Ibn Battuta (1304-1369) was the most widely travelled explorer of the pre-modern world. Almost all that is known about his life comes from his own travel account. He left Morocco at age 21 to perform Hajj and did not return for 24 years. After spending eight years in India under the employment of the Sultan of Delhi, Ibn Battuta was sent on a diplomatic mission to China. Although a shipwreck threw off this expedition to China, Ibn Battuta continued towards China. It was on this journey that he visited Bengal....
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Ibn Battuta (1304-1369) was the most widely travelled explorer of the pre-modern world. Almost all that is known about his life comes from his own travel account. He left Morocco at age 21 to perform Hajj and did not return for 24 years. After spending eight years in India under the employment of the Sultan of Delhi, Ibn Battuta was sent on a diplomatic mission to China. Although a shipwreck threw off this expedition to China, Ibn Battuta continued towards China. It was on this journey that he visited Bengal....
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In the early 20th century, Bengali Muslim sailors and peddlers—many from present-day Bangladesh—formed some of the first South Asian enclaves in New York's Harlem and the Lower East Side, arriving via British merchant ships or through Gulf Coast ports like New Orleans. These predominantly single men built interracial households by marrying African American and Puerto Rican women, creating hybrid cultural traditions that blended Bengali cooking, Islamic practices, and multilingual family life. Facing restrictive immigration laws and racial hierarchies, they survived through informal economies as peddlers, restaurant workers, and factory laborers...
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In the early 20th century, Bengali Muslim sailors and peddlers—many from present-day Bangladesh—formed some of the first South Asian enclaves in New York's Harlem and the Lower East Side, arriving via British merchant ships or through Gulf Coast ports like New Orleans. These predominantly single men built interracial households by marrying African American and Puerto Rican women, creating hybrid cultural traditions that blended Bengali cooking, Islamic practices, and multilingual family life. Facing restrictive immigration laws and racial hierarchies, they survived through informal economies as peddlers, restaurant workers, and factory laborers...
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Apu from the Simpsons is technically Bengali-Hindu, but his portrayal as a homogenized Indian is at odds with his origins. As a result he repeats, enables, and affirms the homogenized Indian stereotype, and the popularity of the character has let the homogenized Indian stereotype trickle down into other comedy series, even those aimed at children. This is about whether or not Apu is harmful, and not about whether or not Apu is racist. Additionally, something can be racist and/or harmful, and still be funny. Production Origins In the Simpsons, it...
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Apu from the Simpsons is technically Bengali-Hindu, but his portrayal as a homogenized Indian is at odds with his origins. As a result he repeats, enables, and affirms the homogenized Indian stereotype, and the popularity of the character has let the homogenized Indian stereotype trickle down into other comedy series, even those aimed at children. This is about whether or not Apu is harmful, and not about whether or not Apu is racist. Additionally, something can be racist and/or harmful, and still be funny. Production Origins In the Simpsons, it...
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That Small Crunch you hear in the Streets of South Asia: Is it Fuchka, Pani Puri, or Golgappa? On the streets of South Asia, you will find people munching on a hollow puri that tastes sweet, savory, or even tangy, depending on the filling and flavored water in it. This universal street food is known by different names, such as fuchka, golgappa, or pani puri.[1] The variation in names comes from the migration of people throughout the South Asian continent, as well as differences in regional taste palates and identity.[1]...
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That Small Crunch you hear in the Streets of South Asia: Is it Fuchka, Pani Puri, or Golgappa? On the streets of South Asia, you will find people munching on a hollow puri that tastes sweet, savory, or even tangy, depending on the filling and flavored water in it. This universal street food is known by different names, such as fuchka, golgappa, or pani puri.[1] The variation in names comes from the migration of people throughout the South Asian continent, as well as differences in regional taste palates and identity.[1]...
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Different Wedding Rituals Melding- Hinduism and Islam in BD
Acknowledgement Bangladesh is not secular. While the majority of the population follows Sunni Islamic practices, the country does pride itself on being a place for all to rejoice and celebrate their respective religion. Bangladesh currently consists of 80% Muslim, mainly Sunni, with a small number being Shia, 13% Hindu, and the rest being Buddhist or Christian. [1] Bangladesh has established Islam to be the state religion, however, allows everyone the right to practice the religion of their choice. This article will focus primarily on the two most popular religions in...
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Acknowledgement Bangladesh is not secular. While the majority of the population follows Sunni Islamic practices, the country does pride itself on being a place for all to rejoice and celebrate their respective religion. Bangladesh currently consists of 80% Muslim, mainly Sunni, with a small number being Shia, 13% Hindu, and the rest being Buddhist or Christian. [1] Bangladesh has established Islam to be the state religion, however, allows everyone the right to practice the religion of their choice. This article will focus primarily on the two most popular religions in...
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How a "Desi" Changed Hygiene Forever - Sake Dean Mahomed
Anti–South Asian racism in the West has followed a common theme. There is an association of South Asian people being inherently dirty, lacking in hygiene, and having poor sanitary habits. These tropes shape the pop-cultural perception of South Asian people and are so widespread that these generalizations become ingrained in people’s psyche. The irony is that the sanitary and hygiene practices the Anglosphere prides itself on have foundations built by the same South Asian people who are mocked for supposedly lacking them [6]. Shampoo is an item present in nearly...
