Ramadass Pottery in Kuala Selangor
Among the Indian community, pottery has long been a living craft, with clay pots once essential to daily life, used to cook meals and as part of religious rituals. But as industrial production grew, their use declined, and with it, the number of practising potters.
Yet, in Kuala Selangor, one man continues to hold the flames at Ramadass Pottery.
At 74, the shop’s owner, Ramadass, has kept the pottery wheel spinning despite modern-day challenges. As a boy, he once faced the choice between schoolbooks and his father’s trade. He chose clay, and in doing so, preserved a heritage that has been slowly slipping away.
A family’s legacy in clay
Like many Indians of his generation, Ramadass came from a family of rubber tappers in Johor Bahru. But fate took a different turn when his father, Vengdasklam, stumbled upon a shop selling clay pots. Curious about their origins, he learned of Kuala Selangor.
Back then, Kuala Selangor was mostly forest and mangroves. Beneath its soil, however, lay a hidden treasure: fine-grained sand and more than two thousand varieties of clay, the foundation of quality pottery.
By the 1940s and 50s, the town had become a bustling pottery hub, with nearly fifty families producing as many as 50,000 pots at a time, distributed across Penang and Johor Bahru.
Growing up as one of fourteen siblings, Ramadass spent most of his childhood steeped in clay and fire. Pottery in those days was gruelling work. Leg-powered wheels demanded stamina, while preparing clay required long days of digging, sieving, and kneading.
Often, he had to skip school for up to ten days just to help with the family trade. When he was 15 years old, his headmaster summoned his father, concerned about the boy’s frequent absences. But when Manickam explained that his son was making clay pots, the headmaster’s response surprised them both: “Then let him continue”.
That moment became a turning point. “If school could not have me, clay would”, Ramadass shared with TheSmartLocal Malaysia. From here on, he set his sights on becoming Malaysia’s king of clay pots, a dream that would take decades of dedication to achieve.
The essence of claypot making
To make a claypot is to practise patience. Clay must be dug, sieved, kneaded, and shaped. The wheel spins steadily, while hands coax form from formlessness.
Every handcrafted pot carries its own signature: subtle ridges where fingers once pressed, variations in tone where fire kissed the surface unevenly. Unlike factory-made ware, handcrafted clay pots are alive, each one a quiet reminder of the maker’s touch.
By the 1990s, the pottery industry in Malaysia had declined, and many families abandoned the craft. Ramadass, however, held on, guided by mentors who believed in him. In 1978, Professor Yeoh from the Malaysian Institute of Art encouraged him to continue his father’s legacy.
Recognition soon followed. The Selangor Menteri Besar awarded him RM2,000 to buy equipment, while Kraftangan Malaysia provided potters’ wheels, gas kilns, and resources.
“It helped me a lot”, he says with quiet gratitude.
In 2022, Ramadass opened his own shop in Kuala Selangor, which he now runs alongside his only son. Clay pots here are sold from RM35, and beyond commerce, the shop has become a space of learning and sharing.
He also offers hands-on workshops, priced from RM100/person, where Malaysians and travellers alike can experience the craft in the traditional way.
A legacy of clay at Ramadass Pottery in Kuala Selangor
For Ramadass, pottery is more than a livelihood. It is about honouring his father’s journey, preserving Kuala Selangor’s clay traditions, and passing on a legacy shaped by soil, sweat, and spirit.
His story is a reminder that heritage lives on not in monuments, but in the hands that continue to create, shape, and share.
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Cover image adapted from: TheSmartLocal Malaysia
Some quotes have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Photography by Yusintha.