Ever since my first encounter with the fiery Bengali folks in early 2010, I am a changed man. I am in love with everything about Bengalis - their rapidly spoken lingo, their weird slangs such as bokachoda (loosely translated as foolish f*****), their Anglo-Bangla accent where the English alphabet and vowels lost all their sense of phonetics and, bhecame bheri bheri fhonny sounding :)
The plethora of food, right from savoury snacks like Golgappa and Jhaal mudi to sweets like Paish and Chitrakut, and traditional meals like Luchis with the choto aam misthi jhol (small-mango-sweet curry), their fearless socio-political ideas, their soulful music such as Mohiner Ghoraguli (plagiarised by Pritam in Gangster) and Art movies like Paath'er Paanchali, Antaheen and The Japanese Wife have endeared me to them. This endearment is so overwhelming that when I meet a stranger who happens to be a Bengali, I tend to strike a conversation and crack a joke with him in Bangla, much to his shock and my amusement!
The good ol' Bullee is now, Bongo bondhu Bullee Moshai, loosely translated as Mr. Bullee, the friend of Bengalis.
It happened in Hyderabad during the months of Jan and Feb 2010 during the Initial Learning Program of the IT company I had joined. I was away from my family for the first time, in an alien land with no one to call my own. I had been brought up in a very protective environment, where I was dependent on my family for everything, with limited sense of responsibility and freedom. For this reason I was apprehensive when I left Bengaluru. What waited for me in Hyderabad was a culture shock- A batch full of Bengali and Oriya people who all belonged to the same university, knew each other and also had their own friends' circles.
I found Bangla and Oriya to be linguistically similar, and to me Konkani and Bangla sounded similar too. Putting together all the similarities, I picked up Bangla rapidly and in 2 weeks, I was in a position to engage in a mild conversation with a native Bengali speaker, and embarrass even a hardened Bengali in a competition of swear words! (Special thanks to Sudip Chandra Mitra aka Robot) This, and my Life Skills class oratory and comic timing (Hats off to our zesty coordinator Sreedevi Nagnur) coupled with my entertainment quotient, social concerns and friendly demeanour won me a whole lot of friends. Sometimes, people who did not even know me personally but had heard about me from their friends, would come and talk to me, share a joke or two. Then, they would invite me to their flat for a gathering and walk away with a glow of satisfaction on their face when I replied in affirmative!
My guitar sessions with Avik and Chasu in the spacious living room of our flat where we sang songs like Bheegi Bheegi, Lukka Chhupi, Nirvana, Give me some Sunshine, Tu hi re and Bangla songs like Prithibita Naki.. were an instant hit with the tenants of our co-ed hostel. We sometimes had clandestine visitors who secretly listened to our jamming sessions, by crowding the staircase near our flat window! An Everybody Loves Anish situation prevailed, making me thank the Almighty for giving me the best time of my life! (upto that point in time)
Before long, I couldn't help but notice the likeliness in Konkani and Bengali culture, clothing, jewellery, worship, festivals, wedding customs, bridal wear to name a few. There had to be a link. All this compelled me to research my forefathers' history and genealogy to find out the missing link between Bangla and me. I found that the community that I belonged to, the Gauda Saraswat Bramhans were a community whose existence was chronicled in the Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. We were settlers along the mystical River Saraswati in North India, which is how we were called Saraswat. All was well until thousands of years ago, when the grand river dried up and changed its course due glacial changes in the Himaalayas. The once fertile Rajasthan, Kutch and Sindh became deserts and this event forced the mass migration of the Saraswat community to the banks of River Ganga, and led them to the blessed land - Gauda Desh - which was the ancient name - for modern day B E N G A L.
The Saraswats prospered here and absorbed the traditions, cultures and the language of the land and had a good life. In 1000 AD, the king of Gauda desh sent 96 families of Saraswats to settle down in Gomantaka Desh - - Goa and flourish, as he had a marital alliance with the King of Gomantaka. Those 96 families that came down to Goa were called Gauda Saraswat Brahmans by the local people, refering to their place of origin. The Saraswats who remained in Bengal mingled with the local population and lost their unique identity, while these 96 - 'shud-navi' (Origin of the name Shenoy) families - "shud" meaning 6 and "navi" meaning 90, most of them being educated and experienced in trade, administrative services and Mathematics recieved the patronage of the Kadamba kings and flourished in Goa.
Again, all was well for another 500 years, until 1500s when the Portuguese landed in Goa and replaced the local kings. The religious intolerance of Alphonso de Albuquerque, the policy of INQUISITION under which Hindu holy places were destroyed, combined with the forcible conversion of the local population forced the mass exodus of the Konkani people further South, along the west coast, to places like Mangalore, Udupi and Kerala. I found that my family, was among the ones that settled in Udupi. I was filled with a sense of pride and admiration when I knew this :) At last, I had found my Bong Connection.
I was growing up, mentored by Sabiha. I was just beginning to discover new facets of Life, shown to me by Avik and Uttam. The fearlessness of Chasu and Hula, and the light hearted-seriousness of Sudipto and Sapto were beginning to permeate inside me.
One by one, all my buddies departed to different cities, not even one going to my destination - Bengaluru. I was all alone. Sometimes I wonder, if I should have chosen Mumbai over Bengaluru, and given life a chance. The times that followed were very hard for me. I was reminded of my Bengali friends, every moment; and their advice, laughter, care, love and all the good things they had inside them, which they showered on me.
I always wondered when things would be normal again; like in Hyderabad my beloved city. And Lo. A miracle. It was as if the Almighty heard my plea, in August. I consider my new Bong team mates to be a God-sent gift;...
To my long standing ... Guzaarish! (request)
