Mud or Clay Stove or Hearth (چولھا)
Fireplace hearth was traditionally used for both heating and cooking for many centuries.These are made out of a non-combustible material such as clay ,mud , stone or slate. These non-combustible materials help to keep the heat of the fire away from your house combustible items.
Chullas are designed to have an enclosed flame and having two or three burners.The chulla is made by an expert woman using stone ,bricks mud.The chullas are constructed on flat bottom with side walls ,a hollow space for fire woods within walls and an open on front side with minimum two to three circular holes or chambers .The walls are connected with a long ,thin dressed stone is called as "Naad".Two Naads are used in parallel then the circular shape with slanted position is moulded with clay which is called as burner or "Ohla" or hole / Chamber.
The underside of chulla is digged 3 to 4 inch with a semicircular front position with size varrying with the size of Chulla is called ash trap (Barooi) then it is removed from here with shovel or trowel out from chulla.The pots are placed over or hung into holes .The circular holes can be supported by knee high shape called as "Chara" that help in passing heat from below to the side of pots and modern terms ,it is called as trivets. The side walls of chullas are extended on both side for placing urgent utensils on it required during cooking and women relax with it while cooking .These extensions are called "Thaeli".
The open heat system produce much smoke that is lethal for womens . Just above the chullas ,a vent or Smoke hole has been constructed in the roofwith a covering or in the gables is called flap vent with square or rectangular type with a handle positioned in such a way that it would not leak the water .It is positioned around the apex of the interior beams and the flaps were extended outward on poles to open the vent from inside at the time of litting fire.fire.Govt also initiated some schemes like Smokeless chullas or Ujwalla to provide the assistance to rural women.
Chullas have cultural values.The important thing is this that everyone eats food on the same chulla . The chulla integrate the members of family and also give aroma to change the flavor of food and make it tasty. One has to think a million times before breaking the family and keeping another chulla in the house because with it family along with faith soul ,ancestors ,deities gets divided.That's why the elders used to say, divide your business, but let the chullah remain one. In a joint family, with the help of two earners, the family of a single person was also supported by this system .
Food is the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together.
It is very cheap and easy to build, by using local materials and it take only two hour to build. As it is made up of simple mud and straw/rice paddy husks it can be easily repaired by women’s when broken. The Rural Hindus of Poonch /Rajouri apply cow dung (choka) on the chullas , walls and floor of the kitchen with the intention that it act as an anti bacterial and natural mosquito repellent.
