Introduction: Life in a Bangladeshi village is, as a rule, dull and monotonous. The village people are simple, religious and conservative. They do not like to change with the changing cond1tton of the world. This attitude presents a striking contrast to life in the town.
Different classes of people in a village: The villagers may be classified under three main heads the rich, the middle class and the poor labouring class. The rich people generally leave the village and flock to the town to enjoy its manifold advantages. The middle-class people are considerable in number and form the backbone of village life. But the vast majority of the village people belong to the poor working class. The blue of this class of people are the poor peasants and landless agricultural labourers. The tailors, the blacksmiths the weavers and the fishermen also belong to this class of working people.
Life of the wealthy people: Those who are comparatively rich, lead an indolent (lux), and easy-going life. They rise late in the morning and after breakfast takes their seat in the bungalow where they discuss with others the current affairs of the village and settle disputes of the villagers. They go out and inspect the work of the labourers engaged by them for various purposes. Then they go back home and have the bat. After lunch, they enjoy a regular nap and nobody disturbs them during that time.
Life of the middle-class people: The life of the middle-class people is more active; though the unemployed among them are easy going. Some of these middle-class people are land-holders having big farms are and necessary agricultural equipment. They engage labourers who do all the hard work for them. They supply the seed, the cattle and other necessary things and personally supervise the work of these labourers. The unemployed among them live as mere parasites. They take part in village politics and are full of petty jealousies. The mid-day meal of the middle-class people consists of rice, dal and one or two dishes of fish or vegetables. They take a short nap in the afternoon and pass the evening in playing at cards or in merry-making.
The busiest people in the village: The poor labourers are the busiest people in the village. They toil from morning to night and supply the rich townsmen with their daily needs. They are not paid well for their hard labour and so they have to go ill-fed and ill-clad. They often fall victim to malaria and other diseases and suffer a great deal as they cannot afford to pay the fees of a doctor. The peasants Tise very early and after taking a quantity of ‘stale rice go to the field where they work in the sun and rain till dusk. Some return home at about 1 p. m. while others do not. Their mid-day meal is sent to the field. In the evening, they gather in the courtyard’ of a well-to-do villager and spend the time in gossiping or merry-making.
The women-folk: The women of the village rise with the sun and perform their household duties. They are illiterate and their world is confined within the limits of the village. But they are very affectionate and dutiful. Sometimes the women of the peasant class work side by side with their husbands at home or in the field.
Conclusion: The villagers lead a life of contentment though they lack many good things in life. They are united by strong bonds of affection love and fellow-feeling and in times of danger, they stand by one another. They generally live in joint families, the members of which are held together by the strongest bonds of affection.
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