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A kulhar (Hindustani: कुल्हड़ or کلہڑ) or kulhad, sometimes called a shikora, is a traditional handle-less terracotta cup from North India and Pakistan that is typically unpainted and unglazed, and meant to be disposable. Since kulhars are made by firing in a kiln and are almost never reused, they are inherently sterile and hygienic. Bazaars and food stalls in the Indian subcontinent traditionally served hot beverages, such as tea, in kuhlars, which suffused the beverage with an "earthy aroma" that was often considered appealing. Yogurt, hot milk with sugar as well as some regional desserts, such as kulfi (traditional ice-cream), are also served in kulhars. Kulhars have gradually given way to thermocole (polystyrene) and coated-paper cups in India, because the latter are lighter to carry in bulk and cheaper.
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Possible origins
Kulhars may have been in use in the region for the past 5,000 years, since the Indus Valley Civilization.
Effects on taste
Since kulhars are unglazed, a hot beverage (such as tea) partially soaks into the interior wall of the kulhar in which it being served. This has an enhancing effect on the beverage's taste and fragrance, which is sometimes described as "earthy" (सौंधी ख़ुशबू, سوندهی خشبو, sondhi khushboo). Although kulhars have been losing ground to synthetic cups due to cost and efficiency reasons, higher-end restaurants often serve kulhar-waali chai (tea in kulhars) to their patrons.
Revival efforts by Indian Railways and criticism
In 2004, the Indian Railways (then under the leadership of minister Laloo Prasad Yadav) attempted to revive the use of kulhars for tea and other beverages sold on railway stations and aboard trains. It was argued that this was more hygienic than plastic, and also more environmentally friendly because kulhars are made exclusively of clay. It was also believed that, since kulhars are manufactured by small rural kilns, this would assist in boosting rural employment.
Critics countered that the railways would need to dispense about 1.8 billion kulhars a year, which would mean heavy fuel consumption in the kilns with associated pollution. The discovery of thousands of years old shards from Indus Valley ruins was also used as evidence to challenge the assertion that kulhars biodegrade rapidly and are environmentally superior. If the clay in a kulhar is fired at higher-temperatures, the water inherent in the clay evaporates and the salts fuse to form glassy substances which can take up to a decade to degrade. Fears were also expressed that a kulhar revival might result in topsoil depletion at the rate of 100 acres (0.40 km2) per state per day and that the economic gains to rural artisans would be minimal.
Although alternatives to topsoil are available and kulhars can be made at lower temperatures to save fuel and make them more rapidly degradable, by 2008, the effort to revive kulhar use on the railways was being considered a failure with the continuing widespread use of plastic and coated-paper cups. The primary reasons were the weight of kulhars and the higher per-unit cost. One estimate claimed procurement costs to be 40 paisas per kulhar and 7-10 paisas for coated-paper cups. There were also some vendor complaints that, because kulhars absorb liquids to some extent, buyers have to be given more tea per serving in a kulhar than in a disposable plastic cup.