Without sounding patronizing, or as if I’m trying to pander to them, can I just say there’s something unique about Bengali people? I’ve never lived in Bengal, but as part of what they call the ‘greater Bengali community’ I’m more than familiar to that culture. Whether it’s the food or the festivals, you’ll always know when something is Bengali.

And because there are so many of us out there, it’s not hard to imagine the contributions this community has made over the ages. Here’s a list of 20 such ‘gifts’ Bengalis have given this nation.

“Just 20? How could that be?”

Well, of course there are so many other Bengalis or Bengali things that could have been included here. For brevity’s sake, we kept it to an even twenty. 

Designs by Ankit Bharti.