Kumartuli

Potua para

Kumortuli  is a traditionally potters’ quarter in northern Kolkata, the capital of the east Indian state of West Bengal. By virtue of their artistic productions these potters have moved from obscurity to prominence. This Kolkata neighbourhood, not only supplies clay idols of Hindu gods and goddesses to barowari pujas in Kolkata and its neighbourhoods, but a number of idols are exported.It is one of the seven wonders in Kolkata.

The British colonisation of Bengal and India started following the victory of the British East India Company in the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The Company decided to build new settlement Fort William at the site of the Gobindapur village. Most of the existing population shifted to Sutanuti. While such neighbourhoods as Jorasanko and Pathuriaghata became the centres of the local rich, there were other areas that were developed simultaneously. The villages of Gobindapur, Sutanuti and Kalikata developed to give rise to the later day metropolis of Calcutta.

Kumortuli images are generally ordered well in advance and there a few for off-the-shelf sale. Nowadays, Kumortuli’s clientele has extended to America, Europe and Africa, among the Indian communities living there. In 1989, Durga images made out of shola pith by Amarnath Ghosh were flown to Sweden, Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria. The images weighed only three kilograms each and were ideally suited for air travel.In modern times, Statues and replicas made out of Fiberglass are also being produced and exported to various parts of the country and the world.