Saiful Islam
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From one perspective ( and not necessarily the correct one ) that viewpoint holds true; for the simple reason that Bangladesh either through state sponsored efforts or through interest groups rarely project the Musolmani Bengali culture. Which is why a non-Bengali person like me is far more likely to be exposed to a movie by Satyajit Ray and theater performances by Badal Sarkar.
I agree with you that the majority of the Indian diaspora is Punjabi or Gujarati. We are not discussing Punjabi Sikh or Patel ex-pat Indian diaspora, and in any case their professions are more towards self employment and small business. They contribute little to projecting India's cultural image and are mostly very tightly knit communities that rarely interact with other Indian ex-pat or diaspora communities. India is not mono-cultural and mono-lingual but very diverse and Bengali culture and language ( termed West Bengali, now that I am better informed). is but ONE culture of India.
The South Indians, Marathis, UP and Delhi Punjabi upper caste Hindus , and of course the West Bengali bhadralok make up the majority of the white collar professionals in the Indian diaspora So a Pakistani like me is far more likely to have a one-on-one social contact with such people of Indian origin as colleagues in the workplace than with a Sikh taxi driver or Patel grocery store owner.
Professional Pakistanis run into South Indians far more than Indian Bengali or Hindi speaking upper caste Northern Hindus, simply because South Indians dominate the professional scene in North America. The two groups that project their culture the most are South Indians and of course the West Bengali bhadralok . It is simply a choice I made. I found a lot of intellectual compatibility with the West Bengali professional elite on account of their " left-of-center " political views, strictly secular outlook, their extreme fluency in English, and a remarkable fluency in Hindi/Urdu. Their tolerance for differing opinions was remarkable. Like South Indians I could discuss any topic in the world with them. They never highlighted their Bengali identity. But on expressing my own curiosity about their culture they generously opened the flood gates to me exposing me to West Bengali . culture. There were Robindro Songeet sessions in their homes where amateur talent abounded.
My friend's spouse was a physician but was also an accomplished sitar player and another friend's spouse ( also a physician) was a talented solo singer specializing in Dwijendrageeti . During October when they have their Durga Puja celebrations they would hold public music and theater events to which I would get a free tickets. Attending these was a very pleasant experience and I wasn't the only non-Bengali attending; there were other Indians mostly from northern India as well
as Americans. Attending these events was easy because the plays or songs were meticulously translated by an introductory speaker or master of ceremonies. I was told the South Indians, particularly those from Tamil Nadu have their own cultural groups.
The final point...
Despite India being the mortal enemy of Pakistan I unfortunately ( repeat unfortunately) identify with Indians because like India, Pakistan is diverse. Pakistan is not mono-lingual, mono-cultural but has a rich diversity of cultures . We are not as diverse as India and unlike India we have a common communication language, (which is a good thing). But the diversity in Pakistan makes us much more flexible as a mindset to be receptive to other languages and cultures as well as proudly holding our heads high on our own culture.
Karachi is a "melting point " of cultures both from the subcontinent and from many parts of the Middle East . Karachi even has a legacy Bengali library and a small but vibrant Bengali speaking community, who even celebrate Poila Baisakh .
To be brief. I sought a diverse intellectual company,( beyond the grocery store chat and the mosque) and found it in the West Bengali ex-pat diaspora. Having said that I do have a very close circle of friends and relatives from my own country and it is a delight to share Urdu poetry and literature over excellent food, where unfortunately my West Bengali social circle falls short.
Pakistanis make the best food (period). I don't much relish luchi aloo dom though it is good for a change.
I hope I have answered your question.
When I visited Dhaka I was looking at the country through West Bengali eyes and Ekushey February had no significance for me because it is hardly known or even talked about in West Bengal. But now I know better. Maybe on my next trip to BD I will go to Ramna Maidan on that occasion.,
My respects to the Musolmani Bengali cultural heritage of Bangladesh and congratulations on preserving this.
May I add the song below written by Atulya Sen of Dhaka. I was introduced to it by my West Bengali friends .
All people have the right to be proud of their language and I am proud of my own so I will exit this thread with the couplet.
اردو ہے چسکا نام ہم ہی جانتے ہیں داغ
سارے جہاں میں دھوم ہماری زُباں کی ہے
Trans: I Daag ( the poet) only know what is the ( meaning of ) the name of Urdu. It is famous though out the world..
Have modified the original couplet so "ouch" in advance if someone here raps my knuckles.
What I meant was, abroad, without getting to deep into it is Bengalis are synonymous with the Bengali Muslim ethnic group and refers to Bangladesh more than it does W.Bengal. This may play out differently in the subcontinent as Bengalis are an ethnographic group (similar to the two Punjabs).
If a white man was to find out that I am Bengali, it would be Bengali from Bangladesh as his mostly likely presumption..
This is the point I was trying to make, most people associate Bengali to Bangladesh esp in Europe and the middle east where most of them are migrant workers from BD..
The scene in the states is very different I can't comment on it, they may not be well established as their other diaspora settlements.
