Bring in Baishakh with boundless Bangalianaa!

What is your earliest memory of Baishakh? Is it of soothing Tagore songs playing in the background, the sight of your mother adorned in her festive red and white Gorod sari, fragrant with the heady scent of Beli strings wrapped around her hair, or is it the pungent smell of Paanta Bhaat spiked with fiery, smoky Shukna Morich Pora? Most likely, it’s all of them, but most vivid is the memory surrounding food. We Bengalis love to eat; it is a fact universally acknowledged, and our fondest, earliest memories are mostly tied around food.