Bengali narrative: What are we known for?

Bengalis are scattered in India like unkempt lawns. They were perhaps the first among Indians to migrate to other cities for a better living and expected comfort. Many of those early migrants, who were English educated, proved themselves and became an influential segment of the society in course of time. But the situation is different now as the level of migration from Bengal has reached the bottom layer of the society. Lacs of migrant workers leave Bengal every year with menial jobs in hand. Most of them live in other states between the dilemma over their identity:  are they half-Indians or only Bengalis? There's a mystique surrounding their very existence. They place themselves in a position which is half-truth and at the same time half-lie. However, the idea of being a Bengali makes us, the so-called educated class of Bengalis, clearly distinct from the mainstream Indians. It may not be wrong to state here that Bengalis, as a language group, make themselves significantly separate from the bold lettered Hindi Hindustan. This is often divisive, often a unifying factor that writes the definition of what we are today, and what we are going to be. In the scope of this short write-up, I will restrict myself to a few myths about Bengalis (the educated specimens) that I have come across during my close-to-two-decades stay outside Bengal.

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• Bengalis are considered a culturally inclined group of people. They are believed to know all sort of artistic expressions, starting from art and music to dance and all other creative pursuits. It is often thought that all children in Bengal are born with some special creative genes.

• Bengalis are also regarded as a sweet-loving population. From the glittering stores of Haldiram and Bikanervala to the local supermarkets, one will find a section marked as Bengali sweets. Some strange versions of local sweets are displayed there and nothing of Bengal, except Rasogolla, is spotted.

• There is another perception that Bengalis are lazy and they love to sit idle without work. Perhaps they daydream with the stars of their creative thoughts. I don’t know how far it is true, but that’s just a thought process that has gained momentum.

• The women with an ancestry from Bengal are admired for their beauty and sex appeal. Many men in north India secretly dream of marrying a Bengali woman with a long thick black Rapunzel hair. She is thought to have a perfect body shape coming out of the pages of Kalidas. It may be a notion, but the dream remains in the hidden part of their brain.

• Durga Puja takes the major share of Bengali culture. Though Bengal is home to other religious groups, especially Muslims, and Eid is one of the major festivals celebrated with a number of festivities by Bengali Muslims, the fascination for Durga Puja is highly conspicuous.

• Bengal, in the perception of others, can't be sketched without recognizing it as a den of politics. Whether the power lies with the erstwhile CPI(M) or the present Trinamool Congress, Bengalis are called an aficionado of the phrase "Cholbe na" which literally means "We won't let in happen." The present Bengal may not embrace change on a large scale, but the colloquial phrase gives it a different perspective and status in the eyes of others.

• One of my Hindi-speaking colleagues told me that she visited the Durga Puja pandals in Delhi only to see an exquisite variety of elegant cotton sarees – a collection which she couldn't find in any other place. Bengali women can boast of their wardrobe full of sarees piled years after years. Their choice of attire often make others feel inferior to them.

• Another important aspect of Bengaliness is falling in love quite fast and at frequent intervals. If one love ends with refusal, the broken-hearted Bengali man never waits long to get connected to another one. People outside Bengal appreciate this loving nature of Bengalis with the phrase "Ami tomake bhalobasi".

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In this present era of clean darkness, when Bengalis have almost been stripped of their past glory, the city of Kolkata still draws interest and wonder to those who visit the city for a while. Those who have a faint knowledge of the rich history of Bengal in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, revere Bengal as a place of intellectual liberation. Many of the pioneering flames in India were born in this land, and that fame is still not extinguished. Bengal no longer thinks ahead of India, Bengalis no longer show a path of academic and cultural excellence to others in the country, but a visit to Bengal or a discussion on Bengali culture helps some remember a glorious phase of the history when the country looked towards modernity. That keeps a promise in the womb of future.

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Picture source: Author

Picture 1: A dilapirated house in Howrah, West Bengal

Picxture 2: The courtyard of Tagore House in Jorasanko, north Kolkata