KOLKATA: The history of Bengali food is synonymous with the rich heritage of Bengal. So, food was the focus of the much-awaited Bengal Heritage Project (BHP) launched in London recently.TOI had reported on January 21 about BHP being floated by non-resident Bengalis settled in the UK along with the 101-year-old British university , The School of Oriental and Africa Studies (SOAS), which had been collaborating with Presidency University.SOAS, which specializes in the study of Asia and Africa, is the only of its kind to offer degree-level courses in Bengali.Recently , London-based charity -London Sharad Utsav (LSU) -helped launch BHP that aims to showcase the performing and non-performing art and culture of Bengal, its tourism, sports education and trade and commerce to the global audience. It also organized the Bengali food festival and cultural events at the Victoria Hall in Harrow.At the launch, Swarna and Manu Chitrakar, patachitra artists from Naya village in Midnapore, were flown in to showcase their work and sing authentic `Pawter gaan' (songs of pat) before the audience.Sanjukta Ghosh, project coordinator from SOAS, re ferred to Baroness Valerie Amos (the first Black woman to head a UK university who was in Kolkata in January to attend the Presidency University's 200 years celebrations), saying, "Baroness had talked about building bridges and connecting cultures. SOAS has been marking its centenary year with a series of events around the world, the most recent being held in India.Our partnership with the dynamic LSU represents our commitment to introducing Bengali language, culture and heritage to a wider audience in the UK. We look forward to hosting a number of events in partnership with LSU at our Bloomsbury campus in the coming months."The Londoners are enthused. Pritha Mukherjee, who put up a stall at the BHP launch in Victoria Hall, said, "Bangaliana means good food and pursuit of cultural excellence. Let's celebrate both with BHP ." She said, "We are lucky to be part of the project that celebrates the rich, cultural ethos of Bengal on a global platform.The mega Bengal food festival is seen as a cardinal point of Bengali culture." Kolkata's street food (Moghlai paratha, alur dom, roll, fish fry, vegetable chop, jhalmuri) shared the same space with traditional Bengali food like rice, mochar ghonto, shukto, chhanar dalna, ilish shorshe, railway mutton curry , gurer sandesh, dudhpuli and patishapta at the BHP launch in London.Project convener Anirban Mukhopadhyay talked about Bengali cuisine's strong historical and trade link with the rest of the world.

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