For generations, many families in Muradnagar of Cumilla have pursued pottery as a profession.Pottery is basically the practice of making pots, dishes, and other articles  of fired clay. One of the earliest human interventions, almost every region with a history of human settlement has its own history of pottery. In the lands now comprising Bangladesh, the art of pottery is said to date back to Harappan times. But in terms of actual evidence, the excavation of Mahasthangarh turned up earthenware items dating back to 300 BC - almost two-and-a-half millennia old! Also read: Cooling their way to solvency: Gaibandha villages earn their keep with hand fans Today, most of the pottery villages are located in Dhamrai, just outside Dhaka. Cumilla too is not far behind.  Pots and pans, showpieces, sculptures, toys and many household decoratives made by Cumilla potters tend to be aesthetically pleasing.  Merchants from Dhaka and other parts of the country visit Cumila to buy their items in bulk and sell them in the city markets.  Although the pottery tradition has long roots in this part of the country, the profession is gradually heading towards becoming obsolete, with the onslaught of time and modernity.