PETALING JAYA: Despite having faced a staff shortage since the pandemic, the premises of KS Pottery Resources in Kuala Selangor is dotted with thousands of colourful earthen pots for the Pongal harvest festival, which starts today.
Ananth Arumugam, a fourth-generation pot maker, said he and his family have had to count on one another to meet this year’s demand of 30,000 to 40,000 clay pots.
“That is why our shop was recently closed for a week, because I had to take charge of delivering our products to Johor, while my father delivered to Kajang and another two family members delivered to Penang,” the 30-year-old said.
The 108-year-old family business receives orders from throughout Malaysia as well as Singapore. Ananth told FMT that the demand for clay pots during Pongal is always high owing to its significance on the first day of the festival, called Thai Pongal.
On this day, family members buy a new clay pot and use it to boil sweet rice and milk until it spills over. This, he explained, signifies abundance.
Describing the pot-making process, Ananth said it takes three to four days to make a good quality earthen pot.
“After we get the clay from a quarry near Batang Berjuntai, we have to clean it. So the first step will be to filter-press the clay to clean small stones and roots,” he said.
“The next step is clay processing and shaping, which is specific to different products such as cooking pots and temple lamps.
“This is followed by the drying process using a special oven. Next involves drying the pots in natural weather – under sunlight – and finally firing them in a boiler.”
Owing to how painstaking and messy the process can be, Ananth said not many young people are interested in taking up pottery. He knows of family businesses that have had to close because “their children didn’t want to be part of it”.
And this is why, according to him, only six families in Malaysia remain in this line of work today, including his own.
Ananth said he is happy his family continues to play a significant part in helping others celebrate this joyous Hindu festival, and in preserving the traditional form of clay pot-making.
“I have to maintain the originality and authenticity of the process,” he said, explaining, for instance, that the wares should be made without the use of new technology or chemicals.
“It’s not just a clay pot tradition, it’s also an Indian one.”
In the meantime, he also hopes KS Pottery Resources can help boost local tourism by promoting pottery and drawing more visitors to their onsite factory and retail store.
“We have had tourists from Australia and Africa, and they brought our products back to their country. They are still cooking with them and telling me about it.
“I’m very happy to know they are still using our products.”
For more information on KS Pottery Resources, visit its Facebook and Instagram profiles.
KS Pottery Resources
PT 30 Batu 2 Jalan Kelang,
45000 Kuala Selangor,
Selangor