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...
Mani Kaul was one of the pioneering Indian filmmakers who contributed to the evolution of Parallel Cinema in India. Trained in the Film and Television Institute of India Pune, when Ritwik Ghatak was the chairman, Mani Kaul took cinema as an intricate method of expression. His Uski Roti (1969) was a revolution in Indian cinema bringing in an intellectual and intuitive approach to film-making (Filmfare critics award, 1971). Instead of obvious portrayal of emotions he made the audience study and understand every frame of his creations. If you are not attentive you may soon lose the thread of the narrative. Rooted to realism Mani Kaul could hardly differentiate between his masterful features and documentaries. He won his first National Award for his feature ‘ Duvidha’ in 1974 for Best Direction and won his second for his documentary ‘ Siddheswari’ in 1989 for Best Documentary. His musical masterpiece ‘Dhrupad’ (1982) showed his deep understanding of Indian music and rigorous training ...