If you're reading this, you probably know who I am. And then, you probably also know that I have a slight obsession for language and history. Combine the two subjects, and what really gets me going is reading about etymology. Almost an adrenaline rush.
Anyway, so I stumbled upon this article on men's fitness last night, which mentioned Eugene Sandow. I had read about him earlier as well - he's considered the father of modern bodybuilding - but never noticed the connection. Last night, my brain mumbled to itself : "Sandow. Like, sando genji. Wait. What?" For those of you who aren't from Bengal, a sando genji is the name we've given to what you call a banian. Basically your ubiquitous sleeveless vest.
All these years I had never asked anyone why a sando genji is called a sando genji, but now that the question had popped up in my head, I couldn't just go to sleep, could I? A tiny bit of research revealed that Eugene Sandow, at the peak of his popularity, had indeed visited India in the year 1905, for a series of shows in major cities, the most important of them being our then capital Calcutta. And this is where it gets interesting. 1905 was also the year Lord Curzon had announced and implemented the first Partition of Bengal.
Sandow's visit coincided with the time revolutionary organizations such as the Anushilan Samiti and the Jugantar Party were rising to prominence in Bengal. These organizations enlisted youth from local gyms across the Bengal Presidency, and engaged them in the philosophy of violent militant nationalism. Physical fitness was of prime importance to these young men and women, who had by then internalized what Swami Vivekananda said a few years ago : "You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita."
It is no surprise that, at such a time, Sandow quickly caught the imagination of all Bengalis. And they honoured him by naming the undershirt as sando genji.
Such was the legacy of Eugene Sandow in Bengal, that even the legendary Sukumar Roy mentions him in Abol Tabol -
"ক্যান্রে ব্যাটা ইসটুপিড? ঠেঙিয়ে তোরে কর্ব ঢিট্!"
"চোপরাও তুম্ স্পিকটি নট্, মার্ব রেগে পটাপট্!"
"ফের যদি টেরাবি চোখ কিম্বা আবার কর্বি রোখ,
কিম্বা যদি অম্নি করে মিথ্যেমিথ্যে চ্যাঁচাস জোরে -"
"আই ডোন্ট কেয়ার্ কানাকড়ি, জানিস্ আমি স্যাণ্ডো করি?"
