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...
The small screens of our homes come alive with horrific visuals time and again thanks to the strikes or attacks by the US and the allied forces. When celebrations follow such acts of raw violence a question appears in some corner of our mind—is something wrong? Be it Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden or Muammar Gaddafi--their violent ends disturb that part of our mind. But at the same moment we tend to identify with the oppressed and terrorized people and celebrate with them. Such terrorists or dictators are confirmed offenders of mankind. They fully deserve the horrendous ends they finally get. Throughout their destructive careers they leave a trail of unprecedented violence, brutalities and sufferings. Okay, they are demons. But we are still humans, no? Read the Full Article...