Bengali Association of New South Wales is a non-profit charitable and cultural organisation registered under the NSW Charitable Collections Act 1934. The Association's main objective is to promote Bengali language, literature, music, history and culture in the wider multicultural society of NSW.
From the very inception, the Association has enjoyed absolute loyalty and patronage of most of the Bengali settlers in metropolitan Sydney and country NSW. Regular sporting, cultural and religious functions are organised by the Association. Charity work of the Association in Australia and abroad is highly commendable; however, limited resources always restricted the Management Committee from doing more in this area.
The Association is managed by a Management Committee consisting of the President, Secretary, Treasurer and six members elected annually. Regular functions held include Durga Puja, Vijaya, Saraswati Puja, Annual Sporting Carnival, Bengali New Year's Day, Rabindra Jayanti and Annual Dinner and Drama.
Bengali Association of NSW
GPO Box 4928
Sydney 2001
We are looking for suitable articles, poems and short stories (Bengali/English) to print in the next edition of Prabashi. Please send us your writing at the address given below.
Alternatively, you may also e-mail the electronic copy to all@bansw.org.au.
The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra River delta or Ganges Delta. The world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbanas the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Royal Bengal Tiger.
The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.
Other accounts speculate that the name is derived from Vanga, which came from the Austric word "Bonga" meaning the Sun-god. The word Vanga and other words speculated to refer to Bengal can be found in ancient Indian texts including the Vedas, the Mahabharata and Puranas. Arguably, the earliest reference to "Vangala" has been traced in the Nesari plates (805 AD) of Rastrakuta Govinda III which speak of Dharmapala as the king of Vangala.
Some accounts claim that the word may have been derived from bhang, a preparation of cannabis which is used in some religious ceremonies in Bengal.
The Proto �Australoids were one of the earliest inhabitants of Bengal. Dravidians migrated to Bengal from the south, while Tibeto-Burman people migrated from the Himalayas, followed by the Indo-Aryans from north-western India. The modern Bengali People are a blend of these people. Pathans, Iranians, Arabs and Turks also migrated to the region in the late Middle Ages while spreading Islam.
Remnants of Copper Age settlements in the Bengal region date back 4,000 years, when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burmob and Austro_Asiatic people. After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdoms of Anga, Banga and Magadha were formed by the 10th century BCE, located in the Bihar and Bengal regions. Magadha was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha. One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BCE, located in an area in Bengal. From the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.
The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning around early 7th century. After a period of anarchy, the native Buddhist Pala Empire ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across the northern Indian Subcontinent into Afghanistan during the reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala. The Pala dynasty was followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena Dynasty. Islam was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Sufi missionaries. Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region. Bakhtiar Khilji a Turkic general of the Slave dynasty of Delhi Sultanate defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties of sultans and feudal lords under the Delhi Sultanate for the next few hundred years. In the sixteenth century, Mughal general Islam Khan conquered Bengal. However, administration by governors appointed by the court of the Mughal Empire gave way to semi-independence of the area under the Nawabs of Murshidabad, who nominally respected the sovereignty of the Mughals in Delhi. The most notable among them is Murshid Quli Khan, who was succeeded by Alivardi Khan.
European traders arrived late in the fifteenth century. Their influence grew until the British East India Company gained taxation rights in Bengal subah, or province, following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, when Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab, was defeated by the British. The Bengal Presidency was established by 1765, eventually including all British territories north of the Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh ), from the mouths of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra to the Himalayas and the Punjab. The Bengal famine of 1770 claimed millions of lives. Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The Bengal Renaissance and Brahmo Samaj socio-cultural reform movements had great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal. The failed Indian rebellion of 1857 started near Calcutta and resulted in transfer of authority to the British Crown, administered by the Viceroy of India.
Bengal played a major role in the Indian Independent movement.
After the independence of India West Bengal, the western part of Bengal, became a state in India.
