View source for Ghara

{{Short description|South Asian earthen pot}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Earthern pots 01.jpg|thumb|The typical shape of a ghara]]
'''Ghara''' is an earthen pot made in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It is used for storing drinking water and keeping it cool.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sikdar, M. & Chaudhuri, P. |year=2015 |title=Pottery making tradition among the Prajapati community of Gujarat, India |journal=Eurasian Journal of Anthropology |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294427802}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Shafeeq, M. |title=Crafts of Cholistan (Bahawalpur Punjab Pakistan) |year=2014 |journal=International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications |volume=4 |issue=8 |pages=193–199}}</ref>

The word ''ghara'' has [[cognate]]s in [[Pahari language|Pahari]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bangladict.com - অভিধানে 'ঘড়া' এর অর্থ|url=http://www.bangladict.com/%E0%A6%98%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE|access-date=2021-07-21|website=www.bangladict.com|archive-date=2020-02-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209143850/http://www.bangladict.com/%E0%A6%98%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Odia language]]s that can all be traced to the [[Sanskrit]] word ''ghaṭa'' meaning pot.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Osada, H. |editor2=Endo, H. |year=2011 |title=Linguistics, Archaeology and the Human Past |publisher=Indus Project Research Institute for Humanity and Nature |location=Kyoto, Japan |isbn=978-4-902325-67-6 |author1=Parpola, A. |chapter=Crocodile in the Indus Civilization and later South Asian traditions |pages=1–57 |chapter-url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Parpola_Asko_2011._Crocodile_in_the_Indu.pdf}}</ref>
It is spelled in {{langx|hi|घड़ा}};<ref>{{cite book |author=Caturvedi, M. |year=1970 |title=A practical Hindi-English dictionary |location=Delhi |publisher=National Publishing House |chapter=घ/ड़ा |page=186 |chapter-url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/caturvedi_query.py?page=186 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
in {{langx|ne|घड़ा ghaṛā}};<ref>{{cite book |author=Turner, R. L. |year=1931 |title=A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language |location=London |publisher=K. Paul, Trench, Trubner |page=153 |chapter=घड़ा ghaṛā |chapter-url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/turnernepali_query.py?page=153 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
in {{langx|ur|گھڑا}};<ref>{{cite book |author=Platts, J. T. |year=1884 |title=A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English |location=London |publisher=W. H. Allen & Co. |chapter=گهاٿ घाट |page=929 |chapter-url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/platts_query.py?page=929}}</ref> in [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]]: دِلّا<ref>{{Citation |title=دِلّا |date=2022-12-03 |url=https://skr.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=%D8%AF%D9%90%D9%84%D9%91%D8%A7&oldid=187604 |work=وکشنری |access-date=2023-11-19}}</ref>
and in {{langx|pa|ਘਡ਼ਾ}}.<ref>{{cite book |author=Singh, M. |year=1895 |title=The Panjabi dictionary |location=Lahore |publisher=Munshi Gulab Singh & Sons |chapter=ਘਡ਼ਾ |page=382 |chapter-url=https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/singh_query.py?page=382 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The word ''ghara'' is also used for the hollow bulbous protuberance on the snout of mature male [[gharial]]s (''Gavialis gangeticus'') as it is shaped like a ghara. This protuberance enables them to emit a hissing sound that can be heard {{cvt|75|m}} away.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Biswas, S. |author2=Acharjyo, L. N. |author3=Mohapatra, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=1977 |title=A note on the protuberance or knob on the snout of male gharial, ''Gavialis gangeticus'' (Gmelin) |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=536–537 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbombay741977bomb/page/536}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Indian pottery]]
[[Category:Pakistani pottery]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi pottery]]

{{India-cuisine-stub}}
{{Nepal-cuisine-stub}}