Kumartuli

কুমারটুলি

Also known as Kumortuli, the potters’ quarter.

The lanes where the city’s gods are made from river clay.

About Kumartuli

Kumartuli has been the potters’ quarter since the eighteenth century, when the East India Company set aside districts of the new town by trade. A few hundred workshops crowd its lanes. Idols start as straw tied on bamboo, are layered with clay from the Hooghly, dried, painted and dressed. The same families have done this work for generations, and their images now travel to Bengali communities across the world.

Why visit

Nowhere else can you watch Durga Puja being built by hand, stage by stage, a few feet from where you stand.

What to see and do

Rows of unfinished clay figures drying in the lanes
Artists painting faces and eyes
Shola and ornament makers’ shops
The walk down to the river at Kumartuli Ghat

Plan your visit

Area: Kumartuli, North Kolkata
Nearest landmark: Sovabazar Rajbari
Best time: Morning or afternoon. August to October before Durga Puja is the peak; there is work through the year for other pujas.
Time needed: About 1½ hours
Cost: Free
Entry: Open to everyone: a street, ghat, market or park you can walk into. Public lanes with working studios. Do not touch the idols or block the lanes: wet clay is fragile and people are working.
Metro: Sovabazar Sutanuti (Blue Line), about 10 minutes’ walk
Train: Sovabazar Ahiritola (Circular Railway)
Walking: Some walking
Accessibility: Narrow, uneven lanes that can be muddy; difficult for wheelchairs.
Photography: Good for photography. Ask first, and expect a small fee at some studios before Puja.
Food nearby: Cutlets and kabiraji at the old cabins of Sovabazar.

Tip

Go two to six weeks before Durga Puja for the fullest workshops. Ask before photographing an artist at work; some studios charge a small photography fee in the peak season.

Nearby and related places

Kumartuli Ghat: The potters’ own ghat on the Hooghly.
Sovabazar Rajbari: The palace of Raja Nabakrishna Deb, and a Durga Puja kept since 1757.
Bagbazar Ghat: A wide northern ghat with a long view down the river.
Mitra Cafe: A tiny cabin serving cutlets, kabiraji and brain chop since 1920.
Balaram Mandir: The house where the Ramakrishna Mission was founded in 1897.
Mayer Bari (Udbodhan House): The house where Sarada Devi lived, kept as a shrine.

Walks that include it

Old North Kolkata Walk: From the five-point crossing to the potters’ ghat
Kumartuli Art Trail: Clay, river and the Bagbazar of Ramakrishna

More guides

Last checked on 2026-10-02. Each place was checked to exist and its position confirmed. Timings, closing days and ticket prices are shown only where known and can change: confirm before you travel.