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...
Once upon a time there were two brothers in a village. The elder brother was of the gentle and peaceful type while the younger one was openly villainous, foul and quarrelsome. After their respective marriages, the petty quarrels became serious, and so they decided to separate—building their own houses dividing the same plot of land. On the border between them was a longish pond and the elder brother’s household did not even catch a fish coming out of that pond to their area on a rainy day as it was not their property. Occasionally on some issues the younger brother used to storm into the elder’s house—threatening him with a dagger at times. Although the boycott was total for decades the new generations of both households used to meet often defying the ban; some of them were close friends; a few of them went to different cities on jobs and there, members of both families used to enjoy togetherness freely. The point being made here is that a boycott plan does not even work at the micros...