Art, Literature and heritage of Bangladesh

The origin of art and literature is thousands years old. The first or earliest piece of literature is thought to be one thousand years old. The very first specimen of literature was written by the Muslim rulers during the Medieval period.  Having a muslim majority Bangladesh is still a mixture of different religions. Different establishments of Hindus, Buddhist and Christians are seen everywhere. With the importance Eid is celebrated, the same importance goes to Durga Puja. These adds to the variation of the culture. Also as Bangladesh had a lot of rulers, each of those time left their own marks. Bangladeshi people like a lot of color, starting from their dresses to art to celebrations there is color everywhere.

Architecture, literature, music, dance, drama, art and literature these are an inevitable part of Bangla heritage. There are many names that come in the contribution to literature. In middle ages writers and poets like Alaol, Chandi Das, Daulat Kazi had the biggest influence. During the 19th century modern literature was introduced by Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore, the Noble Laureate, not only enhanced Bangla literature but also made his work world known. He ruled over Bangla art, literature and songs over 60 years. When we talk about Bangla literature the name which is unforgettable is Kazi Nazrul Islam. He was the rebellion poet of Bangla and have written over 3000 songs. All his songs and poems encouraged the youth to fight for their freedom.

Zainul Abedin is the most prominent name in the art world of Bangla. During the 1940s his series of work took art to a different level. The best part is Bangle’s art does not confine itself in the famous paintings. The art is everywhere in everyday life in various forms. The hundreds and thousands of housewives are making crafts, dolls, fans, traditional cloths, domestic textiles. Handmade crafts and art are a special attraction of Bangladesh.

The music of Bangla can be divided in three categories- Folk, Classic and Modern. The classic music is very similar to the Indian subcontinent one. The major names in the classic music of Bangla are Ustad Alauddin Khan and Ustad Ayet Ali Khan. The folk music is a bit different. Bauls with their groups usually roam from village to village. The folk music and drama are usually staged in Jatra. Jatra mainly folk  performance where a series of drama are staged with folk songs and dance.
There are some types of transportation that are different than the typical one and  related to the culture and heritage of Bangla. One of those is Palki, a very famous one. Palki is basically a wooden box carried by solders of four men. Palki is a special vehicle that is only used for brides while they are taken to their bridegroom’s house.

Rabindranath Tagore

Kazi Nazrul Islam

 

 

A Zainul Abedin Painting

New Year (Nababarsha) Celebration

Classical Dance Position

Classical Music Instruments

Food that Reflects Culture

Bangladeshi food draws its culinary roots from Indian food culture. There is proverb that is Mache Bhaate Bangali (rice and fish). Rive is the staple food here and it is not taken in a small amount. Most of the people from all over the country eat rice for the main three meals and eat it everyday. Bangladesh comes from the cultural food habit of rice, fish, chicken, mutton, egg , spices and lentils (dal) etc. Fish is a chief component of the daily meal for the average Bengalis, and a unique Bengali dish is ‘Paturi’ which is basically fish wrapped in banana leaves and cooked with desi (local) spices.

Panta Bhaat

Other important and famous festival meal include the ‘Panta Bhaat’, which is served during the Bengali New Year festival. This is essentially white rice soaked and boiled in water for a night and served with spices, salt and various other mixes, but most importantly served with a piece of Hilsa fish. This is an important yearly tradition, specially observed in rural areas. Another important and equally tantalizing dish is the ‘bhorta’ which is a mesh of fishes, potatoes, vegetables, chicken. Also various spices, salt and herbs add to the delicacy. Another daily side meal is Bhaji, that is fried vegetables cooked with salt. Vegetable and fish curry are served with thick gravy known as ‘Jhol’. Another rich delicacy includes the ‘biryani’ which is fine rice mixed boiled in oil and served with chicken roast and mutton rezala( curry delicacy). The Benglai style drink that goes with it is the ‘borhani’, which is basically a spicy and concentrated yoghurt flavored drink. Biryani is usually arranged for special occasions, specially weddings. Kabab is very popular and well known also in few other countries too. it was mainly introduced by the mughals and is mainly a chunk of meat skewered on an iron spike mixed with other spices. Another very popular food item is Pitha or cake made with mixture of rice, flour, water and gur (raw sugar or molasses). These are especially made for traditional occasions, Bangla new year and during winter.

