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At the risk of inviting the wrath of many Bongs the world over, I would opine that the typical Bong's proclivity for living in a mythical and surrealistically romanticized past, desperately clutching the cultural shroud of 'Bonkim - Sharat - Robi Thakur - Shotyojit Ray' in an attempt to carve out a distinct identity is indicative of the typical Bong's cultural insecurity, lack of adaptability and stunted liberalism. It is somewhat akin to Bollywood depicting villages in India which are like the ultimate word in terms of harmony, natural beauty, saintly residents and buxom beauties. The reality, alas, is rather removed from that idyllic picture postcard scenario.
The world that one encounters in most established, old time Kolkata clubs and the often archaic, flowery and stylized 'Babu English' contained in most English school textbooks which is still spoken and written by the typical Bong 'bhadralok', bear further testament to this propensity for a cultural throwback to the 'golden days of yore' and possibly the days of the Raj. The condescension shown towards anyone who professes apathy or ignorance about some of these quintessential Bong cultural milestones borders on haughty snobbery. The object of such condescension is eventually dismissed in countless parlour gossips as a boorish arriviste.
The British would be utterly bemused and bewildered by what most Bongs and even many Indians consider to be the essence of British culture and language, having moved on and largely buried these characteristics decades back.
A section of the younger lot of Bongs, tired of this cultural stereotyping, have formed boy bands and are eminently more familiar with the history and albums of Michael Jackson than those of Atulprasad for example. Many of them speak a colloquial Bengali which draws on Hindi and even English words and phrases heavily. This has led to some others decrying what they perceive as the inexorable move to 'corrupt' the language.
Many Bongs residing and working outside the city of Kolkata and the state, continue to imagine Kolkata as a mythical, idealized place that they secretly yearn to go back to. So caught up are they in their fanciful imagination that they refuse to recognize or even acknowledge the fact that the Kolkata they used to live in has undergone significant changes, in many instances for the worst, during the period that they have been away. People who have build up such a fanciful mental imagery, often as a form of escapism, salivate for example at the thought of the quality and variety of fishes available in Kolkata, refusing to realize or even acknowledge the fact that the bulk of Kolkata's fish supplies presently come from outside the state, from places as far as Gujarat.
I know of several instances where this mythical, idealized image of what life in Kolkata would be like prompted individuals to move back to the city after an interval of many years. I also happen to know that in some instances, when confronted with the reality of day-to-day living, some of these individuals realized over a period of time that relocation was a bad idea in the first place and moved out again after a stay of a few years, vowing never to return again for good.
This isn't a fashionable rant about Kolkata and the typical local resident of that metropolis, though, heaven forbid, there is a fair bit to rant about. Rather, consider this a humble attempt to take away those coloured glasses from those who may still be wearing it and viewing Kolkata and the average Kolkata based Bong through those glasses. The reality, like most realities, is considerably less glitzy and somewhat depressive on occasions.
Does that open a Pandora's box? I guess it does and the assorted contents contained within would now have the culture vultures angrily circling overhead, eager to slam the lid back on the little skeletons visible within. Bring on the howitzers if you so wish, training the heavy artillery on the message rather than on the messenger.
A related article and some relevant comments
These musings have been triggered by a couple of incidents, quite unconnected.
The first of these was a post on Facebook stating that the mainline Bengali daily of Kolkata, Ananda Bazar Patrika, in a news item about two Bengali gentlemen who had succeeded in scaling the Mt. Everest peak, mentioned that they were aided by two other local 'Bengalis', to wit the Sherpas who assisted them in this feat.
The second of these was a message forwarded by a friend which mentioned that Bengalis were neglecting their language among other significant aspects of their culture. Implicit in that statement was the widely held belief among Bengali 'bhadraloks' that the language and the culture is decidedly superior to the many others found within India. This belief is often extended to encompass the superiority of the Bong cuisine over all other forms and varieties found across the various Indian states.
At the risk of inviting the wrath of many Bongs the world over, I would opine that the typical Bong's proclivity for living in a mythical and surrealistically romanticized past, desperately clutching the cultural shroud of 'Bonkim - Sharat - Robi Thakur - Shotyojit Ray' in an attempt to carve out a distinct identity is indicative of the typical Bong's cultural insecurity, lack of adaptability and stunted liberalism. It is somewhat akin to Bollywood depicting villages in India which are like the ultimate word in terms of harmony, natural beauty, saintly residents and buxom beauties. The reality, alas, is rather removed from that idyllic picture postcard scenario.
The world that one encounters in most established, old time Kolkata clubs and the often archaic, flowery and stylized 'Babu English' contained in most English school textbooks which is still spoken and written by the typical Bong 'bhadralok', bear further testament to this propensity for a cultural throwback to the 'golden days of yore' and possibly the days of the Raj. The condescension shown towards anyone who professes apathy or ignorance about some of these quintessential Bong cultural milestones borders on haughty snobbery. The object of such condescension is eventually dismissed in countless parlour gossips as a boorish arriviste.
The British would be utterly bemused and bewildered by what most Bongs and even many Indians consider to be the essence of British culture and language, having moved on and largely buried these characteristics decades back.
Education is another area which has steadily gone downhill for Bongs. In the distant past, Calcutta University was recognized as one of the premier institutes in the country. No longer is this the case. The percentage of Bongs from W. Bengal and Kolkata who have been getting into premier professional education institutes like the IITs and Medical colleges like AIIMS & CMC Vellore has been a steadily declining curve over the years.
In an increasingly globalized world where change is about the only constant, the insularity of the typical Bong and the concomitant lack of adaptability and learning, handicaps the typical Bong linguistically, socially and even culturally. The typical Bong is neither proficient or fluent in either English or Hindi. In a world where many successful people are multilingual, this often impacts the employability of the typical Bong adversely. It also hinders the potential for mobility within India and overseas.
