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...
Almost all of the housemaids who come to your homes for work from the nearby slums of Mumbai have a similar tale to tell. They work very hard throughout the day in different homes to make some monthly pay package. But at the end of the month they get nothing for their comfort. They have to hand it over to their mom-in-laws or husbands. And, their husbands unfailingly spend their hard-earned money on drinks. Most of the husbands do not work at all, so they need the money all the more for their indulgence. The housemaids go on suffering silently and very soon it impacts their health. A deathly pale and skinny maid worked in our place now and then for the last two years. She always looked tired and took a long time to finish her work. From others we knew that she was always sick and visited the government hospital daily to take some booster injections. We also came to know that her in-laws and her husband were very cruel people and not only took her money away but also deprived her of min...