{"id":1937,"date":"2018-10-19T22:28:59","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T16:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?p=1937"},"modified":"2018-10-19T22:28:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T16:58:59","slug":"the-passing-down-of-legacies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/the-passing-down-of-legacies\/","title":{"rendered":"The passing down of legacies"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY RUPSHA BOSE
\nVaranasi, India<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bengali households often have a rich set of traditional items that are passed down as heirlooms from generation to generation. These are either pieces of jewellery, clothing, or any kind of utensil. For our family, it is the Pooja utensils that my mother received from my grandmother, and which my grandmother had once received from my great-grandmother. These unique Pooja utensils are something that every Bengali household boasts of; not only because of their beauty but also because of the names used for them.\u00a0<\/span>It is said that Bengali is one of the sweetest language, so, not only are our names are beautiful but the names of the objects we use are too. Like, <\/span>Kosha, Kushi, Jalshankha,<\/span><\/i>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0Kulo<\/span><\/i>. They are poetical in themselves.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

These utensils are over 100 years old and were bought by my great-grandmother, Boroja Sundari Bose. She bought them in Varanasi in the early 1900\u2019s, somewhere between 1906-1912. They have been passed to the women in every subsequent generation since, and since I am the only child, they will likely be passed down to me. For me, these utensils hold the long ongoing tradition of my family and the scent of my grandparents and great-grandparents. Within their aged metallic surfaces, live the memory and nostalgia reminding me of my roots. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The utensils were passed down to my grandmother, Shailobala Bose and my grandfather, Narendra Kishore Bose from my great-grandparents, Boroja Sundari and Brajendra Kishore Bose. My grandmother then passed them down to my parents, Nanda and Bhaskar Jyoti Bose.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have a habit of taking out all the utensils from my grandmother’s old chest and prepping them for the festival season. My mother avoids using them all the time because of the importance it holds for her and my father, but I make sure they are used at least twice a year, during Durga Puja and Kali Puja (Diwali). All the utensils are either made of shells, brass, bronze, or copper because these metals are considered auspicious for Puja.<\/span><\/p>\n