Hello
dear chums! How are we today? Did we have good breakfast? Good! Now let’s
continue with my rants, because it is all about me… isn’t it! Of course it is!
It’s my blog! So let us proceed!
With
Durga Puja beginning with Mahalaya today, I sat down thinking, am I a true Bengali?
I ask this question rather often, because of the following;
- I never feel the feeling of Pujo (All the days are same for me, no special get-together/fun time for those days)
- I do not care much for Kolkata street food (because I’ve never tasted any)
- I am not well versed with Robindro Sangeet (I cannot sing, not even to save my life)
- Pandal hopping is not as enjoyable as before (too much crowd & too many screaming elated Bengali aunties hitting the highest possible octave while they chit chat)
- Political chats do not entice me at all (I detest the futile chit chat about what which politician should do and should not)
- I am not much of a Tea person (I am more of a coffee person).
- I have zero understanding of art (especially paintings and poetry)
After
racking my brains and memories (read my previous article to see how difficult
it is for me to play through my memories) for a long time, I have decided I am
as Bengali as I can get and I am proud of it.
L
We
do use a Guptopress Ponjika (a book of auspicious dates, horoscope for the
year, constellation placements throughout the year etc) at home.
I
love bhapa ilish, shukto, aaloo bhaaja and mochar ghonto (and other lip
smacking Bengali dishes as well)
I
am a big fan of Soumitra Chatterjee (a total dude of the Golden Age of Bengali
cinema & my 1st favorite Feluda) and have watched and re watched
almost all of his movies (not all though).
I
may not be well versed with Robindro Sangeet but I have devoured books of Sharadindu
Bandyopadhyay, Leela Majumdar, Sunil Ganguli, Satyajit Ray (and the likes of
them)
Amidst
all my favorite fictional detectives from all over the world, Feluda and
Byomkesh Bakshi come in first 5 alongside Sherlock Holmes, Tintin – the reporter
and Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
Oh
and yes… I am the proud owner of the complete Tintin and Asterix series.
Most
importantly I can proudly say that thanks to my grandma, I am well versed with
the spoken and written language, something that not many Probashi Bengali (a
term used for a Bengali living outside Bengal) can say.
·
My friends would know that
I make fun of the Bengali accent and certain stereotypes that are there (like
in every other culture), but no ‘non-bengalis’ can do that in front of me and
get away with it. I am proud to be a
Bengali no matter which state I stay in!
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