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...
India is a country much used to outrages and debates. Maybe we have mentioned this earlier in these pages. When something horrific happens the nation gets outraged. By the time outrage eases debate takes over. And by the time debate takes over everything about it literally gets over. Back to square one the nation waits for the next most catastrophic to happen. A fast track court in Delhi convicted all the four accused (the main accused was found hanging in his cell in Tihar Jail sometime back and the another got away with three years for being a ‘minor’) of the Delhi Gangrape case on September 10, 2013. They were found guilty in all thirteen charges made by police against them. Judgment was to be declared today, but got postponed till Friday as debate took over. This is despite all the major forces pitched in this case including the victim’s family, major political parties, the women leaders and the youth organizations demanding death for the rapists most emphatically and vehemently. ...