By the time this edition of Herald’s Review is published, Navratri celebrations will be underway. Durga Puja is the greatest carnival for Bengalis and you bet, how Bengalis love their food! Recently, when Bong Eats, a YouTube channel on Calcutta food, had put up posts on ‘harmless egg roll video’, it got trolled as ‘Bengalis eat meat during Navratri’!!! This had appeared in the trends section of Indian Express and on online news sites.
Oh My God!
Was that Egg (t)roll blasphemous?
For centuries, Bengalis have never been told that their eating habits were not RIGHT. And Bengalis thought they were a part of “us”, who did everything “right” as per “our” opinion… but suddenly the You Tube channel that showed egg roll recipe for Durga puja received some acute backlash from those who consider eating non-veg goodies during Navratris as unacceptable!
Co-founder of Bong Eats Saptarshi Chakraborty had expressed his feelings to Indian Express in an interview.
So are the Bongs (as commonly and fondly Bengalis are known) with “us” or with “them”? The country is today completely divided between “them” and “us” and it was a matter of time when the Bongs’ eating habits would have come under scanner in the given scenario.
As it is, Bengalis find it difficult to get houses on rent in north India. They are told that “aap log toh sab kuch khatein ho”. Now, isn’t that offensive? So Bengalis have ALSO started to feel the heat when they are cornered for their fish eating habits in North India. There have been cases where chicken/mutton is not sold during religious events, but liquor is! And the prompt answer has been that liquor is a prasad of sorts, while chicken is a Big No, No!
As the fight between Them and Us has gone deeper, sections of the society have been targeted and their eating habits have been hit hard. So far barring some fringe events, Bengalis have not been targeted “nationally” for their non-veg eating habits especially during Navratri and the month of Shravan TILL NOW.
Durga Puja is a national event and is hugely popular in Mumbai where the entire tinsel town troupes down. For years, there has been no leash to stop or restrict the Bengalis. So they thought “they” were with “them”.
When it comes to eating, Bengalis in “general” do not adhere to any kind of restriction on special days. For them, it’s the Dil chahta hain types. No leash has worked on Bengalis and nothing could stop them from this on this day or that on that day. It is up to Bengalis who have decided what they want to eat and when to eat. And here comes the commonality. Every body would love to dress up their palate and would not like any political interference of any kind.
This was bound to happen today or tomorrow. In a country which is so sharply divided (as of recently) on what to eat and what to wear, no race or region will be spared. And this was evident from the caustic remarks that were made against Bong Eats egg roll for Durga Pujo. Before being yanked off, sample some comments attacking Bong Eats:
Bengal is the only place which feasts while others in India fast during Navratri
Those who do not have self control can they control the rest
Idiots. Eating eggs and onions in Durga pujo
Bong Eats Cut open ur family members too and eat them too, I heard humans flesh is too tasty
Finally Comments have been made disabled for this video!
This is the beginning of another revolution… The fight had begun some time back, now with Bengalis being targeted, the size of the community called Them has just increased, it seems. How do they think they would bring all caste and creed under one RULE! What next? Barge into a Punjabi shaadi and rip apart the booze counter? Is this the uniform civil code THEY are talking about? If so, the cauldron is getting hot and a pressure cooker-like situation is being created…