Puchka

The talk of food can never be completed without mentioning the street foods. Bangladesh is popular for it’s cheap street food. Though these tend to be not so healthy still these food are being consumed daily by a large number of people for their mouth watering tastes. Few mentionable street food are Puchka, Jhalmuri, Chotputi, Badam. Among these the most popular one is Puchka. They are made from dough that itself is called Puchka. These doughs are meant to be very thin, crispy and round shaped hollow balls. Different stuffings of potatoes, coriander and other spices are put inside. It is eaten with turmeric sauce.

Longest Sea Beach and Biggest Mangrove Forest Hidden in Bangladesh

 All over the world people love to enjoy sea beach but very few people know where is world’s longest sea beach located. World’s longest beach is hidden in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Cox’s Bazar is a district of Chittagong which is a division of Bangladesh. Cox’s Bazar is 150 Km from Chittagong. This place was named after Lieutenant Cox, who during the british period helped and rehabilitated many people. He died in 1978 in Cox’s Bazar. Cox’s Bazar sea beach is the longest, unbroken sandy beach of 77.67 miles (125 Km). It is situated between river Bakkali and Bay of Bengal. This beach is also known as Palongkee and Panowa, which means Yellow Flower. There are many other small islands nearby. Among those islands St. Martin is really popular as it is the only Coral Island the country has. The unbroken longest sandy path to walk on and the strongest waves ever very easily attract tourists from all over the world.

Longest unbroken sandy beach

 One of the largest forest and the largest mangrove forest in the world lies in Bangladesh. The forest in known as Shundarbans. It is located in the south west of the country, where it has river Baleswar in the east and Harinbanga in the west. The total area of the forest consists of 10,000 square Km, where 60% of the forest lies in Bangladesh and the rest in India. It is divided in Sandbars (70%) and water bodies (30%). Though from outside Shundarbans looks like one big forest, but from inside it a beauty of mosaic of islands. These islands of different sizes and shapes get washed by brackish water shrilling in and around the labyrinth of water channels. It is not only seen as the scenic beauty and natural resources but also a place with high biodiversity of Mangrove flora and fauna both on land and water.  The forest is considered as landmark for ancient heritage of mythological and historical events. Also recently it has become the universal importance for endangered species such as tiger. Tigers are on the top of many attractions of the forest. As being the national animal they are preserved carefully in the forest.

Largest Mangrove Forest in Bangladesh

Bede, River Gypsies of Bangladesh

Till the last entry most of my posts were about the problems and bad sides of Bangladesh. From this post to the next few ones I would like to highlight some beautiful sides of the country; because fully knowing a country is impossible without knowing it's culture, tradition and main attractions.

In Bangladesh the river gypsies are known as Bede. They simply add to the already existing diversified culture of Bangladesh. In the country there are about 40 groups of indigenous people and it is assumed that Bangladesh has the most diversified culture in Asia. Among all other groups these Bedes have their own lifestyle and history. Their origin can be indicated across the Asia, Himalayan area. Also their family ties, relationships and dress sense can be like the Scottish Clans.

They usually live nearby rivers where they do not have any permanent houses. For ten months of the year they sail from one place to another. They usually cover over 90 villages, and the two months they take to rest. During these two months they stick nearby to the river and built semi titular shaped tents covered with oilcloths or plastics. Either life on the boat or life in these tents, both show their lifestyle that goes bellow the poverty line, deprived of basic rights. 100% of the Bedes have early marriage. Children age of eleven or twelve are married off. 98% of them live bellow poverty line. In these groups people usually women are the bread earners. They earn 300 taka ($3.75) a day. If the women do not work than the men and children have to starve. Their work mainly includes snake charming, preparing traditional medicines, showing magic in public places, selling hand made crafts and they also have trained monkeys and snakes to perform. For about 100 years they practice traditional healing. If someone is suffering from jaundice Bedes give them rice made with yellow feathered birds. According to them fish bone can be used to remove back pain, seashells can be used to negate evil eye and Maryam flowers can be used for pregnancy problems. 95% of the bedes do not have any education. Some children of them now a days go to school, but these schools are also boat schools. These floating schools are organized by some local NGOs.

Though their population is increasing, but as the country is developing they are seen much less. But their life style and traditional belief have not been changed. Where in normal households have 4.2 people in average, Bedes have 7.5 people. Bedes have their own tribal language, they are a mixed of many religions. River is their life. They bath in the river, wash things in the river and drink the same water. At the same time they also face the daily challenges of survival. There are many holes in their boats and they almost sink every day, and they fix it every day. Despite of all the challenges Bedes live a very colorful life.

Life of Bede in Bangladesh