Gujratis are stingy, Punjabis are always dancing and South Indians dress funny – ethnic background conjures up such stereotype images in our head. For Bengalis, it is their passion for sweets!
Bengalis are ready to bear the pain but will not keep away from daily intake of sweets everyday. It is a part of their culture, they would say in their defense.
I was in Kolkatta, the capital of West Bengal state, a couple of days back. It was astonishing to see the city is flooded with as many sweet shops as those of chemists.
“Sweets are a part of our daily lives, just like we need water, food and air to survive everyday, we need our sweets,” said a family friend, who suffers from obesity as well as diabetes. “It is a very Bengali thing to have such a rich sweet-eating culture.”
My dad, who has more than 1,100 employees working for him, says the common sickness that his staff complains of at work is diabetes. At least 10-15 percent of his staff is suffering from high sugar levels.
Perhaps it’s the sweetness and richness in the culture that discourages Bengalis to move outside of Bengal --another peculiar thing I found about them. Having said that, there are exceptions - there are Bengalis who have ventured into an outside world, for whom homecoming is as sweet as the Rasgulla (a Bengali sweet)!
