Kumortuli – The Hub Of Art And Artists

The name ‘Kumortuli’ is associated with the art of idol making and sculpturing, which is deeply connected with the tradition and heritage of Bengali culture.

- Ellora De

This area in northern Kolkata near the river Ganges could still retain its original essence amidst the world of digitalisation. The Bengali word ‘kumor’ means ‘potter’ who makes clay items. The potters of Kumortuli, transformed the clay from the river Ganges into beautiful sculptures that were sold at Sutanuti Bazar (later Barrabazar) in old Kolkata. Gradually they took the art of making images of gods and goddesses to the city market. Many artisans of Kumortuli are from the Nadia district of West Bengal, India, where making idols or items of clay is a household practice.

The process of clay idol making can be classified into the following stages:

Creating the basic framework with bamboo and dried straw and then interlacing them to give the shape of the structure.

Making of the clay images and then painting the images.

Decorating the clay images.

This decorating process either involves shola-works or zari-works. According to the artisans of Kumortuli, presently zari-works have larger markets than other decorating items.

The artists