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...
Thanks to the crusader against corruption Anna Hazare, fasting or basically not eating has become a hot selling property. Almost everybody ranging from politicians to spiritualists are vying to have a tryst with this phenomenon. The craze is simply explained by the media attention amounting to hype the act of fasting generates. Add on benefits are also apparent where politics take over.The fasting personalities catapult themselves in the national or even international platform for future aspirations. The state of Gujarat in north western India is presently witnessing fast and counter fast. The Chief Minister of the state, Narendra Modi, has launched his three day fast at an air conditioned auditorium on a goodwill mission for communal harmony. Justifiably so, since the Chief Minister belonging to the main opposition party at the national level has been ravaged by communal controversies since last nearly ten years with several court cases running. But his actual progress initiative...