Page 42 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

10 Glimpses of Traditional Indian Life

keep refilling our plates, just to make sure that there were
plenty of remnants left to distribute to the eager villagers.

Sometimes the enthusiasm of our hosts would be
overwhelming. All wanted to feed us and have us visit
their homes to bless them, and all expected us to engage in
personal conversation with them. Indeed they were quite
insistent, which put a strain on our lives — and digestion.
But that was richly compensated by the natural pleasure
and beautiful kīrtanas with which people received us, and
the joyful mood that prevailed wherever we went. We were
getting a glimpse of how it would be if the whole world
were Kṛṣṇa conscious.

East and West Bengal

Bengal has traditionally been divided into East and
West. This is partly because East Bengal has always been
somewhat isolated and inaccessible, being a land of many
rivers and, previously, of many jungles. In Śrī Caitanya-
caritāmṛta East Bengal is referred to as Baṅga, and West
Bengal as Gauḍa. East Bengal is presently Bangladesh,
and the western part of Bengal is the state of West Bengal,
India.

Although East and West Bengal share the same language
and culture, they have always been somewhat different.
But that difference was accentuated by Bengal’s division
into West Bengal and Bangladesh, on the plea that the
Muslim populace of East Bengal was sufficient to demand a
separate state, although when India was partitioned in 1947