Winter in Bengal & Picnic

Harbingers of Winter for the Bengalis (Winter in Bengal)

What first rings your mind and tickles your nose when you think about winter in Bengal? For us, it’s a plethora of feelings, which start as the annual Kalipujo time tiptoes in. The air gets heavily laden with the smell of the Chhatim or Saptaparni flowers. And, of course, there’s a nip in the air, so the cotton head scarves come out as a protectional … Continue reading Harbingers of Winter for the Bengalis (Winter in Bengal)

Itu Pujo, Nabanna and worshipping Sun – the goddess of fertility

Many of us might recall from our childhood how our mothers, aunts and grandmothers would read aloud the Itu Pujo broto katha (mythological stories in Bengali on different rituals) of the two sisters Umno and Jhumno. And their ordeal after they were sent to a jungle by their angry father because they ate his share of Pitheys (rice cakes). To get back home, the two … Continue reading Itu Pujo, Nabanna and worshipping Sun – the goddess of fertility