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The culture of West Bengal is an Indian culture which has its roots in Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. Different geographic regions of West Bengal have subtle as well as more pronounced variations between each other, with Darjeeling Himalayan hill region and Duars showing particularly different socio-cultural aspects.
West Bengal's capital Kolkata—as the former capital of India—was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought, [1] and is referred to as the "cultural [or literary] capital of India". [2] [3] The presence of paras , which are cluster of neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of West Bengal. [4] Typically, each para has its own community club and, on occasion, a playing field. [4] Residents engage in addas , or leisurely chats, that often take the form of freestyle intellectual conversation. However, with the growth of apartments, expansion of neighbourhoods and rapid urbanization, this culture is on decline. [5] [6]
The Bengali language boasts a rich literary heritage, shared with neighbouring Bangladesh. West Bengal has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by the Charyapada , Mangalkavya , Shreekrishna Kirtana , Thakurmar Jhuli , and stories related to Gopal Bhar. In the nineteenth and twentieth century, Bengali literature was modernized in the works of authors such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Coupled with social reforms led by Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, and others, this constituted a major part of the Bengal Renaissance. [7] The middle and latter parts of the 20th century witnessed the arrival of post-modernism, as well as literary movements such as those espoused by the Kallol movement, hungryalists and the little magazines. [8]
Bengal has a long tradition of indigenous theater that dates back to the 1770s and consists of popular tales enacted through dance, music, and narration. Modern theater was introduced by Europeans in the mid-19th century and sustained by colonial educational institutions. The mythological and historical plays dominated the last quarter of the 19th and first quarter of the 20th century, but gradually gave way to urban middle-class predilections in society. The Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) was founded in 1943 and produced plays with far-reaching impacts. In the 1950s, amateur group theater emerged to address contemporary sociopolitical and financial issues. Star Theatre, Academy of Fine Arts, Rabindra Sadan, Nahabat, and Girish Manch are the most popular Bengali theaters, known for their development and socially conscious plays. [9] Among other types of theater, West Bengal has a tradition of folk drama known as jatra . [10] [11] Kolkata is the home of the Bengali cinema industry, dubbed "Tollywood" for Tollygunj, where most of the state's film studios are located. [12] Its long tradition of art films includes globally acclaimed film directors such as Academy Award-winning director Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha, and contemporary directors such as Aparna Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose, Koushik Ganguly, Rituparno Ghosh, Anjan Dutt, Kamaleswar Mukherjee, Sandip Ray. [13] Uttam Kumar was the most popular lead actor for decades, and his romantic pairing with actress Suchitra Sen in films attained legendary status. [14] Soumitra Chatterjee, who acted in many Satyajit Ray-films, and Prosenjit Chatterjee are among other popular lead male actors. As of 2020 [update] , Bengali films have won India's annual National Film Award for Best Feature Film twenty-two times in sixty seven years, the highest among all Indian languages.
The Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bengali folk music, which has also been influenced by regional music traditions. [15] Other folk music forms include Kabigaan, Gombhira, Bhawaiya, kirtans , and Gajan festival music. Folk music in West Bengal is often accompanied by the ektara, a one-stringed instrument. West Bengal also has a heritage in North Indian classical music. The state is recognised for its appreciation of rabindrasangeet (songs written by Rabindranath Tagore) and Indian classical music. Nazrul Geeti is another classical music of Bengal, which is written and composed by poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. He was person in Bengal music who created the first Bengali ghazals.[ citation needed ]
Popular music genres include adhunik songs. [16] [17] Since the early 1990s, new genres have emerged, including one comprising alternative folk–rock Bengali bands. [16] Another new style, jibonmukhi gaan ("songs about life"), is based on realism. [18] UNESCO selected The Rural Craft Hub of Bengal to showcase their artwork in Paris in 2015. [19]
West Bengal is known for its diverse culture, and dance plays a significant role in showcasing this. Each region has its own unique dance form that not only reflects the culture and history of the area but also incorporates worldwide themes. The Brita dance is a traditional folk dance performed by women to seek blessings from the Gods for their children's wishes to come true or to celebrate recovery from illness. The Gambhira dance is a devotional folk dance that addresses social, political, and moral issues of contemporary society, and it is popular during festivals in North Bengal. The Santhal dance celebrates nature and addresses gender issues and land rights, and it is performed by both men and women of the Santhali tribe. The Lathi dance is a well-known form of dance that expresses various emotions of human life, including celebration, anger, pain, and love. Finally, the Chhau is a widely practiced tribal dance that incorporates martial arts, athletics, and religion, with stories taken from the great epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. [20]
Though Bengali women traditionally wear the special Benarasi sari and Jamdani , Western attire has gained acceptance among younger and professional women. [21] Western-style dress has greater acceptance among men, although the traditional costumes like dhoti , panjabi , kurta , pyjama and lungi are seen during weddings and major festivals. Like any other metropolis, Kolkata also has an eclectic mix of western wears with a tinge of ethnic wears. People are found dressed in jeans along with kurtas, or sari along with an overcoat. women usually do a good makeup which attracts men and keeps them respected
West Bengal is famous for its culture and festivals are an inevitable part of this culture. Some festivals are celebrated statewide, while others are local in nature. There are also various other village fairs and seasonal tribal festivals. Durga Puja is the biggest and most important festival of West Bengal, and it features colourful pandals, decorative idols of Hindu goddess Durga and her family, lighting decoration and immersion processions. Other major festivals are Kali Puja, Diwali, Dol, Saraswati Puja, Jagaddhatri Puja, Rath Jatra, Kojagori Lakshmi Puja, Vishwakarma Puja, Poush Parbon, Poila Boishakh, Christmas. Kolkata Book Fair, Kolkata International Film Festival and Dover Lane Music Festival are major annual cultural events of Kolkata, whereas Poush Mela, Ganga Sagar Mela, Jhapan are some of the major annual fairs of the state. The diverse ethnic populace of Darjeeling Himalayan hill region celebrates several local festivals such as Losar, Dusshera or Fulpati, Tihar, Ram Navami, Maghe Sankranti, Chotrul Duchen, Buddha Jayanti, Tendong Lho Rumfaat, Eid al-Fitr etc.
West Bengal has a long tradition of popular literature, music and drama largely based on Bengali folklore and Hindu epics and Puranas.
West Bengal is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi) as of 2011. The population estimate as of 2023 is 102,552,787. West Bengal is the fourth-most populous and thirteenth-largest state by area in India, as well as the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. As a part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority.
The music of Bangladesh spans a wide variety of styles. Bangladesh claims some of the most renowned singers, composers and producers in Asia. Music has served the purpose of documenting the lives of the people and was widely patronized by the rulers. It comprises a long tradition of religious and regular song-writing over a period of almost a millennium.
Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsav, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasura. It is celebrated all over the world by the Hindu community, but it is particularly popular and traditionally celebrated in the Indian state of West Bengal, and other states like Bihar, Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and some other countries like Bangladesh and Nepal.. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashvin, which corresponds to September–October in the Gregorian calendar. Durga Puja is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are of the most significance. The puja is performed in homes and public, the latter featuring a temporary stage and structural decorations. The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift-giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions called a melā. Durga Puja is an important festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO in December 2021.
The music of West Bengal includes multiple indigenous musical genres such as Baul, Ramprasadi, Bishnupuri Classical, Kirtan, Shyama Sangeet, Rabindra Sangeet, Nazrul Geeti, Dwijendrageeti, Prabhat Samgiita, Agamani-Vijaya, Patua Sangeet, Gambhira, Bhatiali, Bhawaiya, Bengali Rock.
The culture of Bangladesh is intertwined with the culture of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. It has evolved over the centuries and encompasses the cultural diversity of several social groups of Bangladesh. The Bengal Renaissance of the 18th early 19th centuries, noted Bengali writers, saints, authors, scientists, researchers, thinkers, music composers, painters, film-makers have played a significant role in the development of Bengali culture. The culture of Bangladesh is deeply intertwined with the culture of the Bengal region. Basically Bengali culture refers to the culture of Bangladesh. The Bengal Renaissance contained the seeds of a nascent political Indian nationalism which was the precursor in many ways to modern Indian artistic cultural expression.
