Bengali Artifacts and Identity Building: A Sociological Study

This essay explores the role of Bengali artifacts, such as the Howrah Bridge and Durga Puja, in shaping personal identity, particularly in the context of cultural adaptation to a new environment. The author reflects on how the Howrah Bridge serves as a constant reminder of home, providing a co...Read More

Running head: BENGALI ARTIFACTS AND IDENTITY BUILDING
Bengali Artifacts and Identity Building
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

BENGALI ARTIFACTS AND IDENTITY BUILDING
The personal identity of the individual refers to the interpersonal style that is developed
by the actual life experiences and the structural forces that provide the context for these
experiences (Côté, 1996). Identity gets constructed by an individual as a way of life, where a
study on the cultural artifacts can provide a better understanding of the cultural change.
Howrah Bridge was built in the colonial era of India. It was constructed by the British to
connect two cities namely Howrah and Kolkata. This bridge also looks like it is hanging and
handles 150,000 pedestrians every day. Apart from its grandeur, it also homes the county’s
oldest railway station. Thus it has become the iconic heritage site of Kolkata and it also reflects
the pulse the city dwellers residing in it. It has also becomes an emblem that blends the modern
India with it spiritual past. The image of Howrah Bridge has become a powerful reference point
to people irrespective of their caste, class or creed. This is mainly due to rich historical and
cultural past. When one move from their native place to an alien land, she or he may face
discomfort in the new environment. However, it does not imply that there is cultural anxiety
against the other culture. In my initial days, there was some kind of discomfort but slowly with
time, my ethnicity was just not representing the iconic structure. Even though I am living in a
foreign land, the emblem of Howrah Bridge provides me with the home feeling and makes sure
that there is a common reference point to my identity.
Similarly, Durga puja, which is actually a celebration of women empowerment, helps to
build my self-esteem and has become a constant source of power and strength to me. Though this
kind of celebration shares a common religious platform, the notion around celebration varies
from place to place. According to my insights, the celebration of this festival in foreign land
lacks the collective solidarity aspect. This is because festivals are mostly seen as a holiday from

BENGALI ARTIFACTS AND IDENTITY BUILDING
their routine life where one’s ethnicity or race does not a play important role. People mainly
pick, choose a particular festivals, and participate in it collectively. Thus, they fail to realize the
religious and cultural importance of this festival. However, this kind of practices show how
multiculturalism emerges in a situation where people has diverse identity. Even though it
produces a secular rhetoric it brings a stability to the dynamic aspect of the identity of a person,
where solidarity of the community gets sustained(Ghosh, 2011). Along with the festival, the food
also plays an important role because it contains meaning with them and exchange of food
signifies the performative aspect of the identity. (Stajcic, 2013). Therefore, the choice of food in
the multi-cultural milieu determines the uniqueness of the individual where the personal trait,
behavior or the nature of the person is different form one another.
My identity represents the roles I play in life or the acts that I am engaged in. Being a
woman and coming from a particular ethnic group to a different place brings forth a multitude of
challenges to my life. Even though there is presence of cross-cultural tension, one cannot totally
assimilate to foreign culture because she or he needs to maintain emblem of difference.
Therefore my hobbies related to harmonium or the types of adornments I opt for represents the
deep-seated cultural issues. Whereas the makeup or the roles I play become the performative
area of making my sense of reality.

BENGALI ARTIFACTS AND IDENTITY BUILDING
References
Bhattacharya, T. (2007). Tracking the goddess: religion, community, and identity in the Durga
Puja ceremonies of nineteenth-century Calcutta. The Journal of Asian Studies, 66(4),
919-962.
Côté, J. E. (1996). Sociological perspectives on identity formation: The culture-identity link and
identity capital. Journal of adolescence, 19, 417-428.
Ghosh, B. (2011). SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research. [online]
Journals.sagepub.com. Available at:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0169796X1102700203 [Accessed 28 Jan.
2019].
Stajcic, N. (2013). Understanding culture: food as a means of communication. Hemispheres.
Studies on Cultures and Societies, (28), 77-87.