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Tue, 03/03/2009 - 17:51 — admin
Jaipur Blue

Leela Bordia, an enterprising businesswoman from Jaipur, used to visit craftsmen's colonies as a social worker. What started as a passing interest in their lives, especially of those involved in making blue pottery, soon turned into a passion for mastering the intricacies of this craft. With no preconceived notions of what could or could not be made with blue pottery, Bordia began experimenting with beads, doorknobs,paperweights, ash-trays and other such items. And thus was born Neerja International, which today produces a mind-boggling range of functional and decorative objects in this medium.

Text: Dharmendar Kanwar
Photographs: Narayan Pratap

Blue pottery, though Turko-Persian in origin, is now widely recognised as one of the many distinctive crafts of Jaipur.
Legend has it that, when the city of Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Sawai Jai Singh I, craftsmen from all over the country were invited to come and make their home in this new city. Royal patronage, lucrative offers and the attraction of living in a beautiful city led many artisans and craftsmen to come and settle in Jaipur. By the beginning of the 19th century the city was well-established as a thriving art centre. In keeping with the traditions of his forefathers, Sawai Ram Singh II (1835-1880) set up the School of Art and
the School of Art and continued to encourage artists and craftsmen. And it was this ruler who stumbled upon blue pottery during one of his kite-flying sessions. His kite-masters were engaged in 'battle' with two brothers from Achnera (near Agra). When the ruler saw that the brothers managed to bring down the royal kites almost every time, he was intrigued. He called the brothers, who told him that they were potters by profession and had coated their strings with the same blue-green glass that they used for their pots.

The ruler was impressed and invited the brothers to stay on and teach this unique form of glazed pottery at his soon-to-be-established art school.

That was the beginning of blue pottery in Jaipur. But the end was not too far behind! This unique craft should have flourished. There was every reason, every facility to do so — but the master potters showed great reluctance to share their trade secrets with fellow craftsmen. The inevitable result of this attitude was a lowering of standards and a gradual dying out of the craft. .

From then onwards there were several attempts to revive blue pottery but the credit of giving it a fresh lease of life goes to Kripal Singh Shekhawat, an internationally renowned artist. He entered the field in the early 1960s and acquired

such a formidable reputation that few artisans were inclined to venture into an area so totally dominated by him. He set very high standards which were difficult to surpass and until the' 70s, his designs were studiously duplicated. There were few attempts to try anything new.

It took Leela Bordia, a rank newcomer, with no background in either art or business to change the face of the staid, traditional world of blue pottery and give it a new dimension. And one of the main reasons behind her success was the fact that she had no preconceived notions about what could and could not be made with blue pottery.

In the early days, blue pottery meant huge pots and flower vases, tiles and plates.


The range was rather limited and smaller items were rare. Though different colour combinations and designs were tried, the items basically remained on the larger side.

Leela wondered if smaller items would work and tried, amazingly enough, to make beads in blue pottery. While she was still experimenting with them, Paul Coomar, a top buyer from Paris, came on the scene. He was deeply interested in Indian handicrafts and was a regular buyer of handblock printed garments from Jaipur. When he saw the beads he immediately realised their potential and discussed the various possibilities with Leela Bordia, giving ideas, designs and orders for the new product for his shop, Simrane, in Paris. So, even before Leela realised how successful her beads would be, she had found a buyer.

This lucky break continued with the patronage of John and Faith Singh of Anokhi — an export house with a worldwide network of buyers. Their shop began to carry Bordia's beads, doorknobs, paper-weights, ash-trays and several other items, and their buyers became hers as well. And after that there is no looking back.