Krishnanagar is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Nadia district.
Kolkata has many festivals throughout the year. The largest and most magnificently celebrated festival of the city is Durga Puja, and it features colourful pandals, decorative idols of Hindu goddess Durga and her family, lighting decorations and fireworks. Other major festivals are Diwali, Kali Puja, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Poush Parbon, Poila Boishakh, Christmas, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, etc.
Jatra is a popular folk-theatre form Bengali theatre, spread throughout most of Bengali speaking areas of the Indian subcontinent, including Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Tripura As of 2005, there were some 55 troupes based in Calcutta's old Jatra district, Chitpur Road, and all together, jatra is a $21m-a-year industry, performed on nearly 4,000 stages in West Bengal alone, where in 2001, over 300 companies employed over 20,000 people, more than the local film industry and urban theatre.
Bengali theatre primarily refers to theatre performed in the Bengali language. Bengali theatre is produced mainly in West Bengal, and in Bangladesh. The term may also refer to some Hindi theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people.
The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where they form the dominant ethnolinguistic group and the Bengali language is the official and primary language. Bengal has a recorded history of 1,400 years.
Guptipara is a census town in Balagarh, a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Sadar subdivision of the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Barowari refers to the public organization of a religious entity, mainly in West Bengal, India. Barowari has significance associated with the Durga Puja festival, in which the Hindu Goddess Durga is worshipped; symbolizing the victory of good over evil. The word "Barowari" comes from the Sanskrit words "bar", which means public, and Persian word "wari", means For.
The dhak is a huge membranophone instrument from Bengal and Assam. The shapes differ from the almost cylindrical to the barrel. The manner of stretching the hide over the mouths and lacing also varies. It suspended from the neck, tied to the waist and kept on the lap or the ground, and usually played with wooden sticks. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound.
Culture of Birbhum refers to the culture of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Hinduism is the largest religious tradition in the Indian state of West Bengal with approximately 70.5% of the population identifying themselves as Hindus. The Hindus in West Bengal mostly belong to the Shakta, minority to Vaishnavite and a small community belong to Shaivite and other denominations. The vast majority of Hindus in West Bengal are Bengali Hindus numbering around 55 million and comprising 60.2% of the state population of 91.35 million (2011) but a notable section of non-Bengali Hindus also exist, particularly among Marwaris, Biharis, Odias, Gurkhas, Sindhis, Gujaratis and various tribal communities such as Koch, Santals, Munda and particularly Adivadis numbering around 9.4 million comprising rest 10.3% of the state population. Hindus have decreased in west bengal due to conversion to Islam which National Commission for Backward Classess(NCBC) notices.
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous state. The state capital is Kolkata. The state encompasses two broad natural regions: the Gangetic Plain in the south and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan area in the north. The tourism in West Bengal is maintained by WBTDCL, a state government owned enterprise.
Bong is a neologism that originated in cosmopolitan India in the 1980s as a slightly pejorative exonym for the educated middle-class Bengalis from the Indian state of West Bengal. In the 21st century, the term became a self-appellation of pride through the use of satire and self-reflexive irony by the Bengali blogging community, which came to stand for West Bengalis as a whole. Bong has been noted as a word of Indian English, used in the Indian newspapers.
The Indian state, West Bengal has a rich cultural heritage. Due to the reign of many different rulers in the past, arts and crafts in West Bengal underwent many changes giving an artistic diversity today in the forms of traditional handicrafts, terracotta, painting and carving, dances and music.
The World Heritage of Bengal or the World Heritage of the Bengal region refers to the architectural, cultural, and natural sites in independent sovereign state Bangladesh and indian state of West Bengal that have been recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites & Intangible cultural heritage. As of 2023, there are 13 World Heritages in the Bengal region, 6 of which are World Heritage Sites and 6 of which are Intangible cultural heritages. The 7 March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has been recognized as a world documentary heritage.
The jatra industry based out of Kolkata's Chitpur Road has gone through a severe blow with the growth of video parlours.