Lost Heritage of Bengali Households
Dubela, Tanisha Das: A Bengali household was once a living archive of rituals, crafts, and kinship. Every Thursday, the red-oxide floors once bore fresh Alpona and the Tulsi Mancha at the dalan. Shil, Nora, Kulo, and more are in the kitchen. Once a necessity in Bengali households, it has now become nostalgia or part of a trend that people show up for occasionally on social media.
Shankh dhyani, ullu, radio Geetanjali, Dhuno during evening time puja, a calendar with Ramkrishna Dev on it, and nakshi katha have now faded off in the walls of 2BHK flats. Shil Nora has been replaced by a mixer grinder, and authentic Thakurbari recipes are dying with no one to inherit them. Thakurghor is now seen as a small wall unit, and people say Singhasan is an antique piece. Paanchali and Bratakatha books are replaced by YouTube reciting them. Buildings with beautiful architecture are now given into the hands of promoters. Promoters don’t break the building; they break the architecture, emotion, love, bonding, and, more importantly, the authenticity of Bengali households.
The WiFi router blinks and connects us with the world, but disconnects us from what made a Bengali home a home.
