People & Society of Calcutta
India Visit - West Bengal, home to legendary preachers, poets, saints, singers, film-makers, sportsmen and academicians, was once the cultural capital of India. Political ideology slowly wove its web in the heart of the easily swayed Bengali and everything else took a backseat. Growth was replaced by grafitti and songs by slogans! Years of rallies, 'bandhs' and 'hartals' have taken their toll - Kolkata, the capital city, is now a shade of its former arrogant, proud and elegant self - Visit India.
Visit to India - Almost in lazy ruins today, the state still holds the soul of the ‘Bhadralok’, the intelligent, sensitive and cultured Bengali who has a passion for philosophy, literature, music, football and/or cricket depending on the season. The people of Bengal love their heroes.....Sri Aurobindo and Sri Ramakrishna; Rabindra Nath Tagore, Mother Teresa and Amartya Sen; tennis’ Leander Paes, and cricketer Saurav Ganguly, nicknamed "the Prince of Kolkata" for his sterling performances on the field! Satyajit Ray, the film maker, became synonymous with Bengal. The people are also great travellers. Go anywhere in the world, be it off-season in Leh or Christmas in Montreal - there are bound to be Bengalis around. The social fabric is hierarchical and patriarchy is still the focal point of general family life - India Visit Asia.
Religion
Visit Calcutta - Hinduism is practised by the majority of the people and Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists make up the rest - Calcutta Visit.
Language
Visit to Calcutta - Bengali is spoken by everyone who's made Bengal his home. Hindi and English are also commonly spoken - Visit to Calcutta.
Food
India Visit - Bengali food consists of a lot of fish, lentils and rice. Breakfast could be milk and rice flakes eaten with 'gur’ or 'luchi' (fluffy wheat pancake) with 'alu dum' (potato mish-mash). Lunch and dinner are elaborate affairs. The first course is rice and 'daal’ (lentil curry) with vegetables, pickled mangos and fresh salad. It is followed by rice and meat and yet another course of rice and fish. Great fish eaters, the true blue Bengali is the one who can crunch fish bones without letting them stick in the throat! The 'hilsa’ fish is a speciality when cooked in mustard sauce - Visit India.
Visit to India - Bengalis love sweets. A vast array of milk based ‘mithai’ (sweetmeats) originated in Bengal. The light and spongy Rosogulla, the mouth-watering Sandesh are available all over India, but nowhere do they taste as they do in Kolkata. Sweet shops in other parts of the country just have to call themselves "Bengali Sweet House" and their reputation is established. If in Kolkata do try the delectable Mishti Doi (rich, sweet yoghurt) - India Visit Asia.
Culture and Crafts
Calcutta Visit - Music, poetry, films and theatre course through the veins of the Bengali. Whether it is Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti or the more contemporary Adhunik, music is a big draw. West Bengal has had many famous film-makers- the Oscar winning Satyajit Ray, the experimental Ritwik Ghatak to the realistic Mrinal Sen. Students spout poetry in the 'Coffee Houses' abutting the colleges. Poesy in West Bengal came into being with the prolific Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, and lived on with Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sukanto, Sakti Chattopadhyay and the contemporary Joy Goswami. Culturally vibrant and alive, Bengalis are the only ones who make a religion of cricket and football. Traffic grinds to a halt when the National Team is playing and everyone is glued to the TV set - Visit to Calcutta.
India Visit - Bankura’s famed handmade pottery, especially the decorated horses, is a traditional craft. The Dokra metal craftsmen of western West Bengal confined to the four districts of Bankura, Purulia, Midnapore and Burdwan, specialise in delicate figurines of deities and animals as well as anklets and tinkling dancing bells - Visit India.
Education
Visit to India - Education in Bengal is prized and valued. The literacy rate is 57.7%. Presidency College was the first institution for higher education in India. Jadavpur University is relatively new, while Shanti Niketan, deemed an International University today, was founded by Rabindranath Tagore as an open-air school where he wanted the East and the West to meet - India Visit Asia.
