Why a bong will always be a bong!
1. The first gotta be food. The daily musuri/ moog dal and bhaat is an absolute necessity, so much so that Bongs travelling abroad (outside Bengal) will still look for a bangali restaurant. No matter if experimenting with local cuisine is on agenda or not and that they eat the same back home.
2. What we wear is an absolute signature of what we are. God forbid if we are travelling to Maanaali/ Shimlaa, monkey toopis (monkey caps) will save the day. Children have to be wrapped in 3 - 4 layers or there is no saving from the treacherous cold. God help you if a its a beach location. ma, mashi and mamuni's still have to wrap themselves in the 9-yard saree or the salwar kammez complete with the dupatta. Whilst the women take saving dignity very seriously, the men obviuosly throw care to the wind. They can usually be seen is underpants with their pot bellies preceding them.
3. Bong mothers. This should be self explanatory but If you are one unenlightened soul then let me show you the light. When god was creating moms, they decided on different so they created bong moms. There is popular Vodafone ad where the message says its built specially for mom's wider reach. The fact that they missed out on was- that its was the BONG moms. Once I tried explain the concept of a bong mom coming armed with a tiffin carrier to school to feed their off springs, to a friend. Having grown up in the north, it took him a while to grasp it, but you get the point. If you are out for a movie, with prior notice to her, she will still call you in the middle of it, she will insist on knowing how is it, when did its start, who is acting, well I can go on but that will take up an entire book.
4. We love everything mustard. The oil, the kashundi, the steamed hilsa, dabbing it on yourself in winters. We just cant seem to have enough of it. The reason still eludes us but the research is on.
5. There is a budding writer/ poet in all of us. We somehow, secretly, believe are distant descendants of Rabindranath Thakur. So we have to have to have keep the family heirloom alive and kicking. The gift of strong vocab and voracious reading should not and must not go to waste.
6. Durga Pujo. Who can forget that. Even If you have just 25% bong blood running in your veins, you have to dress up in the most gorgeous piece of clothing that you can lay your eyes over and strut around in them in Pujo pandals. Telebhaja and fuchkas are sacred food and absolutely not to be ignored.
7. Exams are taken very seriously, just like every other Indian household. However, Bongs believe in overdoing things. So they create their very own exit exams (like exit polls). Once babai/ shonamuni reache home after writing their paper, they are made to give a repeat performance of their 3 hour ordeal. This ofcourse is with keeping in mind their future planning. If bababi scores 88 in this term, then obviuosly he has to work harder in the next, crack the IIT and become the next JC Bose.
8. Local Valentines Day. If the world believed that Bengal can only be associated with everything old and run down, then hold it right there. We celebrate our very own Valentine's Day. Have you seen girls and boys pretty up on Saraswati Pujo day? Do you think its a happy coincidence that the 'Valentine's Day' follow soon? Our Indian gods are very smart and have placed their birthdays with meticulous planning.
9. Loudness. Our definition is very different from the Punjabi one. We just believe in decibles. Be it a converstaion with a friend/ ma/ baba/ dada, it got to garner the maximum attention, the most turned heads, and a few giggles also. Obviuosly, our strong protective layer safegurads us from taking notice of any kind of rebuke/ embarassment.
10. Multitasking runs in our blood. An average Bong kid will learn to play the tabla, practise joga (yoga), paint, dance, sing abritti ( did you take recitation for granted?), be the cricket champ or the football, master karate, phew... This ironically is in conflict with the famous childhood pearl of wisdom - Porashuna kore je gadi ghoda chore she (The one who studies will enjoy riches later in life)
1. The first gotta be food. The daily musuri/ moog dal and bhaat is an absolute necessity, so much so that Bongs travelling abroad (outside Bengal) will still look for a bangali restaurant. No matter if experimenting with local cuisine is on agenda or not and that they eat the same back home.
2. What we wear is an absolute signature of what we are. God forbid if we are travelling to Maanaali/ Shimlaa, monkey toopis (monkey caps) will save the day. Children have to be wrapped in 3 - 4 layers or there is no saving from the treacherous cold. God help you if a its a beach location. ma, mashi and mamuni's still have to wrap themselves in the 9-yard saree or the salwar kammez complete with the dupatta. Whilst the women take saving dignity very seriously, the men obviuosly throw care to the wind. They can usually be seen is underpants with their pot bellies preceding them.
3. Bong mothers. This should be self explanatory but If you are one unenlightened soul then let me show you the light. When god was creating moms, they decided on different so they created bong moms. There is popular Vodafone ad where the message says its built specially for mom's wider reach. The fact that they missed out on was- that its was the BONG moms. Once I tried explain the concept of a bong mom coming armed with a tiffin carrier to school to feed their off springs, to a friend. Having grown up in the north, it took him a while to grasp it, but you get the point. If you are out for a movie, with prior notice to her, she will still call you in the middle of it, she will insist on knowing how is it, when did its start, who is acting, well I can go on but that will take up an entire book.
4. We love everything mustard. The oil, the kashundi, the steamed hilsa, dabbing it on yourself in winters. We just cant seem to have enough of it. The reason still eludes us but the research is on.
5. There is a budding writer/ poet in all of us. We somehow, secretly, believe are distant descendants of Rabindranath Thakur. So we have to have to have keep the family heirloom alive and kicking. The gift of strong vocab and voracious reading should not and must not go to waste.
6. Durga Pujo. Who can forget that. Even If you have just 25% bong blood running in your veins, you have to dress up in the most gorgeous piece of clothing that you can lay your eyes over and strut around in them in Pujo pandals. Telebhaja and fuchkas are sacred food and absolutely not to be ignored.
7. Exams are taken very seriously, just like every other Indian household. However, Bongs believe in overdoing things. So they create their very own exit exams (like exit polls). Once babai/ shonamuni reache home after writing their paper, they are made to give a repeat performance of their 3 hour ordeal. This ofcourse is with keeping in mind their future planning. If bababi scores 88 in this term, then obviuosly he has to work harder in the next, crack the IIT and become the next JC Bose.
8. Local Valentines Day. If the world believed that Bengal can only be associated with everything old and run down, then hold it right there. We celebrate our very own Valentine's Day. Have you seen girls and boys pretty up on Saraswati Pujo day? Do you think its a happy coincidence that the 'Valentine's Day' follow soon? Our Indian gods are very smart and have placed their birthdays with meticulous planning.
9. Loudness. Our definition is very different from the Punjabi one. We just believe in decibles. Be it a converstaion with a friend/ ma/ baba/ dada, it got to garner the maximum attention, the most turned heads, and a few giggles also. Obviuosly, our strong protective layer safegurads us from taking notice of any kind of rebuke/ embarassment.
10. Multitasking runs in our blood. An average Bong kid will learn to play the tabla, practise joga (yoga), paint, dance, sing abritti ( did you take recitation for granted?), be the cricket champ or the football, master karate, phew... This ironically is in conflict with the famous childhood pearl of wisdom - Porashuna kore je gadi ghoda chore she (The one who studies will enjoy riches later in life)
