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...
New look or old look, new wine or old wine, old bottle or new bottle—whatever way you tend to look at Team India it has been historically proven that India never had answers to sheer fast bowling on green and bouncy tracks overseas. Indian batsmen from times immemorial get bogged down and bat tentatively when faced with fiery spells of pace bowling. That India have never won a single Test Series in Australia and in South Africa in its entire cricketing history is something the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) must not go on ignoring. A few wins here and there have been aberrations rather than being real. BCCI must veer away from its money-oriented policy of preparing ‘commercial’ dry tracks for one-day cricket, and spinning, often unplayable, tracks for Tests. It is not being cynical when we comment that Indian batsmen are kings at home and Indian spinners create wicket-taking records on pitches tailor made for them. While South African or other country fast bowlers generate bowling speed ...