Kumartuli or Kumortuli is located in the northern part of the city of Kolkata . The locality is a traditional habitat of the potters for nearly three hundred years. The potters or the artisans or the artists settled here during the restructuring of the Kolkata colonial region by the British East India Company . Earning a livelihood by making earthen pots and utensils first they gradually shifted to the making of the idols of Gods and Goddesses for various festivals round the year. With increasing demand and quality of their creations over time the artisans became famous and Kumartuli came to be known as the hub of idol makers supplying thousands of idols, particularly of Goddess Durga , to whole of the state of West Bengal and to NRIs of around 90 countries across the globe. At least three months before Durga Puja , the biggest festival of West Bengal and one of the biggest across Eastern India, more than five hundred workshops come alive with hyper activity day and night. Fir...
The four-nation Asia Cup for one-day internationals began on March 11, 2012 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the inaugural match host Bangladesh met Pakistan. It was a thriller to kick off the tournament with both teams undergoing the extreme highs and lows of performance and swinging fortunes. Pakistan looked to dominate at one stage with 135 for no loss, but Bangladesh reduced them to a hopeless 198 for 7. Then, Pakistan bowler Umar Gul played a brilliant cameo of 39 to lift the team to a challenging 262 for 8 in fifty overs. Bangladesh decided to give a healthy chase as they always prefer chasing.
But when after a relatively good start Bangladesh got reduced to 135 for 5 the old script was about to be written. Then again, Shakib Al Hasan had other ideas and partnering with Razzak brought the team within striking distance of victory with only 39 runs needed off 40 balls and five wickets still remaining. But experienced Pakistan had the last high with Umar Gul as a bowler now combining with Saeed Ajmal gulped down all five Bangladesh wickets for the addition of only 18 runs. Thousands of Bangladesh fans were stunned and felt totally let down. Scores: Pak 262/8, Bangladesh 241 all out--Pak winning by 21 runs. Mohammad Hafeez of Pakistan was declared Man of the Match for all-round batting and bowling performance.
India after a disastrous Australian tour is meeting their opponent in the CB Tri-Series, Sri Lanka in the second match tomorrow. Thanks to 'seniors Vs juniors' plus the 'rotation' controversy dashing opener Virendar Sehwag is not in the team and Zaheer Khan too is out due to fitness problems. Sri Lanka seems to be confident after a good performance in the Tri-Series just failing to win the third final. But India does have the satisfaction of winning two out of the four encounters with Sri Lanka, one match ending in a tie. In all, it promises to be a big one in subcontinent conditions and crowds.
The main attraction of the tournament is going to be the India-Pakistan match on coming Sunday. Any such encounter between the classic arch-rivals is awaited with bated breath. Significantly such encounters are very rare nowadays because of strained bilateral relations. Meantime the ghost of match-fixing has also staged a comeback with a bookie making allegations that match-fixing has been the norm and that the World Cup Semi-final between India and Pakistan was fixed. The subcontinent cricket is always under suspicion and any big losses or wins for India generate rumors of match-fixing instantly.
Anyway, now it's time to enjoy the Asia Cup--2012!
The main attraction of the tournament is going to be the India-Pakistan match on coming Sunday. Any such encounter between the classic arch-rivals is awaited with bated breath. Significantly such encounters are very rare nowadays because of strained bilateral relations. Meantime the ghost of match-fixing has also staged a comeback with a bookie making allegations that match-fixing has been the norm and that the World Cup Semi-final between India and Pakistan was fixed. The subcontinent cricket is always under suspicion and any big losses or wins for India generate rumors of match-fixing instantly.
Anyway, now it's time to enjoy the Asia Cup--2012!
May the best Team win!
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