Dr. Soma Banerjee
Volume-XIV, Issue-I, October 2025
Volume-XIV, Issue-I, October 2025 | ||
Received: 01.09.2025 | Accepted: 23.09.2025 | |||
Published Online: 31.10.2025 | Page No: 92-100 | |||
DOI: 10.64031/pratidhwanitheecho.vol.14.issue.01W.035 | ||||
Bengali
Delights and Babu Culture: A Study on
Culinary Evolution in Bengal
Dr. Soma Banerjee, Asst.
Prof, Dept. of Education, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India | |
The
paper concentrates on the intricate connection between Babu Culture and the
Bengali food culture during the colonial and post-colonial era of Bengal, and
how, conversely, the changing class formations, especially the colonial regime,
influenced the eating style of the inhabitants of the territory. The Bengali
cuisine, which literally was born at the elementary level of agriculture, was a
revolution when the Babus, “the gentleman-class”,
arrived and viewed food as an item of their culture and the ticket to cultural
sophistication. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate how colonial contacts
converged to create new European tastes and local cuisines, resulting in the
creation of a new culinary geography, which is neither new nor old. The paper
is trying to capture the transformation of the food in Bengal as compared to Babu Culture.
The
first aim of it is to recreate the evolution of Babu Culture in the ethnographic context of the Bengali cuisine. It
also evaluates the socio-economic effects that the rule of colonialism had on
the culinary practices in Bengal and the overall culinary identity of the
place. Moreover, it explores how food is used in building class, identity, and
modernity among the Bengali upper classes. Strengths of this work are the
workplace, food within the confines of culture and power, and it also provides
a significant insight into the topic.
The
researcher assumes a qualitative approach and performs content and thematic
analysis of the secondary data sources that include historical literature,
culinary literature, colonial literature, and other visual sources. The plan is
to explain the development of the culinary practices in Bengal, and to analyse
the interaction between the socio-political history of Bengal, its culture, and
the Bengali way of life that develops during the course of time. | |
Keyword:
|