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.

The Flok Dance of Karnataka

Karnataka music and dance feature a wide variety of classical and folk forms. Music and dance from Karnataka are meant not only for entertainment but also for the spiritual betterment of the performers and the beholders. Influences have filtered in from every corner of southern and even northern India and have enriched the world of Karnataka's music and dance.

Carnatic classical music lies at the very center of Karnataka music and dance traditions. From ancient times, Karnataka has contributed largely in ascertaining its structure and form. It has also presented the world with some of its major composers and performers. The veena along with violin and mridangam form the chief musical instruments. Unlike most states of southern India, the contribution of Karnataka to the world of North Indian Classical music has also been noteworthy. Kuchipudi is the original dance form with its origin in Karnataka. However, other classical dance forms like the Bharatanatyam also form important parts within the tradition of music and dance of Karnataka.

Folk performance are very significant parts of Karnataka music and dance. They beautifully blend music, dance and theatrical performances. Most of these folk forms still continue in their primary ritualistic mode. Kunithas are traditional dance dramas that employ a great deal of music and dance. Some of the major forms of these kunithas are dollu kunithas, pata kunithas, dorava kunithas. The highly spectacular yashagana is a major folk musical performance. Krishna Parijatha and Bhoot Aradhane are some of the other major folk forms of Karnataka music and dance.

Kamsale of Karnataka, also known as Beesu Kamsale is a vigorous dance form of the Kannad speaking inhabitants of the state that employs a great blend of aesthetic sublimity and martial dexterity. 

Dollu Kunitha is a major form of folk-dance performance in Karnataka. Dollu Kunitha is performed mainly by men and women of the Kuruba community of Nothern Karnataka. 

Porters Of Kolkata

A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who shifts objects for others.Porters are still employed to shift burdens in many third-world countries, especially where animals like camels, oxen, horses and dogs, or vehicles like carts, trucks, ships, trains and aircraft, have not taken over human bearers' traditional functions or where such alternatives are not practicable. Child soldiers are also typically compelled to serve as porters.

Burrabazar (also spelt Bara Bazar) is a neighbourhood in central Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is anassembly constituency. Burrabazar expanded from a yarn and textile market into the commercial nucleus of Kolkata and one of the largest wholesale markets in India.

Before the British came the most powerful families in the region were Sett and Bysacks, the merchants of yarn and cloth market at Sutanuti. With the arrival of the British these families flourished with renewed vigour. Janardan Sett was a trading agent of the British. Shobharam Bysack (1690-1773) became a millionaire by supplying textiles to British East India Company One of the earliest names floating around is that of Mukundaram Sett, who lived in the earlier part of sixteenth century and moved from Satgaon to Gobindapur. Sutanuti haat has been traced back to 1738 by Orme. In the siege of 1756, troops of Siraj ud-Daulah set fire to the market and took possession of Jorabagan and Kumortuli, neighbourhoods further north where the merchants lived.

In between Sutanuti haat made way for Bazar Kolkata, some time in the 18th century. The market was spread over nearly 500 bighas and the residential area covered another 400 bighas. Apart from the Seths and Basaks, there were the gold merchants Mullicks and other men of their calibre. Their affluence and pomp are legends even in their days There also were merchants of comparatively lesser affluence. As for example, the area around what is now Kalakar Street was known as Dhakapatty, as it was home to the Sahas, cloth merchants from Dhaka. The Sheths and Basaks had close links with such cloth producing centres as Dhaka, Murshidabad and Cossimbazar.

Kolkata, West Bengal, India / 22°33′N 88°22′E