West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of 88,752 sq km. The Darjeeling hill region in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains Sandakfu (3,636 m (11,929 ft))�the highest peak of the state. The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into the Ganges Delta towards the south.
Agriculture is the leading occupation in the region. Rice is the staple food crop. Other food crops are pulses, potato, maize, and oil seeds. Jute is the principal cash crop. Tea is also produced commercially; the region is well known for Darjeeling and other high quality teas. The service sector is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of West Bengal, contributing 51% of the state domestic product compared to 27% from agriculture and 22% from industry. State industries are localized in the Kolkata region and the mineral-rich western highlands. Durgapur�Asansol colliery belt is home to a number of major steel plants. West Bengal has the third largest economy in India. Owing to the boom in Kolkata's and the overall state's economy, West Bengal is now the third fastest growing economy in the country.
Bengali Food and dress
Rice and fish are traditional favorite foods of the Bengalees. Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsa preparations, a favorite among Bengalees. Bengalees make distinctive sweets from milk products. One of the most favourite sweets is Roshogolla. Others are Sandesha, Chômchôm, Ladikeni, Payash, Jilabi , Dahi etc and several kinds of Pithe. Bengali women commonly wear Shari. often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western-style attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the Panjabi, Dhoti, and pyjama. Shari is now popular in most of India. Dhoti and Panjabi , the traditional dress of Bengalee male have not gained the same popularity as shari across India. Dhoti and panjabi are still used for traditional celebrations in Bengal and many Bollywood movies have depicted the beauty and glamour of this traditional Bengali dress.
Professor Nihar Ranjan Roy (in his Bangalir Itihas: Adiparba) concluded that '... in addition to Sanskrit, there were two other languages in vogue in Bengal in the 9th and 10th centuries: one was derived from Souraseni and the other derived from Magadhi. The latter is said to have evolved later into Bengali. Some writers would write pad, doha and verses in both languages and the readers [reciters and listeners] too would understand them equally well'.
Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the Charyapada, Mangalkavya, Shreekrishna Kirtana, Thakumar Jhuli. Bengali literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g.Alaol). During the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,Bengali Literature was modernized through the works of authors such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya , Kazi Nazrul Islam and many others.
The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music. Other folk music forms include Gombhira, Baitiali, Bhawaiya. Folk music in Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute.
Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti, Tappa, Ghazal, Naam Sankirtana are also part of Bengali musical heritage.
The fact that the Bengali folk songs and musical heritage astonishingly survived the onset of Indian classical music, clearly points to their depth, variety and distinct character or tradition. Whilst some impressions of classical rag or ragini are noticeable in branches of Bengali folk music, most remained virgin. However, it is not quite clear if this character can survive the radio rage and the hot-dog imperialism.
Bengalees are an intellectually enlightened bunch with keen appreciation for arts and cultural activities.
Bengali arts cover all forms of artistic endeavours - music, theatre, dramatic arts, literature, painting, sculpture and other forms of fine arts. Creative talents of the Tagore family particularly of Abanindranath Tagore and Rabindranath Tagore played a major role in defining the parameters of what constituted Indian artistic traditions.
Due to their works Bengal had also been the harbinger of modernism in Indian Fine Arts. Abanindranath Tagore, one of the important 18th century artist from Bengal is often referred to as the father of Indian modern art. He established the first non-British art academy in India known as the Kalabhavan within the premises of Santiniketana Santiniketan in course of time had produced many important Indian artists like Nandalal Bose, Benode Bihari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij. In the post-independence era, Bengal had produced important artists like Bikash Bhattacharya, Ganesh Paine.
Pottery, brass and copperware, embroidery, tapestry, hand looms, fine muslin and silk artistry, wood carving, cane works etc. are a few examples of handicrafts which originated at the ground level in the heartland of Bengal - the villages. The artisans derived not only artistic enjoyment out of their creations, they were able to earn a modest living from their 'cottage industry' that once formed the backbone of the rural economy.
