About breaking stereotypes.

I cringe when Kolkatabashis  look at me with a snobbish attitude when I feign ignorance about discussing theater and cinema. I had written this one a while back for all the Probashis here who have still not outgrown their love of the decade that they migrated from their beloved Kolkata. They seem to stay frozen in time, rolling their eyes at the new band music or even Hindi songs being played in Durgapuja. The irony here is that their children seem to thrive on Bollywood music and walk away from the auditorium when they hear All India Radio artists crooning songs they have not heard before.
Growing up all over the country , I have come across all sorts of names Bangalis give to people from different parts of the country. As JAP points out , we have a name for everyone. I was born in Bihar and raised in Andhra. So I have heard the term Hindustani quite often. The relatives always used to say that we live in Madras(anyone from the south of India was from Madras).

The Probasi Bangali

 Let me tell you a bit about me –the Probasi Bangali

A ‘kaalchaar’ less brute- maybe a huge anomaly

Born in the green belt and grown in the plateaus

For the Kolkatabasi –I can be as well from ghetto.

I love to watch Ray but need a dose of Amitabh too

I can read Bankim and can grasp my Premchand too

Kurusova’s cinematography I might not fathom

Even Karan Johar movies I find really dumb.

The Rabindrik dance will never be my favorite style,

But Ananda Shankar’s moves always bring a smile.

Jibananda’s poetry-I will never get the gist of it

But Sukumar Ray’s Abol tabol is my all time favorite .

I love my mishtis but sneak away from my machher jhol

That’s not a Bangali there” you say “ there’s some gondogol”

Bhoomi and Chandrabindoo’s music I seem to enjoy,

Tell me -which Bangaliana in me does it destroy?

Bengal has never been my home-it’s a place I go to visit.

I like its ever-changing pace, with its intelligence and wit.

I may not be the bourgeois, neither the traditional bhadralok.

I am just a Probasi Bangali, just a new branch of the old oak.

This was written a while back for the annual Durga Puja magazine .I got a lot of sneers for not getting Jibanananda. Whatever people say, I refuse to box myself in one category. At the end of the day, aren't you the person shaped by your experiences?