বাংলায় পড়ুন
The general sentiment across the country when it comes to Bengalis is to associate them with fish, rice, sweets, and “eating” practically everything, whether it is “Jol” or “Hawaa”. Another common misconception is to deem every Bengali as a born communist, about to start blabbering on Marxism, collectivism, Leninism, and so on. True, we are known for certain specific associations, but let us look at how some of these are only illusions.
Let us first deal with the age-old perception of a Bengali woman’s appearance. Not all Bengali women are expert in draping a saree as is commonly believed; in fact, in the current age women literally struggle to properly wound one and even if they have somehow been able to do so, to carry it around gracefully. Secondly, Bengali women are synonymous with big fish eyes, long black hair, and a curvy body. “Lal paar shada saree”, maroon lipstick, a large red bindi, and eyes matted with kohl – that is exactly how a Bengali woman steps out, always! This is not at all so, in fact can’t think of any corporate woman of today going to work always dressed as such. Yes, certain occasions demand such dressing and Bengali women oblige.
Rice and Fish are not the staple diet of Bengalis alone. There are other communities as well who eat fish and rice daily, and Bengalis have a plethora of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items to fulfil their gastronomic desires. Similarly, “Roshogolla” and “Mishti Doi” aren’t things Bengalis eat soon after they wake up in the morning. True, these two are the best delicacies we have, but not the only ones – we have a large variety of dessert delicacies.
Bengali women are deemed progressive, and hence they would always be intellectual, dominant and argumentative, and have a large capacity to drink. Just because Bengali women are always ready to share their views on various topics, they cannot be tagged as being rude. Similarly, Bengalis are not only about Rabindra Sangeet. True, we are proud of the works of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, but various music forms are equally popular, be it folk music, rock’n’roll, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Country Music, Blues, and so on.
Last but not the least, not all roads in Kolkata lead to the Howrah Bridge, and the city is much more than just Howrah Bridge and Victoria Memorial. There are many other memorable sights and sounds of Kolkata which makes the city so special. We don’t always greet people with “ami tomake bhalobashi”, nor do all Bengalis have red coloured zamindari houses with green pillars and a gigantic courtyard. Ask the Bengali of today, maintenance woes of such buildings would be a nightmare. Not all Bengalis have an accent while speaking English – Satyajit Ray, Amartya Sen, Sushmita Sen are glaring examples.
All communities have their intricacies, but there are always exceptions. As long as no community is stereotyped with a few specifics, knowledge sharing would always help us understand more and more about the cultural attributes of each.