The advent of modern large-scale productivity methods and output has crushed a large part of the handicraft industry of the rural society of today and displaced a large number of traditional craftsmen (and craftswomen) who are now either unemployed or thankfully engaged as 'factory workers'. The age-old skills and family traditions are becoming nothing more than a reluctant part of the modern history.
Dating back to 5000 years or over, India's culture has been adorned by migrating population, which over a period got absorbed into the Indian way of life. This great Indian culture comprises of Indian music, Indian Dance, Indian cuisine, costumes and Indian Festivals. And of course Hinduism, one of the oldest religions of the world that promotes the principles of assimilation and integration has influenced the culture over millennia.
Bengal is mentioned as a distinct region of South Asia in some of the earliest Hindu texts, and throughout the first millennium AD. It was governed by a succession of Buddhist and Hindu rulers. Urban Bengali elite culture has produced one of South Asia's finest literary traditions, including not only the novel, short story, and poetry but drama and film as well. Some of India's best classical musicians and greatest exponents of the dance have been Bengalees. Bengalees have also made major contributions to Indian and world cinema. Rural Bengal has an old and well-developed folk literature, including narrative poetry (puthi), drawn from history, myth, and legend, as well as a very popular itinerant theater (called jatra).
Bengali Culture
Music Link2
Acknowledgement:
We acknowledge borrowing materials in good faith from the following sites for this page. 1 www.bengalonline.sitemarvel.com 2. wikipedia.org
Our objective has been to promote knowledge of Bengali Heritage among our members and other visitors of our website.
We believe this information will redirect interest of our members and other visitors to the sites mentioned above.
We believe that Bengali Heritage can cover much more than we have been able to cover on this page and any appropriate material will be considered by the Executive Committee, for further enhancement of the page.
sourcE: http://www.bansw.org.au
From the very inception, the Association has enjoyed absolute loyalty and patronage of most of the Bengali settlers in metropolitan Sydney and country NSW. Regular sporting, cultural and religious functions are organised by the Association. Charity work of the Association in Australia and abroad is highly commendable; however, limited resources always restricted the Management Committee from doing more in this area.
The Association is managed by a Management Committee consisting of the President, Secretary, Treasurer and six members elected annually. Regular functions held include Durga Puja, Vijaya, Saraswati Puja, Annual Sporting Carnival, Bengali New Year's Day, Rabindra Jayanti and Annual Dinner and Drama.
Bengali Association of NSW
GPO Box 4928
Sydney 2001
Prabashi
Prabashi, our community magazine is published during the major Bengali calander events such as Durga Puja, Swaraswati Puja, Rabindra Jayanti etc.We are looking for suitable articles, poems and short stories (Bengali/English) to print in the next edition of Prabashi. Please send us your writing at the address given below.
Alternatively, you may also e-mail the electronic copy to all@bansw.org.au.
Prabashi Address:
Prabashi
GPO Box 4928
Sydney 2001
Bengali Heritage
Heritage comprises of literature arts, language, music, folk traditions and philosophy of the people concerned.
Bengali Heritage has been greatly enhanced by authors and poets like Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, Bibhuti Bhusan Bandopadhaya, Tarashankar Bandopadhaya and Manik Banerjee. Creations of these great authors and many other authors and poets like them have placed Bengali language and literature on the world map.
Artists like Jamini Roy, Nandalal Bose and Abanindranath Tagore used their canvas to create portrait of peace and tranquility, of anguish and suffering and of love and hate that is Bengal. Udayshankar delighted millions by his frolicking dance sequences and Ravishankar by his ecstatic, transcendental melody and magic of sitar. Sachin Deb Burman by his uncomparable rendition of Bengali folk songs. He packaged and exported Bengal's unique folk tunes to the rest of India in popular Hindi motion picture scores. Film directors Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Tapan Sinha depicted moving tales of Bengali hearts and souls and their meagre yet meaningful existence and way of life on the silver screen with all its glory and vibrant universal appeal to every people of the world.
