Textiles and Dress

Culture of West Bengal

The culture of West Bengal is an Indian culture which has its roots in Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. It is intertwined with the culture of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. 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, and is referred to as the "cultural [or literary] capital of India". The presence of paras, which are cluster of neighbourhoods that possess a strong sense of community, is characteristic of West Bengal. Typically, each para has its own community club and, on occasion, a playing field. 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 urbanisation, this culture is on decline.

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See also

• ▸Bocholt textile museum
• ▸Bo (instrument)
• ▸History of Gaza

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