Kolkata was not always the urban centre that it is now. The city of Calcutta, as it was previously known, was formed out of the three villages of Gobindapur, Sutanuti and Kalikata after the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which established the dominance of English as a colonial power in the state of Bengal.

The Governor, an Englishman named John Holwell, established workers quarters in different parts of the city for the workers of the East India Company. This move gave birth to ‘Coomartolly’, or the potters quarters. Over time, the name of this locality of suffered much ‘Indianization’, if one could call it, and became popularly known as Kumartuli. Currently, Kumartuli stands as the epitome of the flourishing indigenous industry of artisans working within the urban city of Kolkata.

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Kumartuli is most popular for the clay idols of the Hindu gods that the artisans of the neighborhood craft for the annual religious festivities. The streets serve as both a market and a workplace. The artisans are usually the busiest between the months of June and October, which they spend behind the creation of the clay idols that are worshipped during Durga Puja, the most important religious festival in this part of the country.

The process of creation of these idols has a religious undertone, too. Artisans can only start working on the idols after the basic block on which the idol is placed, known as ‘kathamo’, is worshipped in a religious ceremony that takes place during early-July.

The artisans craft the clay models of the gods and goddesses around a skeletal structure of straw with the clay that they gather from the banks of the sacred Hindu river of Ganga. The eyes of the deities are painted with much caution. A week before the Puja celebrations start, on the auspicious day of Mahalaya, artisans wake up at the break of dawn and meditate before they paint the eyes of the clay idols in one stroke.

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Accessible by every mode of transport that is available in Kolkata, Kumartuli stands as a reminder of the beauty of traditional craft that seems to be losing ground amidst urban scientific development. The activity that that busies this colony of people in the heart of the Kolkata over this period is a potential treat for the tourists visiting the city of Kolkata.

A visit to Kumartuli is a must for everyone who enjoys observing the skill and soul involved in traditional craftsmanship. The spirit that is displayed by these artisans who manage to battle numerous socio-economic factors and eke out a modest living out of this practice is a story that is unique to these narrow lanes of North Kolkata.

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