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Anti–South Asian racism in the West has followed a common theme. There is an association of South Asian people being inherently dirty, lacking in hygiene, and having poor sanitary habits. These tropes shape the pop-cultural perception of South Asian people and are so widespread that these generalizations become ingrained in people’s psyche. The irony is that the sanitary and hygiene practices the Anglosphere prides itself on have foundations built by the same South Asian people who are mocked for supposedly lacking them [6]. Shampoo is an item present in nearly...
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“The musicians were great. I mean, they completely put down their own egos to play together and to do something because the whole vibe of that concert was that it was something bigger than the lot of us.” — George Harrison [1]. The Concert for Bangladesh, held at Madison Square Garden on 1 August 1971, is widely recognized as the first major benefit concert in modern history. Organized by former Beatle George Harrison and Indian classical virtuoso Ravi Shankar, the event sought to raise global awareness and humanitarian funds for...
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“The musicians were great. I mean, they completely put down their own egos to play together and to do something because the whole vibe of that concert was that it was something bigger than the lot of us.” — George Harrison [1]. The Concert for Bangladesh, held at Madison Square Garden on 1 August 1971, is widely recognized as the first major benefit concert in modern history. Organized by former Beatle George Harrison and Indian classical virtuoso Ravi Shankar, the event sought to raise global awareness and humanitarian funds for...
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Khalifatabad, the historic mosque city built under Khan Jahan Ali, represents one of the earliest and most distinctive expressions of Islamic architecture in Bangladesh, blending local Bengali forms with influences from Delhi. Its most famous monument, the Shait Gumbad Mosque, showcases this hybrid style through its many domes, terracotta ornamentation, and structural features that suggest the site served religious, educational, and communal purposes. Although many buildings later fell into ruin due to salinity and time, the city’s surviving mosques, mausoleums, and water structures reveal the lasting architectural and cultural legacy...
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Khalifatabad, the historic mosque city built under Khan Jahan Ali, represents one of the earliest and most distinctive expressions of Islamic architecture in Bangladesh, blending local Bengali forms with influences from Delhi. Its most famous monument, the Shait Gumbad Mosque, showcases this hybrid style through its many domes, terracotta ornamentation, and structural features that suggest the site served religious, educational, and communal purposes. Although many buildings later fell into ruin due to salinity and time, the city’s surviving mosques, mausoleums, and water structures reveal the lasting architectural and cultural legacy...
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Bonbibi sits at the heart of the Sundarbans as a guardian spirit who belongs to both Hindu and Muslim communities, and her stories weave together myth, ecology, and survival. Her origin tale follows a child abandoned in the forest who grows into a protector strong enough to face Dakshin Ray yet compassionate enough to share the land with him, which mirrors the way people in the Sundarbans must live alongside tigers and other dangerous forces of nature. Her rituals, shrines, and festivals show how deeply she is tied to the...
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Bonbibi sits at the heart of the Sundarbans as a guardian spirit who belongs to both Hindu and Muslim communities, and her stories weave together myth, ecology, and survival. Her origin tale follows a child abandoned in the forest who grows into a protector strong enough to face Dakshin Ray yet compassionate enough to share the land with him, which mirrors the way people in the Sundarbans must live alongside tigers and other dangerous forces of nature. Her rituals, shrines, and festivals show how deeply she is tied to the...
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The Fox’s Wedding: A Folkloric Bridge Between Bangladesh and Japan
Sunshowers inspire parallel folktales in Bangladesh and Japan, where both cultures imagine foxes or jackals holding hidden weddings behind the curtain of rain and sunlight. These stories blend wonder, superstition, and local belief, revealing how a single natural phenomenon creates shared mythic meaning across two distant countries.
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Sunshowers inspire parallel folktales in Bangladesh and Japan, where both cultures imagine foxes or jackals holding hidden weddings behind the curtain of rain and sunlight. These stories blend wonder, superstition, and local belief, revealing how a single natural phenomenon creates shared mythic meaning across two distant countries.
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Brick Lane is the cultural heart of Bangladeshi life in East London, known for its festivals, landmarks, and long history of migration that transformed the area into Banglatown. Its legacy reflects both the community’s contributions and its struggles against racism, even as gentrification now threatens the future of its historic Bangladeshi presence.
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Brick Lane is the cultural heart of Bangladeshi life in East London, known for its festivals, landmarks, and long history of migration that transformed the area into Banglatown. Its legacy reflects both the community’s contributions and its struggles against racism, even as gentrification now threatens the future of its historic Bangladeshi presence.
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Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a pioneering educator and reformer who transformed Bengali schooling through vernacular education, girls’ schools, and the standardization of the Bengali language. His scholarship and moral conviction pushed him to challenge restrictive practices around widowhood, leading to the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of 1856, though the law’s limitations and uneven application meant its impact was mixed. Together, his educational and social reforms shaped the Bengali Renaissance and left a lasting influence on language, learning, and women’s rights in nineteenth century Bengal.
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Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a pioneering educator and reformer who transformed Bengali schooling through vernacular education, girls’ schools, and the standardization of the Bengali language. His scholarship and moral conviction pushed him to challenge restrictive practices around widowhood, leading to the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of 1856, though the law’s limitations and uneven application meant its impact was mixed. Together, his educational and social reforms shaped the Bengali Renaissance and left a lasting influence on language, learning, and women’s rights in nineteenth century Bengal.
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