GURUGRAM: Residents of Khurmpur village in Farrukhnagar block lit 2,121 earthen lamps on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at the tenth Mission Mati Deep Mahotsav, a Haryana Day gathering that focused on traditional pottery and the livelihoods of local craftspeople.

The programme also used earthen vessels to serve tea and other food, bringing the appeal to use clay products into the arrangements for the gathering itself. The district account, published on November 2 at 5.21 pm IST, describes a collective lamp lighting and participation by families and visitors from villages in the area.

Pottery at the centre of the gathering

Haryana Mati Kala Board chairman Anoop Kumar Prajapati attended as chief guest. District councillor and advocate Yashpal was the special guest, while Khurmpur sarpanch Anju Bala presided. The village community and the registered Prajapati Kumbhkar Sangh, Farrukhnagar, jointly organised the programme, according to the official district release.

The chairman asked residents to make greater use of products made by traditional potters, including clay lamps during Diwali. He linked that choice to support for the people who make them and to keeping a craft passed down through generations in everyday use. These were appeals made at the programme, rather than an announcement of a new financial assistance scheme.

His remarks also connected pottery with Haryana's cultural heritage and rural economy. He urged people to give locally made products a place in their daily lives and to pass knowledge of traditional arts to younger generations. The use of clay serving vessels gave the gathering a second focus beyond its display of lamps.

  • Place: Khurmpur village, Farrukhnagar block, Gurugram district.
  • Occasion: Haryana Day on November 1, 2026.
  • Programme: tenth Mission Mati Deep Mahotsav.
  • Recorded activity: collective lighting of 2,121 earthen lamps.

Support for a traditional livelihood

The Haryana Mitti Kala Board's description of its role puts the event's livelihood message in context. The board says its work concerns artisans who make clay products, preservation of their traditional skills, economic support and help with marketing. Its stated objectives also include social security for craftspeople and sustaining employment through the preservation and development of traditional clay industries. That wider remit explains why the appeal in Khurmpur addressed both the craft and the people earning a living from it.

The festival account records participation by families, community members and visitors from surrounding villages. It gives the number of lamps lit, but provides no attendance total, sales figure or income estimate for potters. It therefore establishes what the gathering featured without measuring whether purchases or artisan earnings increased afterwards.

The board's formation and published programme

The board's institutional account dates its formation to an Industries and Commerce Department notification issued on December 8, 2010. It describes the organisation as an autonomous body. The account names clay idols, toys and utensils among the products made by the traditional industry.

Its published objectives and functions include setting up skill-development facilities for earthenware, pottery and artefacts, using artists of repute from across the country. Another objective is to bring more artists involved in making these products into the business fold. The list also specifies awareness campaigns for wider adoption of manufactured items.

The marketing objective includes the provision of sales outlets, while product development appears as a separate function. The board lists exhibitions of products made and developed by artists among its activities. It also proposes awards for outstanding artists as a means of encouraging competition. The institutional account cites notification number 1/15-2010-31B1/1525 as the instrument establishing the board under the state department.

The board's public registration form asks for the artisan's name, father's name, occupation, mobile number, experience and workplace. It also contains fields for Aadhaar number, address and the form of work, with email marked optional. A separate field records the help or suggestions sought from the board.

The official contact directory locates the office at Bay Nos. 63 to 66, second floor, Sector 2, Panchkula, Haryana, PIN 134115. It lists Virender Lather, IAS, as member secretary, Narendar Singh as senior accounts officer and Harjeet Singh Hans as accounts officer, alongside the board's telephone number, 0172-2560409.

The district release also records Prajapati describing clay products as environmentally friendly and linking their use to environmental protection. It presents the collective lamp lighting as a message of self-reliance.

This was a village craft programme, separate from the district's Haryana Day programme at John Hall. Other recent local observances included the Unity Day runs at Nehru Stadium and Bhondsi. Readers interested in the district's wider cultural setting can also see the Gurugram heritage places listed by Haryana Tourism.