'Dada', the very term brings to mind the ever graceful personality of Sourav Ganguly. I guess the entire world finds 'Dada' to be a synonym for him and Bengalis can never speak enough of their love, adulation, and pride for this man. But in Kolkata, every single male that you meet, except those in your family and friend circle, is your 'Dada'. No, not everyone is a cricketer with a personality to die for, but the term 'dada' gets applied to every male out here.
'Dada' is a reference made to your elder brother but the blood relation is not something that people really care about here. From your own elder male sibling to elder male cousins and distant cousins, and even a stranger on the streets, the common reference is always 'dada'. The conductor on the bus you travel is every commuter's dada; the sweet seller, the vegetable seller, and even the rickshaw puller are referred to as either 'bhai' (younger brother) by the elderly, or 'dada' by the not so elderly.
People would unanimously agree that Bengalis are filled to the brim with love and warmth. Even the worship of the goddess of wisdom and learning in spring or the excuse of anjali to Maa Durga brews love in us. Don't ask us the reason or the connection because that's how we function. Whether you love it or hate it, this tender side of ours makes us refer to all males, older than us by a few months or days even, presumably or in actuality, with an endearing 'dada' added as a suffix to their names. It is not just a reference or a typical habit but a note of warmth and respect bestowed upon a person. In fact, it is a sweet gesture that hints at the sweetness embedded in our culture and language.
So carrying forward this inherent tradition we add a 'dada' or a shorter 'da' at the end of the names of all male seniors at schools, colleges, or paras. So just like we have enough of mastuto, jyathtuto and khurtuto cousins ( all kinds of cousins that you can possibly have from your uncles and aunts on both sides), we have also concocted relationships like schooltuto dadas and paratuto dadas. These senior dadas are quite popular among the junior lot who look up to them for advice regarding anything and everything under the sun. Thus, from maths coaching to last minute examination tips, you know you need a dada for the best help. So even if a female junior develops a certain soft corner for one of these seniors, it is almost blasphemous to do away with the 'dada' right away at that moment. You are only allowed to strike it off when the same feeling is reciprocated and things start building up. Once again, you must not question why the unwritten rule expects you to continue referring to a senior male as dada even when we have feelings for him. Bengali girls have fallen time and again for their school, college, and neighbourhood seniors and referred to them endearingly with 'dada' suffixed at the end of their names. To be true, Bengali men also have over the ages secretly cherished the charming reference from the juniors they have set their hearts upon.
Then there are iconic heroes and characters too who come in the catalogue of popular dadas. Neither do we know them, nor have we met them ever, but this is how we choose to show our love and admiration. Therefore Salil Chowdhury becomes Salilda for his admirers, R.D. Burman becomes Panchamda, Bappi Lahiri gets the name Bappi da and Mithun Chakrabarty is everybody's Mithunda. Even after 36 years of his death, Supriya Devi still chooses to refer to Uttam Kumar as 'aapnader dada' probably because of the same reason. This brotherly relationship with the masses is a sign of true adulation from the audience that you get only when you are born with immense luck and talent. It is no less than an accolade that any artist would be honoured to receive. It can be for this reason that the makers of characters like Feluda, Tenida or Ghonada chose the suffix 'da' after the nicknames of their characters. Perhaps they felt that this is the only way to make the characters more familiar with the readers and make them seem like real life people living next door. Thus Felu Mitter is referred to with love and admiration as Feluda, not just by his cousin Topshe but by each and every reader, irrespective of age.
Even if you disapprove of this as nyakamo or adikkhyeta (embarrassingly fulsome), you cannot ignore that the word 'dada' is inextricable from our language and life, and this is only one of the million facets of Bengali life. If you cannot take it in the positive spirit and understand the warmth and purity of the emotions involved, the loss is entirely yours.
'Dada' is a reference made to your elder brother but the blood relation is not something that people really care about here. From your own elder male sibling to elder male cousins and distant cousins, and even a stranger on the streets, the common reference is always 'dada'. The conductor on the bus you travel is every commuter's dada; the sweet seller, the vegetable seller, and even the rickshaw puller are referred to as either 'bhai' (younger brother) by the elderly, or 'dada' by the not so elderly.
People would unanimously agree that Bengalis are filled to the brim with love and warmth. Even the worship of the goddess of wisdom and learning in spring or the excuse of anjali to Maa Durga brews love in us. Don't ask us the reason or the connection because that's how we function. Whether you love it or hate it, this tender side of ours makes us refer to all males, older than us by a few months or days even, presumably or in actuality, with an endearing 'dada' added as a suffix to their names. It is not just a reference or a typical habit but a note of warmth and respect bestowed upon a person. In fact, it is a sweet gesture that hints at the sweetness embedded in our culture and language.
So carrying forward this inherent tradition we add a 'dada' or a shorter 'da' at the end of the names of all male seniors at schools, colleges, or paras. So just like we have enough of mastuto, jyathtuto and khurtuto cousins ( all kinds of cousins that you can possibly have from your uncles and aunts on both sides), we have also concocted relationships like schooltuto dadas and paratuto dadas. These senior dadas are quite popular among the junior lot who look up to them for advice regarding anything and everything under the sun. Thus, from maths coaching to last minute examination tips, you know you need a dada for the best help. So even if a female junior develops a certain soft corner for one of these seniors, it is almost blasphemous to do away with the 'dada' right away at that moment. You are only allowed to strike it off when the same feeling is reciprocated and things start building up. Once again, you must not question why the unwritten rule expects you to continue referring to a senior male as dada even when we have feelings for him. Bengali girls have fallen time and again for their school, college, and neighbourhood seniors and referred to them endearingly with 'dada' suffixed at the end of their names. To be true, Bengali men also have over the ages secretly cherished the charming reference from the juniors they have set their hearts upon.
Then there are iconic heroes and characters too who come in the catalogue of popular dadas. Neither do we know them, nor have we met them ever, but this is how we choose to show our love and admiration. Therefore Salil Chowdhury becomes Salilda for his admirers, R.D. Burman becomes Panchamda, Bappi Lahiri gets the name Bappi da and Mithun Chakrabarty is everybody's Mithunda. Even after 36 years of his death, Supriya Devi still chooses to refer to Uttam Kumar as 'aapnader dada' probably because of the same reason. This brotherly relationship with the masses is a sign of true adulation from the audience that you get only when you are born with immense luck and talent. It is no less than an accolade that any artist would be honoured to receive. It can be for this reason that the makers of characters like Feluda, Tenida or Ghonada chose the suffix 'da' after the nicknames of their characters. Perhaps they felt that this is the only way to make the characters more familiar with the readers and make them seem like real life people living next door. Thus Felu Mitter is referred to with love and admiration as Feluda, not just by his cousin Topshe but by each and every reader, irrespective of age.
Even if you disapprove of this as nyakamo or adikkhyeta (embarrassingly fulsome), you cannot ignore that the word 'dada' is inextricable from our language and life, and this is only one of the million facets of Bengali life. If you cannot take it in the positive spirit and understand the warmth and purity of the emotions involved, the loss is entirely yours.