Debaki Bose, Himansu Bose, Bimal Roy, Basu Chatterjee, Hemanata Mukherjee, Kishore Kumar, Geeta Dutta, Manna Dey, Ashok Kumar and others Bengalees enriched �Bollywood� and rest of India and Indian Sub-continent or even the world, with music and movies reflecting influence.of Bengali heritage.
Social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and many others like them influenced and enlightened the Bengali society and the Indian society to such a level that the adage' What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow' was created.
The contrubutions of these and similar other reformers of Bengal led to �Bengal Renaissance� . The Bengal Renaissance is notable for its contribution to the socio-cultural uplift of the broader Indian society and the indepencence movement of India.
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose led us in the field of science and B.C. Roy in medicine. C.R. Das sparked the spirit of Indian nationalism and Netaji gave leadership in India's struggle for independence against the might of the British empire. Philosophers and prophets such as Sri Ramkrishna, Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo emancipated not only Bengal and India with their simple message of life and living, but enriched the world at large.
Vivekananda's immortal saying :'Like many rivers can flow to the same sea , many faiths can lead to the same God'and Ramakrishna dev�s saying :' As many faiths , so many paths' have been continuing to influence peace and social harmony around the world.
Bengali History
Bengal: Bôngo, Bangla is a historical and geographical region in the northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the independent nation of Bangladesh previously and the West Bengal, a state of India. Though some regions of the previous kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes and British) are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Tripura and Orissa.The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal region lies in the low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra River delta or Ganges Delta. The world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbanas the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Royal Bengal Tiger.
The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.
Other accounts speculate that the name is derived from Vanga, which came from the Austric word "Bonga" meaning the Sun-god. The word Vanga and other words speculated to refer to Bengal can be found in ancient Indian texts including the Vedas, the Mahabharata and Puranas. Arguably, the earliest reference to "Vangala" has been traced in the Nesari plates (805 AD) of Rastrakuta Govinda III which speak of Dharmapala as the king of Vangala.
Some accounts claim that the word may have been derived from bhang, a preparation of cannabis which is used in some religious ceremonies in Bengal.
The Proto �Australoids were one of the earliest inhabitants of Bengal. Dravidians migrated to Bengal from the south, while Tibeto-Burman people migrated from the Himalayas, followed by the Indo-Aryans from north-western India. The modern Bengali People are a blend of these people. Pathans, Iranians, Arabs and Turks also migrated to the region in the late Middle Ages while spreading Islam.
Remnants of Copper Age settlements in the Bengal region date back 4,000 years, when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burmob and Austro_Asiatic people. After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdoms of Anga, Banga and Magadha were formed by the 10th century BCE, located in the Bihar and Bengal regions. Magadha was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha. One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BCE, located in an area in Bengal. From the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.
The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning around early 7th century. After a period of anarchy, the native Buddhist Pala Empire ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across the northern Indian Subcontinent into Afghanistan during the reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala. The Pala dynasty was followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena Dynasty. Islam was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Sufi missionaries. Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region. Bakhtiar Khilji a Turkic general of the Slave dynasty of Delhi Sultanate defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties of sultans and feudal lords under the Delhi Sultanate for the next few hundred years. In the sixteenth century, Mughal general Islam Khan conquered Bengal. However, administration by governors appointed by the court of the Mughal Empire gave way to semi-independence of the area under the Nawabs of Murshidabad, who nominally respected the sovereignty of the Mughals in Delhi. The most notable among them is Murshid Quli Khan, who was succeeded by Alivardi Khan.
