There's a particular shift in the air over Kolkata when the Ashwin sky fills with those loose white clouds and the kaash phul starts swaying along the riverbanks — the whole city seems to change how it breathes. But the festival that has become almost inseparable from Kolkata's identity today has roots that run much deeper than any single autumn: into old scripture, and just as much into the city's own tangled history. It's worth going back and tracing how a story about a myt

Kumartuli, which translates to "the potters' quarter," emerged in North Kolkata during the late 18th century, following the British establishment of Fort William after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. In the aftermath, the British administration organized the city by allocating specific neighborhoods to various artisan communities, designating Kumartuli for potters and idol-makers. Initially, Kumartuli artisans primarily produced functional earthenware for local markets. Howev