Keen to see an artist who is so much a part of Jaipur history was our story for today.We knocked on his door only to find that he had passed away last year. His daughter, Meenakshi, still continues the tradition of pottery that her father had revived…

Blue Pottery, started in China somewhere in the 15th century, and was brought into India by the later Moguls at RamSinghs time, where it had trickled in from China into Persia.The art initially used for architecture went to flourish as a form of pottery from Kashmir into Rajasthan and then became confined to being a speciality of two local artists named Bholaram and Chudamani. The art started fading post independence.

Commissioned by the late Rajmata Gayatri Devi to revive the art, Kripal Singh set up the Shilp Kala Mandir and then devoted the rest of his life reviving and reinterpreting the art of blue pottery.

The glaze of blue pottery is made from fuller’s earth and is a combination of Chinese and Persian styles. The design is essentially geometric and floral with a combination of the blue-green palette used, though touches of ochre are sometimes brought in.The palette derived from the oxides of cobalt, cadmium and chromium are used for the glaze and fired in a wood kiln. Being a very fragile and delicate form of pottery the artist needs to work very carefully because it cannot be retouched.

Trivia: The moguls used blue pottery to test food for poison. If the glaze changed colour it meant the possibility of the food being poisoned!

We have so much of art in this country that is slowly fading away…this travel with GDC has made me realise over and over that there is much to see and to understand about people like Kripal Singh who dedicate their lives reviving secrets of the lost arts.