European traders arrived late in the fifteenth century. Their influence grew until the British East India Company gained taxation rights in Bengal subah, or province, following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, when Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab, was defeated by the British. The Bengal Presidency was established by 1765, eventually including all British territories north of the Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh ), from the mouths of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra to the Himalayas and the Punjab. The Bengal famine of 1770 claimed millions of lives. Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772. The Bengal Renaissance and Brahmo Samaj socio-cultural reform movements had great impact on the cultural and economic life of Bengal. The failed Indian rebellion of 1857 started near Calcutta and resulted in transfer of authority to the British Crown, administered by the Viceroy of India.
Bengal played a major role in the Indian Independent movement.
After the independence of India West Bengal, the western part of Bengal, became a state in India.
West Bengal is on the eastern bottleneck of India, stretching from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The state has a total area of 88,752 sq km. The Darjeeling hill region in the northern extreme of the state belongs to the eastern Himalaya. This region contains Sandakfu (3,636 m (11,929 ft))�the highest peak of the state. The narrow Terai region separates this region from the plains, which in turn transitions into the Ganges Delta towards the south.
Agriculture is the leading occupation in the region. Rice is the staple food crop. Other food crops are pulses, potato, maize, and oil seeds. Jute is the principal cash crop. Tea is also produced commercially; the region is well known for Darjeeling and other high quality teas. The service sector is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of West Bengal, contributing 51% of the state domestic product compared to 27% from agriculture and 22% from industry. State industries are localized in the Kolkata region and the mineral-rich western highlands. Durgapur�Asansol colliery belt is home to a number of major steel plants. West Bengal has the third largest economy in India. Owing to the boom in Kolkata's and the overall state's economy, West Bengal is now the third fastest growing economy in the country.
Bengali Food and dress
Rice and fish are traditional favorite foods of the Bengalees. Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsa preparations, a favorite among Bengalees. Bengalees make distinctive sweets from milk products. One of the most favourite sweets is Roshogolla. Others are Sandesha, Chômchôm, Ladikeni, Payash, Jilabi , Dahi etc and several kinds of Pithe. Bengali women commonly wear Shari. often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western-style attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the Panjabi, Dhoti, and pyjama. Shari is now popular in most of India. Dhoti and Panjabi , the traditional dress of Bengalee male have not gained the same popularity as shari across India. Dhoti and panjabi are still used for traditional celebrations in Bengal and many Bollywood movies have depicted the beauty and glamour of this traditional Bengali dress.
Language
Bengali LanguageArt and Literature
Bengali artistic and literary heritage originates from and is neatly intertwined with the classical Indo-Aryan Sanskrit language and literature. But the influence of other non-Aryan languages on Bengali cannot be ignored. It is now more or less accepted that Bengali and languages of neigbouring states belong to the Austric (or Austro-Asiatic) family of languages. Whilst Bengali carries the distinct mark of the Indo-Aryan social and cultural values, expressions or syntactic and grammatical constraints, according to Professor Sunitikumar Chatterjee, "there is, of course, the preserve of Kol and Dravidian (the Santals, the Malers, the Oraons) in the western fringes of the Bengal area, and of the Boda and Mon-Khmer speakers in the northern and eastern frontiers." It then follows that literary works in Bengali would also bear some unmistakable affinities to non-Aryan "phonetics, morphology, syntax and vocabulary" including myriads of symbolisms defining the local customs and traditions foreign to the Aryan or Vedic literature.Professor Nihar Ranjan Roy (in his Bangalir Itihas: Adiparba) concluded that '... in addition to Sanskrit, there were two other languages in vogue in Bengal in the 9th and 10th centuries: one was derived from Souraseni and the other derived from Magadhi. The latter is said to have evolved later into Bengali. Some writers would write pad, doha and verses in both languages and the readers [reciters and listeners] too would understand them equally well'.
Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the Charyapada, Mangalkavya, Shreekrishna Kirtana, Thakumar Jhuli. Bengali literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g.Alaol). During the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,Bengali Literature was modernized through the works of authors such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya , Kazi Nazrul Islam and many others.
The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music. Other folk music forms include Gombhira, Baitiali, Bhawaiya. Folk music in Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. Other instruments include the dotara, dhol, flute.
Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti, Tappa, Ghazal, Naam Sankirtana are also part of Bengali musical heritage.
The fact that the Bengali folk songs and musical heritage astonishingly survived the onset of Indian classical music, clearly points to their depth, variety and distinct character or tradition. Whilst some impressions of classical rag or ragini are noticeable in branches of Bengali folk music, most remained virgin. However, it is not quite clear if this character can survive the radio rage and the hot-dog imperialism.
Bengalees are an intellectually enlightened bunch with keen appreciation for arts and cultural activities.
Bengali arts cover all forms of artistic endeavours - music, theatre, dramatic arts, literature, painting, sculpture and other forms of fine arts. Creative talents of the Tagore family particularly of Abanindranath Tagore and Rabindranath Tagore played a major role in defining the parameters of what constituted Indian artistic traditions.
Due to their works Bengal had also been the harbinger of modernism in Indian Fine Arts. Abanindranath Tagore, one of the important 18th century artist from Bengal is often referred to as the father of Indian modern art. He established the first non-British art academy in India known as the Kalabhavan within the premises of Santiniketana Santiniketan in course of time had produced many important Indian artists like Nandalal Bose, Benode Bihari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij. In the post-independence era, Bengal had produced important artists like Bikash Bhattacharya, Ganesh Paine.
Pottery, brass and copperware, embroidery, tapestry, hand looms, fine muslin and silk artistry, wood carving, cane works etc. are a few examples of handicrafts which originated at the ground level in the heartland of Bengal - the villages. The artisans derived not only artistic enjoyment out of their creations, they were able to earn a modest living from their 'cottage industry' that once formed the backbone of the rural economy.
The advent of modern large-scale productivity methods and output has crushed a large part of the handicraft industry of the rural society of today and displaced a large number of traditional craftsmen (and craftswomen) who are now either unemployed or thankfully engaged as 'factory workers'. The age-old skills and family traditions are becoming nothing more than a reluctant part of the modern history.
Culture
India is divine grace By God with rich culture and heritage. The culture of India is one of the oldest cultures in the world. Right from the medieval period India had a rich spectrum of cultural diversities, in the form of dances, languages, religions, people and their customs and festivals. Every state and linguistic group of India has its own distinct set of culture and has carved out its own cultural niche. In spite of so much cultural diversities, Indians are closely bonded and this sense of �Unity in diversity� makes India a great country.Dating back to 5000 years or over, India's culture has been adorned by migrating population, which over a period got absorbed into the Indian way of life. This great Indian culture comprises of Indian music, Indian Dance, Indian cuisine, costumes and Indian Festivals. And of course Hinduism, one of the oldest religions of the world that promotes the principles of assimilation and integration has influenced the culture over millennia.
Bengal is mentioned as a distinct region of South Asia in some of the earliest Hindu texts, and throughout the first millennium AD. It was governed by a succession of Buddhist and Hindu rulers. Urban Bengali elite culture has produced one of South Asia's finest literary traditions, including not only the novel, short story, and poetry but drama and film as well. Some of India's best classical musicians and greatest exponents of the dance have been Bengalees. Bengalees have also made major contributions to Indian and world cinema. Rural Bengal has an old and well-developed folk literature, including narrative poetry (puthi), drawn from history, myth, and legend, as well as a very popular itinerant theater (called jatra).
Bengali Culture
Music
Music Link1Music Link2
Acknowledgement:
We acknowledge borrowing materials in good faith from the following sites for this page. 1 www.bengalonline.sitemarvel.com 2. wikipedia.org
Our objective has been to promote knowledge of Bengali Heritage among our members and other visitors of our website.
We believe this information will redirect interest of our members and other visitors to the sites mentioned above.
We believe that Bengali Heritage can cover much more than we have been able to cover on this page and any appropriate material will be considered by the Executive Committee, for further enhancement of the page.
sourcE: http://www.bansw.org.au
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