Matki (or matka) is an Urdu and Hindi word used for an earthen pot. It is used all over the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

, as a home "water storage cooler". It has been in use since ancient times and can be found in houses of every class.

Production

They are made by the combination of two types of mud

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay part ...

: the first is taken from the surface of the earth and the second after digging more than 10 feet deeper into the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

. Making a matka takes a considerable amount of time. It is a long process of at least 8 days. The clay is mixed with water, shaped, finished, polished, dried and baked in a

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

for 5 days. At last it becomes a completed eastern earthen pot, a home water cooler. In current times, in India, the earthen pots have undergone change, with taps being attached for people's convenience.

Cooling process

The cooling process works through evaporative cooling. Capillary action causes water to evaporate from the mini-pores in the pot, taking the heat from the water inside, thus making the water inside cooler than the outside temperature. Hence it is used only during summer and not in winter.

Gallery

Pani ka matka.jpg, A matka (big earthen pot) on roadside at

Chinawal Chinawal is a village in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra state, India. It is situated at the foothills of the Satpura range in a generally hot and dry climate. The densely populated village is surrounded by the flat land and nutrient-ric ...

, India. Jar,_Indus_Valley_Tradition,_Harappan_Phase,_Quetta,_Southern_Baluchistan,_Pakistan,_c._2500-1900_BC_-_Royal_Ontario_Museum_-_DSC09717.JPG,

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900 ...

pot from Harappan phase found at

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of the ...

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, c. 2500-1900 BC, displayed at Royal Ontario Museum. Clay_pots_in_punjab_pakistan.JPG, Clay pots in Punjab in Pakistan.

References

Containers Indian pottery Pakistani pottery Pottery shapes {{india-culture-stub

Production

Cooling process

Gallery

See also

References