In 1757, Maharaja Krishnachandra (1710–1783) helped the British East India Company against Siraj ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey.

Kartik Chandra Pal prepared clay models of statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

Based on his clay models bronze castings were made and have found pride of place in Washington DC and Moscow and were inaugurated by Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, respectively.

Even ten years ago, the demand was for clay models of the great poets and traditional icons such as Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam.

The demand has shifted and so have the artists to the 'hottest pin-up idols of cricket', Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

[6] The number of master craftsmen is decreasing as members of the younger generation are switching over to more lucrative trades or more paying professions.

[8] Women at Ghurni have formed co-operative societies with financial assistance from the funding agencies for the culture of ornamental fishes.

Apart from their decorative value, these fishes fight mosquito-borne diseases and there is a potential export market in countries such as the US, Japan and China.