Pottery is his family’s legacy
The clay pots made by this third-generation potter are much sought-after, especially during the Ponggal festival.
ASK anyone who is skilled in the art of cooking Ponggal – a delicious dish of sweet and sticky rice, generally made with cow’s milk, ghee (clarified butter), cardamom and sugar – and they would say that you should start with the right clay pot.
Choosing the right clay pot to cook in requires certain skills as well.
First, you give the pot of choice a visual test by looking at its colour. The right clay pot which has been baked at an optimum temperature will have a whitish finish to it.
Next, you check the clay pot’s outer surface for any cracks that might have been caused by a high moisture content, or overbaking.
The final test is the sound test. You tap on the clay pot to listen for a dull thud that resembles the sound a ceramic mug makes when youtaponit.
Once all three tests are done and passed, you know you have, in your hands, the perfect clay pot to make a good Ponggal.
These three tests can make or break a clay pot, said Arumugam Perumal, at his factory in Kuala Selangor.
The 50-year-old potter’s love and passion for making clay pots is evident in his enthusiasm when explaining the art.
Arumugam said his late grandfather Vengadasalam started a small pottery business in the 1920s in their home in Kuala Selangor and his father took over the business in the 1950s.
“I am the third generation of my family to run this business. When I was young, I watched my grandfather make the pots. Then, I watched my father do it. My father trained me to make the perfect clay pots. I learnt from the best,” he said.
When Arumugam took over the business from his father 30 years ago, he was already an expert in the field of pottery.
He was so sure of his footing in the pottery world that he never had to think twice about making a living out of it, unlike his siblings who all refused to do so because it is not a “glamorous job”.
“When I took over the business from my father, I did everything the traditional way, by hand. Everything is made from scratch and it is labour-intensive.
“However, as time passed, I realised that if I wanted to expand the business and do mass production of clay pots, I had to incorporate technology and invention into the business.
“This led me to buy a plot of land in Kuala Selangor. I built a pottery factory there and installed heavy machinery. The machinery turned out to be one of the best business decisions I made, for it cut the production time in half,” he said.
Arumugam said despite that, some manual work is still needed to ensure quality.
“The process of making a perfect clay pot can take days. First, you break up the clay in a clay blancher that turns it into liquid. Then, you filter the liquid clay to remove the dirt, small stones and particles.
“The filtered, liquid clay will go into a filter bag that turns it solid, before being chucked into the clay mixed with sand and water.
“After the clay, sand and water are mixed properly, the process of shaping and sculpting the clay pots manually will begin.
There are machines to do this but it will never be the same as doing it by hand,” he said.
Arumugam said 100 clay pots can be sculpted by hand in one day.
“The shaped clay pots will be left to dry in the sun for two to three hours. When it is 40% dry, we use a sharp knife to smooth away the rough edges and bumps.
“The pots will then be left in the sun for two to three days to dry completely. The firing or baking process takes place next – the pots are baked in a clay boiler for nine hours.
“The final step is to swipe gravel all over the baked pots, for an earthen finish,” he explained.
Arumugam said his factory can produce about 5,000 clay pots per day, but during the Ponggal festival, when demand sky-rockets, his business produces some 2 million clay pots each day.
“During the Ponggal season when people buy colourful clay pots to make Ponggal, our usually plain clay pots are painted with
floral, leaf and kolam designs,” he said.
Arumugam’s clay pots are priced between RM5 and RM50, which can fit about a litre to 30 litres of milk, depending on the size. It has been close to a century since his late grandfather started the pottery business. Not only has Anumugam kept the family business alive, he has also expanded it to Perak, where he runs another five pottery factories.
He also bought two lorries to deliver the pots safely and he now has customers all over Malaysia and Singapore.
Arumugam admits that the work that goes into producing the clay pots is tedious. Nevertheless, he loves doing what he does. He was even recognised for his hard work when he was presented with an award by the Malaysian Indian
Business magazine in 2015 for his entrepreneurship.
One thing’s for sure, the work may wear him down and take up most his time, but nothing will stop the hardworking potter from continuing his family legacy.