Kumortuli

Kumortuli (also spelt Kumartuli) is a traditional potters' quarter in North Kolkata in West Bengal, India.

[2] Most of the artisans living in the North Kolkata neighbourhoods dwindled in numbers or even vanished, as they were pushed out of the area in the late nineteenth century by the invasion from Burrabazar.

The potters of Kumortuli, who fashioned the clay from the river beside their home into pots to be sold at Sutanuti Bazar (later Burrabazar), managed to survive in the area.

Gradually they took to making the images of gods and goddesses, worshipped in large numbers in the mansions all around and later at community pujas in the city and beyond.

[6] In maps showing thanas or police stations in old Kolkata, Kumortuli is shown as being between Shyampukur, Bartala, Jorasanko, Jorabagan and Hooghly River.

[8][9] The idol is 1.5 feet tall and has ten arms, which are mounted on a mythical lion in the form of Katyani Mahishasurmardini Durga.

According to Bengali Hindus Dhakeswari is considered to be the presiding deity of Dhaka, which is an incarnation or form of Goddess Durga, the Adi Shakti.

[8] Being close to the heart of Kolkata, Kumortuli was home to a number of renowned or famous people during the Bengal Renaissance.

[15] Gobindram Mitter, the tax collector after Nandram, lived in a large mansion on a sprawling 16-acre property during this time.

[16] Banamali Sarkar's famous house which is immortalized in Bengali rhyming proverb, was there till the 19th century.

Dhakeswari Mata Idol at Kumortuli