THE POTTER PLAYED a significant role in the village community it was he who provided the many utensils and storage items for daily use as well as the diyo, lamps, for Diwali and the prerequisite clay idol of Lord Vinayak or Ganesha for marriage ceremonies. In return for his services the potter would get paid in kind, usually in grain or ghee, clarified butter. After the clay is prepared, it is thrown on the wheel and shaped; the object is given its final shape through tipal, the process of evenly beating its outer wall with a wooden paddle. The chief distinguishing characteristic of the Pokharan pottery is its omamentation lines, dots and stylized vegetal motifs are imprinted with terr cotta, metal and plastic tools. The craftsmen judge a work by its bewk kaam (finesse), safaai (finish), chiknai (smoothness), achchi khudai (quality of carving) and uniformity of thickness.