The Ethos of Bengal

-A tribute to Bengali Food
The average Bengali who might not even have heard of Irishman George Bernard Shaw, however, seems to live by Shaw’s quote “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” While most Bengalis like to argue on random facts of life, I am sure no Bengali will argue with me when I say “Bengalis do not eat to live; but live to eat.”
Be it the occasion of a marriage or the auspicious Durga Puja or even the unobtrusive occasion of a new car; we Bengali’s do not actually need an excuse for a good grub. Even as i write i am sure there are at least 100 or more feasts going on in and around Kolkata, and i am honestly not exaggerating. The British custom of ‘get together’ has been strikingly redefined in Bengal. While it used to be a formal gathering for the upper class, it has now turned into an event where on being invited our only incentive to attend it is the Menu.
Be it the majestic Chingri Macher Malai Curry or the humble Panchmeshali Chochchori, Bengalis sure know how to relish even the most minute crumb of their dishes. A recent survey showed that a majority of Indian food connoisseurs have their roots in Bengal. If you were to take a trip around the city of joy, you will be amazed at the variety of food that the streets have to offer; Punjabi, Mouglai , Chinese, South Indian you name it. The continental food of Park Street requires a special mention, for the eateries there date back to more than 150 years. That’s not all, Park Street also is the place to be at the time of the year-end festivities. Even the indigenous breed of ‘Indian Chinese’ was invented right here on the very soil of my city, Kolkata.
When you talk about the ‘BANGALIR BHURIBHOJ’ how can you forget the mention of fish? Bengal is undoubtedly the ’FISH CAPITAL’ of India. To Bengalis fish is not merely a food item, but the symbol of the intellectual and cultural Bengali. The fish delicacies of Bengal are just as famous around the globe as the Parisian platter. Mach bhaja, Macher jhol, Macher chop; the very inclusion of the word ‘mach’ makes it a necessity to us Bengalis.
Bengalis are mostly non-vegetarians. Even mutton has its share of popularity when it comes to the Bengali platter. Rich mutton dishes are something that symbolise the social stature of a Bangali babu. While speaking of non-vegetarian food i cannot deny the poultry for its genourous contribution in the Bangalir Bhuribhoj.
We Bengalis might be the epitome of unhealthy diet but the ground reality is that we just cannot miss out on the pleasures of the delectable Bengali cuisine just for the sake of our health. It may sound appalling but when it comes to food, it is not just important to us but it is and will always remain our very reason to live.

From Sigur to singer

We have seen directors and actors doubling up as singers and vice –versa, but this time around it’s a rather unusual crossover from politics to singing; and well it’s our very own Mamata Banerjee who tried her luck at the art. We know Didi for all the wrong reasons, be it her hobby of calling Bandhs every now and then or her infamous stint at driving away, what could be termed as West Bengal’s industrial uprising- the Nano.
It now seems Didi is surely looking for an image change. When the famous reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, hosted one of its promotional tours in Kolkata, Didi showed up there. This time, surprisingly, it was not to protest but to show off her talent in singing. More than her singing spectators there were amazed at the fact that didi could do something constructive as well. While she sang ‘Ae mere vatan ke logo’ I could not help but think that it was the same voice that we hear in the microphone on a daily basis in Kolkata; but this time around it sounded much more pleasant and caused much less irritation than it usually does.
Though one cannot compare Ms Banerjee to any noteworthy singer, her attempt was not so bad either. It was amazing how this lady managed to have a pretty decent voice even after the continued assaults to her vocal chords by her own protest speeches. It was evident that didi needed help with her diction for the Bengali accent in the Hindi song was a little odd to the ears of a sane listener.
All said and done, Mamata Banerjee has got skill in something other than calling for bandhs. We recommend she nurtures this talent and devotes most of her time towards it for we would really like to see her voice her thoughts through melodious tunes rather than the unwanted Bandhs.

An Ode to the human spirit

An Ode to Human spirit
The light of the human spirit glows through these dark times,
In spite of the dark, brutal and heinous crimes;
The feeling of fear will last for a long
But we will fight it out for we are strong;
Our smile will make those tyrants realise,
Defeat is theirs, while our victory clearly reflects in our valiant eyes.
We, as a nation refuse to be a victim and accept our defeat
Our unity and strength is what the tyrants won’t be able to beat;
Cruel coward tyrants, who disrespect humanity,
Only belong to a religion called ‘Animosity’.
Our gallant soldiers fought and gave it all,
Some protected us even at the cost of their fall.
Their sacrifice will never go waste
For the ugly blot of terror will be wiped out and with haste.
For we won’t let them take away our peace
We will cure this deadly disease.
India is ours and we will live in no fear
It is our prerogative to ask for the welfare of the people so dear.
So here Mr. Terrorist, can you hear us now?
To defeat you once and for all, we vow
For you may think you won by killing our innocence
For you may think you robbed us of Humanity’s essence
But to tell the truth you have lost this battle to defeat our spirit
Because your coward tyrant acts would never defeat our grit.
So let’s come together in a silent prayer,
Lets pray so that, to defeat humanity no one will ever dare

We the people

Do you remember when the last time you went through the Preamble of our Constitution was? I really won’t be amazed if you don’t. I, for one, do not believe in the Preamble at all. It is indeed a shame that a young Indian, such as me, does not believe in what its constitution stands by. I will certainly explain as to why I do not believe in the Preamble.
Spare a few moments, from your shopping sprees, parties or whatever; and Google search the Preamble, the first thing that comes to notice ‘WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA’. Which ‘we’ are we talking about here? The ‘we’ who believe that westernisation is the youth cult; or the ‘we’ who believe that being urban means to forget our roots?
Sovereign...the term, perhaps, the only one which is still relatively meaningful. But are we, the people, really happy with it??
Socialist, it’s a debatable issue...and perhaps the debate will continue, for who has the time or the patience to listen to what someone else has to say.
Secular, yes that will explain the communal conflict India witnesses quite often.
The Jessica Lal Murder Case would certainly be enough to redefine the word justice mentioned in our Preamble.
Liberty, that’s why every time someone speaks the truth, he or she is asked to explain the reasons for the statement...Liberty isn’t it?
The funniest of them all is the term Equality; that’s why more than 35% of our population is below the Poverty Line.
We speak of Fraternity, and the same ‘we’ do not care to help a person who lies injured on the road.
Now do I justify my indifference towards the Preamble? I am not criticizing anyone or anything, all I am trying to say is make an effort to at least stand by a few attributes of the Preamble and maybe then we would proudly be able to say... WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA