Bengal has
been divided and sub divided a number of times and yet Bengalis do not lack
humor. The capital of Bengal is Kolkata. The joy of living is part of Bengal’s
environment. Humor is in Bengali’s blood and Bengal is leading ahead on its
strength. Great Gokhale once said: “What Bengali thinks today; India thinks
tomorrow; and the world thinks day after tomorrow!” This great quotation
denotes the title and feature of Bengal. Bengal is an ancient place. A
reference to Bangladesh can be found in the scriptures, Puranas and religious
text. It was a popular belief that Beng
tribes, an off shoot of the Dravidans, were driven away by Indo- Aryans in
1000BC. They settled in Bengal and in course of time the name of Bengal was
derived from Beng. During the Mughal period although Akbar won the battle,
still Bengal retained its independence. After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707,
Bengal became an independent Muslim kingdom. In 1756 Nawab of Bengal Siraj
defeated the British and took over their forts. But the conspiracy hatched by
Lord Clive enabled him to defeat Siraj in the battle of Plassey. Thus the sun
of independent Bengal sank below the horizon in the mango garden of Plassey. In
1854 British Crown took control over Bengal as well as whole of India from the
east India Company.
It was not
that Bengal known merely for her valor and bravery- ancient Bengal was also an
agricultural country. Bengal is the land of fish and rice. The principal crop
is paddy i.e. rice. The textile industry of Bengal was well renowned throughout
the world. Even packaged tea of Bengal is to get exported to Bengal. The
traders from Greece, China, and Persia also come to Bengal to trade with their
commodities.
Even nature
played a major role in Bengal’s beautification. Among the nine coastal states
of India only West Bengal is credited with the combination of three most
beautiful ingredients of nature- Sea, forest and hills. It has risen from Bay
of Bengal and on top it is the mighty towering white Himalayas, Rajmahal hills
of igneous rock is along the middle of the state. Himalayas are stretching
right across the north, with Darjeeling as it beauty spot and the world of tea,
timber and tourism at the foot hills of Duars. The world famous Royal Bengal
Tiger of mangrove forest of Sundarban is to the south. Further south is Bay of
Bengal, Bangladesh and Assam is to the east and Bihar, Orissa and Nepal to the
west of Bengal. Kolkata the capital of Bengal is on the eastern bank of river
Bhagirathi or Ganga. Kolkata is unique and amazing city, always vibrant and
beautiful and is the city of joy. Kolkata has many beautiful tourists’ spots. Victoria
Memorial is its prime attraction. Darjeeling the famous hill station in India
is another awe inspiring hill station in West Bengal. Digha in West Bengal, a
sea side attracts thousands of tourists every year.
Demography-
In West Bengal
most of the people are Hindus. Bengalis are the dominant religion of this
state. Muslims and Christianity are also found here in small number. Bengali is
the main language; Hindi and English are also spoken here. West Bengal ranks 5th
in terms of population in India. People here are involved in different
occupation. Though most of the people here are engaged in agriculture, fishing,
pottery and carpenters. There are other
sectors such as banking, government services, BPO, private companies, textile
workers etc.
Climate-
Throughout the
year the tourists can visit West Bengal as it has a very pleasant climate. But its
better avoid visiting the place during July-September as it rains heavily
during this months and it might create a problems for tourism. The rainfall
varies between 120-400cm. However the average rainfall is 175cm.
********