In an increasingly globalized world where change is about the only constant, the insularity of the typical Bong and the concomitant lack of adaptability and learning, handicaps the typical Bong linguistically, socially and even culturally. The typical Bong is neither proficient or fluent in either English or Hindi. In a world where many successful people are multilingual, this often impacts the employability of the typical Bong adversely. It also hinders the potential for mobility within India and overseas.
Many Bongs residing and working outside the city of Kolkata and the state, continue to imagine Kolkata as a mythical, idealized place that they secretly yearn to go back to. So caught up are they in their fanciful imagination that they refuse to recognize or even acknowledge the fact that the Kolkata they used to live in has undergone significant changes, in many instances for the worst, during the period that they have been away. People who have build up such a fanciful mental imagery, often as a form of escapism, salivate for example at the thought of the quality and variety of fishes available in Kolkata, refusing to realize or even acknowledge the fact that the bulk of Kolkata's fish supplies presently come from outside the state, from places as far as Gujarat.
I know of several instances where this mythical, idealized image of what life in Kolkata would be like prompted individuals to move back to the city after an interval of many years. I also happen to know that in some instances, when confronted with the reality of day-to-day living, some of these individuals realized over a period of time that relocation was a bad idea in the first place and moved out again after a stay of a few years, vowing never to return again for good.
This isn't a fashionable rant about Kolkata and the typical local resident of that metropolis, though, heaven forbid, there is a fair bit to rant about. Rather, consider this a humble attempt to take away those coloured glasses from those who may still be wearing it and viewing Kolkata and the average Kolkata based Bong through those glasses. The reality, like most realities, is considerably less glitzy and somewhat depressive on occasions.
Does that open a Pandora's box? I guess it does and the assorted contents contained within would now have the culture vultures angrily circling overhead, eager to slam the lid back on the little skeletons visible within. Bring on the howitzers if you so wish, training the heavy artillery on the message rather than on the messenger.
A related article and some relevant comments
I agree with most of what you say, but I would add that like we had Bangals and Ghotis as two distinctly different types of Bongs earlier (this sentiment lasted rather strongly till the 70s) - now we have the resident Bongs and non-resident Bongs as two distinctly different types of Bongs. They aren't as daggers drawn against each other as Bangals and Ghotis used to be. But they are different. There is yet another division among the Bongs - English medium schooled Bong and Bangla medium schooled Bong. This difference is also rather new and more divisive and sad than the first one I mentioned.
ReplyDeleteAs a Bengali you should feel ashamed making comments like that about your community. Any proud sensible Bengali would feel disgusted to have you as a member of the community.
ReplyDeleteAccording to you, maybe Punjabis, Gujaratis and others are superior to Bengalis. Why don't you try and see whether any of them would accept you as a member of their community?
@Sudipto - I guess the Bangal / Ghoti debate as well as the resident / non-resident Bong divides are like two sides of the same coin. Just goes to show I guess that people are influenced and shaped by their social and cultural environs. As long as that is distinctly different they possibly develop different traits even though their ancestral roots and native language may be the same.
ReplyDeleteThe English & Bengali medium school division is one based on material & economic lines, I would think. Barring exceptions who switched over to an English medium institution after studying in a Bengali medium school, the race to get one's son or daughter admitted to an English medium school was and even today is all about at least partially ensuring that he or she can go on to get a good education subsequently and then get on to a decent, reasonably well-paying job at least. In fact, exceptions from Bengali medium schools who switched over to an English medium institution subsequently and went on to a well-paying job merely reinforced that stereotype. The division therefore is primarily an economic one with resultant fallouts in terms of social status and standing. Hence the disdain shown generally by kids studying in English medium or 'missionary' schools towards their less-fortunate and handicapped counterparts in Bengali medium schools, triggering anger and envy in the latter group.
@Anonymous : Perhaps it could lead to a more rational discussion if you could specify what exactly that I may have said is making you angry and why.
To answer your query I am happy to be an Indian and a Bengali and wouldn't quite want it any other way.
Some comments on Facebook:
ReplyDeleteSanjiv Banerjee:actually the bengalis are quite similar to a lot of southern european people. Lives in the past, averse to physical enterprise and politically bankrupt. take spain ruled the oceans at one point thought themselves to be very clever and polished got landed with Franco and got pushed into the dark ages. then tried to get rich on the back of a property boom and has now ended up with 20% unemployment as opposed t0 6 and 7% in the UK and Germany respectively
Koushik Mitra:I think the biggest problem Bongs have is the "Loke ki bolbe?" syndrome. More prevalant in resident-Bongs than NRI -Bongs.
Amitav Ghosh, outlines some typical characteristics of Bongs and Calcuttans in his delightful novel, 'The Sea of Poppies'.
Bengal was the capital of India during the British. Bengalis were more liberal and progressive than possibly any other community during the British Raj. It started going downhill steadily after the Left Front came to power. Today, after over 30 years of Left Front misrule, many other states have overtaken W. Bengal in many respects.
ReplyDeleteA somewhat related topic and discussions on that topic may be viewed by visiting the link below:
ReplyDeletehttps://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ATmAg05ZIz9TZGM1dDcyY2RfMTEwY204a2g2Zmc&hl=en
Debashis Mukherjee said on FB ........
IMHO, the quintessential resident urban Bong (born & brought up in Kol or other cities, if any, of W.B.) suffers from a Koop Manduk (frog in the well) syndrome -- having been brainwashed from infancy into believing that Bongs are cerebrally & culturally superior and Kol is the only culturally evolved city in India. Probasi Bongs know better.