The potter’s dying craft

A dying trade: Kandasamy demonstrating his clay-shaping expertise at his workshop in Ijok.

KUALA SELANGOR: With deft fingers, S. Kandasamy works his magic on ready-mixed clay, shaping up to 3,000 oil lamps and tea-light holders each day at his workshop in Ijok here.

The 62-year-old cottage potter merely relies on his potter's wheel, a jar of water and clay to craft the lamps at breakneck speed.