I still have the vinyl LP box-set of The Concert for Bangladesh held in 1971. On request of Bengali musician Ravi Shankar, George Harrison staged the first humanitarian effort which connected politics and music - a formula later adopted by Sir Bob Geldof with Live Aid and the likes. In only one day, the whole world new the name Bangladesh. To understand the motivation for the concert, a brief historical overview is important:
The ancient and historic region of Bengal dates back to the Copper Age, over 4000 years ago. There has always been a tussle between Hinduism, Buddhism and the Muslim faith in the region. A proposal for a United India (Pakistan/India/Bengal) was rejected because of continuous inter-religious violence. In 1947 British India was partitioned into Pakistan (mostly Muslim), India (mostly Hindu) and East Pakistan (the Bengal bit - mostly Muslim). Geographically, East Pakistan was separated from Pakistan by 1600km of India, which led to political isolation, economic neglect and ethnic and linguistic discrimination. The War of Independence was inevitable. and the independent state of Bangladesh emerged as a nation after separation from Pakistan in 1971. After the war, the new state endured famine and widespread poverty - exacerbated by a spate of natural disasters and disease. The Concert for Bangladesh brought these horrific conditions to the world's attention and raised money to aid its suffering people.
Modern Bangladesh is an emerging market with above trend economic growth ( 6% per year), and ever improving conditions for the very proud Bangladeshi people.
Last night we visited The Bengal Kitchen, 3km south of the CBD in Woolloongabba (see suburb profile week 9: France). The Bengal Kitchen is owned by Ali, who moved here 21 years ago on a student visa to further his studies in hospitality. Proudly wearing a bandanna sporting the flag of Bangladesh on his head and a Bronco's rugby jersey on his chest, Ali and his sister enthusiastically share their passion for Bangladeshi food with the people of Brisbane. Bangladeshis in Australia are one of the smallest immigrant communities in the country (about 20,000), with 1672 living in Brisbane.
The food from Bangladesh is a culinary art form. It is the only country on the subcontinent with a multi-course tradition, analogous to the modern service a la russe where the dishes are served course-wise rather than all at once. The cuisine is influenced by it's geography. Being a peninsula surrounded by the Bay of Bengal, seafood features prominently. The fertile flat lands are perfect for cultivating rice (a dietary staple, together with lentils), and neighbouring India clearly played a part in shaping the profile of this cuisine. It offers a taste-tantalising blend of fragrant spices, which can vary from sweet to very spicy. Mustard oil is preferred as cooking medium, and the spice combinations are a variation of cumin, red chili, turmeric, garlic, fenugreek, coriander and black mustard seeds. For the home cook, it might be more convenient to buy a packet of panch poran, which is a general purpose spice mixture, ideal for giving a dish a bit of Bengali flavour.
The 10 of us shared a variety of starters, including Aloo gobi, Onion Bhaji and samosas, and then we ordered a different curry each. Seafood, chicken, beef, lamb, vegetarian - all showcasing the variety of spice combinations and heat intrinsic to the taste structure of a Bangladeshi meal. The food was delicious, the company was great, and the fact sharing (see week one blog regarding Friday Night Out fact sharing rules) as varied as the spice combinations ! From Finn's World's largest Human Flag fact (see image below).....
to Boetie's real flag fact (the red disc in the centre of the green flag is actually slightly off- centred to the hoist, which allows it to appear centre when the flag is flying. Mandy and Andrew G both shared demographic stats (average height of male is 5"7; average child bearing age is 18....), Martina and Keith emphasized the potential disaster facing the country, should the sea level rise by 1m due to global warming and the ensuing mass human displacement (considering this is a nation with 160 million people who mostly live on low-laying land). Andrew M shared a tooth-fairy fable (kids throw their baby teeth down a rat hole, which apparently will result in their adult teeth being nice and strong)....should we consider a fable to be a fact? Louise, sticking to her textile theme from Nepal, outlined this strong female-dominant industry and it's substantial contribution to the GDP. And then there was Phil's fact that the origin of the name Bangla Desh is uncertain, and there are conflicting theories surrounding it's meaning....can an uncertainty be considered to be a fact?
What we know as a fact, is that we have another 24 weeks of culinary exploration to go, and next week we shall investigate the spice combinations of Mexico!
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