Brotherhood of the potters
Updated On: 15 September, 2025 04:15 PM IST | Mumbai | Fiona Fernandez
Kolkata’s potter neighbourhoods are being reimagined, thanks to inspiring plans by students. We wonder if their Dharavi counterparts can also dare to dream
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Inside the workshop of a potter in Kumartuli. PIC/FIONA FERNANDEZ
Kumbharwada and Kumartuli. Two potter colonies. Two spaces bearing a near-similar socio-cultural and economic fabric. Two neighbourhoods connected with festivals. Two areas in dire need of resuscitation. While on a recent visit to Kolkata, these similarities weren’t lost on me as I studied the detailed panels of the Sovabazar Urban Conservation Exhibition organised by the Calcutta Heritage Collective (CHC), in collaboration with School of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity. The one-day event had the who’s-who of the city’s heritage and cultural community, from conservation architects to developers and citizen champions, all invested in the possible reimaginations conceived by students of North Kolkata’s culturally rich neighbourhood, which is home to Kumartuli’s sculptural traditions, colonial mansions and ancient canals. For the uninitiated, it’s where the revered Durga and Kali Puja idols, among other deities, are sculpted. These designs made me spiral into a series of “what-ifs” about the fate of the fragile Kumbharwada.
The Timeless Heritage – Past Forward exhibition was the culmination of a semester-long Conservation and Regeneration studio at CEPT University. These students had travelled to Kolkata to study this historic and culturally rich neighbourhood. Earlier, the event had kicked off with a series of insightful panel discussions, that included pan-Indian experts, including Mumbai’s own conservation heavyweight, Vikas Dilawari; Delhi’s Gurmeet Sangha Rai, celebrated architect, and founding director of CRCI and The Lime Centre; Ayan Sen, Kolkata architect and faculty member, CEPT University, Ahmedabad; Sonal Mithal from Ahmedabad, an academic and practitioner in heritage studies, and Mukul Agarwal, founder trustee, CHC, who with her team, had steered this exhibition. Sen, during a conversation with Dilawari, had asked the latter to discuss parallels between the two grand old cities. From their architectural similarities and colonial past, to their migration patterns and demographic mapping, it made for a fascinating listen. One point shared by Dilawari resonated across the audience — that Kolkata’s heritage sites and locations were yet to face the full brunt of redevelopment. The plans envisioned by students drew praise, given the intent to improve living and working conditions within this densely populated and congested area, where development had stamped its ugly imprint.
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