Where our clay tubri come from
Clay pots, a family of potters and a filling season that starts in August: how the tubri on our counter are made.
Keeping tubri dry in a Kolkata October
Late rain and river damp are hard on clay tubri. How to keep a box dry from delivery to Kali Pujo night.
Kolkata in October can still bring a heavy evening shower, and the air near the river stays damp for days. Most crackers survive this in their boxes. Clay tubri are the exception, because the clay pot draws moisture into the powder inside.
A damp tubri does not fail safely. It may sputter, go out halfway and then flare when someone walks up to look. So when your order arrives, open the outer carton and check that the tubri boxes are dry and firm. If any box feels soft or smells of wet earth, send us a photo the same day.
Store the boxes in a room without a bathroom or kitchen wall, on a shelf or a trunk at least a foot off the floor. A steel trunk with a few newspapers on the bottom works well; a plastic bucket with a lid works for a small order. Keep them away from the puja room lamps and the gas cylinder, and never on a balcony or the roof, where night dew settles.
On the night, carry the tubri up only when you are ready to light them. Set each one on a flat brick or a tile, not on wet ground, and light the fuse at arm’s length. If one fails to start, leave it and move on to the next. Anything left over goes back in the trunk the next morning, dry and boxed.
