Growing up as a Bangladeshi-American you have to learn to incorporate both cultures into your life and the two worlds are VERY different. When I was younger it was a lot harder because none of my friends understood the South Asian culture but now being an adult everyone seems to love our culture. They always want to know about our clothes, “what’s the difference between a sari and those skirt dresses?”, “I love your long black silky hair,” “Invite me to one of your henna parties!”
Another thing you must know about Bangladeshi’s is that every season is wedding season. We love our weddings and we love getting decked out for every wedding, big or small. I had 2 weddings, yes I know sounds pretty crazy but it didn’t stop at that. I had an official wedding, then a henna party, a haldi, and then a reception. Last summer I had 7 weddings and this summer I have 4, so if you do the math that’s about 4 events per couple which means I have 16 events to go to. Talk about exhausting and annoying trying to figure out what to wear without repeating one outfit or accessory. What a perfect excuse to purchase some J/Hadley jewels because they would go perfectly with some of my saris!
We usually have a mehndi (henna party) and all the ladies get together, put on henna and sing and dance all night! The haldi is when we put on turmeric so that we glow on our wedding day, sounds weird but it works. The haldi is another excuse to sing and dance all night. Then we usually have the wedding thrown by the brides’ side and then a reception thrown by the grooms’ side. Of course people change it up depending on the couple. The attention I get now for being Bangladeshi is so different from when I was younger. I love being a Bangladeshi-American as an adult especially in New York!
-Sadaaf
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