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...
Article first published as Indian Cricket: The IPL Stakes on Technorati. The Sahara Group , main sponsor of Indian Cricket for 11 years, suddenly decided to withdraw sponsorship and withdraw also from the Indian Premiere League (IPL) just before the Players’ Auction extravaganza on February 4, 2012 for IPL season five. Long standing disagreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the BCCI’s arrogant behavior had been cited as the main reasons for this ‘emotional’ decision . A hue and cry followed across the country and raged on with the media playing a crucial role. It signified a huge loss of money for Indian cricket and also for the cash-rich BCCI. While Sahara Group said new sponsors could very well be arranged very soon by the Board the BCCI kept silent till a written communication was received. Then the hard negotiations started between the two Indian business giants. Of course, the imprint of Sahara on the uniforms of the Indian cricket ...