Courtyards of potters at Maloya are filled with clay, spinning wheels and rows of freshly moulded earthenware drying in the sun, while their families are busy preparing for Diwali. Long before earthen diyas find their place on doorsteps and balconies across the city, they take shape in the hands of these craftsmen, who are carrying forward a craft that has travelled through generations.

For 45-year-old Manju, however, pottery was not an inheritance from her own family. Originally from Mansa in Punjab, she grew up in a family that ran an iron factory. She completed her education up to Class XII at a government school and college. It was only after marriage that she encountered the world of pottery.

“I had never seen these things. Initially, it seemed an easy task, but gradually I realised how much hard work goes into it,” Manju says.

Now she works alongside her family and makes earthen pots, flower pots and decorative items.…