Seventy-one-year-old Lalit Prajapati of pottery square in Bolachhe-14, Bhaktapur district, is a potter by profession. He took up his family profession ever since he can remember.

Ageing Prajapati is now worried about the preservation and continuation of the family’s legacy. Though almost everyone involved in pottery has been adopting modern techniques leaving behind the traditional style of using potter’s wheel to make the ceramic pots, Lalit is one of the very few people who are not ready to let go of this traditional technique they inherited from their fathers.

Prajapati says that he will not resort to modern techniques to create clay items although they are easier to work with.

Prajapati takes pride in his profession and says his style of work is unique for foreigners. They take his photographs as they are amazed by how he gives shapes to clay simply by using a wheel.

Photo and text by Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi