A Riddle .

Forty Bengalis are put together in a house for 2 days.  What do they do?

Scroll down for the answer.
;-)

Meanwhile I give you some hints. 

Hint 1:If you are a Bengali yourself then you should have answered even before I completed the question.

No?

Hint 2:Although we are known to be a race who believes in "torko" (debate and discussion)  over anything and everything..this is one such subject where all Bengalis are united like the "United" states of America.

Bad joke, I know. But could not help it.

Still no??? more hints..okok...the last one.
 Hint 3:

..our weakness.

..our passion.

..our culture

..our identity

..our love.

......correct! Full 10 points!

The answer is : They EAT.....Food is the correct answer!
We ate and ate and ate.......The reason that I have so much information is because I was one of the forty!!

The weekend break in Belgium was designed to celebrate the success of Durga puja. Absolutely fantastic concept, wonderful choice of location, perfect company, impeccable arrangements and ...and ...and LOADS OF FOOD.
There was no no-food moment in those 48 hours. We ate as we talked...we ate as we cooked..we ate as we sang..we ate as we danced..we ate continuously.We do have something to say in our defence, though. The weather was very bad...cold....gloomy..rainy.. So even though outdoors it was really beautiful landscape..we had to stay in...and EAT!

Room one: The kitchen. Evening.

The kitchen is always room number 1 for Bengalis. This is where all the action is.  Some are busy estimating the amount of food that needs to be cooked, some are busy counteracting their estimates with "nono, thats too much" or "last time we made more" or " I hate wasting food", some are silent listeners with a smile on their face saying "carry on, I know finally I have to do it", some are "hands on"--looking for knives to start chopping the onions...some are busy stimulating their brain cells by a whiff of smoke just outside the kitchen door...some are very serious in their job(they even have the chef cap on)...some are busy commenting from far....all men.

The women are pretty relaxed...they are not cooking...one mail I sent last time with this proposal (let the men cook) and it is now cast in stone. The men serve the wine...the women relax with a glass in hand. A round of antaksri starts...more people join in...someone serves the snacks from the oven...someone lights the gas to fry more...someone is looking for the "right" sauce..someone says something which no one hears.....
...perfect relaxation!!!

Room two: Dining hall-cum dance floor

This huge room though originally meant for dining served many purposes. On demand it got transformed to the dance floor complete with dim lights...or as the poetry recital room ...or to a quick ta-ichi classroom....or a random gossip corner.
When the music is ON....you HAVE to dance! Some are dancing with a variety of steps, some are using the same steps for a variety of songs...not caring whether it is "Munni badnaam" or a  "Senorita"..Some want to do belly dancing...for some their belly dance even if they dont want it to...some focus on music..some have no clue which music is playing...some cross manly borders as they perform to Umrao jaan, some show steps that no Saroj Khan can dream of..
A few are taking full advantage of the dim lights and dozing away to glory..
...amazing entertainment!!!

Room three: Family room.

This room is occupied by the children. Some are running around (off course aimlessly)...some are planning to play hide and seek(the house is too big)..some are busy watching movies on the laptop (the show never ends as long as parents are dancing)..some are engrossed in their nintendo gadgets (heads bent, face serious)...some are hungry...some sleepy..

...restless innocence!!!

Room one:Kitchen. Morning.

Some people just woke up..rummaging through supplies looking for tea....last nights dance-and-drink effect still lingering on.....someone wants to eat an omelette...that triggers a certain omellete-making-spree which ends only when there are no more eggs to break..the omelette-maker thinks he is Keanu Reeves in SPEED...if he stops the sky comes crashing down...the ready made omelettes vanish as soon as they touch the plate...some start talking about the lunch menu...others shut them up....more people wake up and wander into the kitchen...more tea...more omelletes....

...hungry madness!!!

My intention was to post the recipe of the wonderful mutton curry the chefs cooked that evening...but..the chefs themselves dont remember any more what they put in...actually they dont remember ANYTHING...
;-)

All this and more made it so interesting..... yearning for more.........



Note:Special thanks to photographers Ruby and Dhritiman