Bengali narrative: What are we known for?
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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.
Beautiful! My perception about the Bengalis is that they the most cultured and tourism-minded people in India. In addition to that they have special fascination for food particularly sweet. They are sharp and intelligent.One Bengali is a poet. Two Bengalis are a film society.
ReplyDeleteNice article about the Bengalees and their Begaliness.
ReplyDeleteLovely reflection. I surely miss beautiful bengali women in cotton sarees in Hyderabad. Look forward to read more!
ReplyDeleteVery nice explanation đ
ReplyDeleteBengalis are not only sweet lovers but are foodies....we love to eat...and it's a variety that can't be explained in such a small space ! Another aspect of the Bengalis you missed is that we welcome everyone with open arms and mind....be it in our home or in our state or wherever we go...we are emotional people and are not judgemental. 'Ami tomake bhalobashi' actually means this and not falling in love with every other girl. This nature is often judged wrongly by people from other places though ! Lastly, we are politically knowledgeable species and act & say right for what is right...Cholche na...Cholbena is for things that we find wrong and in future are proved wrong.... that's why it is said by one of the greats, " What Bengal thinks today India thinks tomorrow" !
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