ABOUT BENGAL & THE BENGALI

The history of textile manufacture in Bengal goes back to the remotest antiquity. Long before the birth of Christ, the fame of the textile craft of Bengal had already spread throughout India and abroad. It was reported in Chanakya’s (also known as Kautilya and Vishnugupta) Arthasastra (4 th century BC), in Periplus and in the accounts of Arab, Chinese and Italian travellers. Chanakya mentions of four varieties of textile commodities which were produced in his time: Kshauma – This was a variety of linen, the raw material being common flax, hemp, etc. It was of a coarse variety and was mixed with cotton. The chief seats of manufacture were Pundravardhana (North Bengal) and Benares. Dukala – This was a pure and finer form of linen. It had three varieties: §   The first variety produced in Vangaka (Lower Bengal) was white and soft §   The second, produced in Pundra (North Bengal) was of dark colour and sparkled like a jewel §   The third variety manufa...

From time immemorial, Bengal has played host to a large variety of foreign people. We have had Turks starting with the Khilji Maliks from the 12 th century. From the 15 th to the 18 th centuries the Portuguese (from 1528 to 1666), Dutch (from 1610 to 1800), French (from 1673 to 1757) and then British (from 1612 to 1947) came in and stayed on. Apart from such people who ruled a part or whole of Bengal, this part of India has also seen a variety of immigrants like the Armenians, Jews, Germans, Afghans and Chinese. Each people influenced the cuisine of Bengal in its own way giving rise to various new dishes. Thereafter, Bengalis have returned from countries of South East Asia like Burma (Myanmar), Siam (Thailand) and other South East Asian countries and have contributed to the Bengali cuisine. But, such is the tenacity of the Bengali cuisine that it has still retained its originality though more than 2000 to 2500 years have elapsed. Before we go into changes that have occurred...