disrespect to our hard work in preserving them,” he said.