Andretta Pottery - Himachal Pradesh
Many villages in India are famous for producing extraordinary pottery products. They expertise in molding clay with their hands to form various things like daily utility items, toys, and deities of worship since the ancient period. There is a wide range of pottery and clay crafts in India. Each state has distinct craft traditions that are an important source of income, as well as symbols of local identity and designs. Throughout the centuries, pottery has continued to evolve both as a craft and as an art.
During the 1920s, Irish theatre artist and environmentalist North Richard moved to the village of Andretta in Kangra Valley's Palampur district in Himachal Pradesh. It is a hub for artistic activity, which attracted renowned artists, theatre practitioners, painters, and potters over the years. Famous potter Gurcharan Singh and famed theatre and film personality Prithvi Raj Kapoor, legendary painter Sobha Singh, celebrated painter and sculptor B. C Sanyal are a few among eminent artists who visited this hub. Sadar Gurcharan Singh's little summer pottery has evolved into the thriving Andretta Pottery and Craft Society started by Sadar's son Mini. Andretta Pottery and Craft Society was established in 1986. A museum of cultural heritage has a collection of Himachal village pottery. The Andretta Pottery is run by Mansimran "Mini" Singh, son of famous legendary potter Gurcharan Singh. The founder of Delhi Blue Art Pottery, Gurcharan Singh was responsible for introducing Studio art pottery into India. It is situated between the old Shuahk hills and the high range of the Dholadhar Himalaya. As well as being a production studio and making attractively designed earthen slipware, it also provides three months courses for aspiring potters. These courses include accommodation, food, and tuition fees.
In Andretta Pottery, their major production is tableware utility, which consists of Cups, Bowls, and Plates. It's all made up of natural terracotta, and the glazes used here are food-friendly glazes. Andretta Pottery is especially noticed because of two things: the products sold here are made up of natural terracotta. The second one is the slip trailing and designing. In Slip designing, diluted clay is used. The design works and the patterns they do here are derived from the Rangoli Patterns of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Over the years in Kangra, people slowly reduced the usage of Rangoli patterns and design works because of the arrival of plastic designs and stickers. So, Andretta Pottery kept that as a basic idea and implements those Rangoli designs and patterns on their Products to preserve these Rangoli designs in Art forms. Glaze Firing is done for all the Products from Andretta Pottery, so it is safe to be even used in Microwave Oven for baking. Andretta has become a sanctuary for potters and also a popular tourist attraction of the region. Nearby there is a village called Bir, located in the west of Joginder Nagar Valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. It is a paragliding destination. Some homestays are catering to the tourists in Andretta; otherwise, regular accommodations are available at Palampur, a popular tourist destination. Andretta and Palampur enjoy pleasant weather most of the year.
