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Para is a Bengali word () which means a neighbourhood or locality, usually characterised by a strong sense of community. The names of several localities in cities and villages of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and
Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...
end with the suffix ''para''. Historically, ''para''s often consisted of people of similar livelihood; for example, ''muchipara'' means a ''para'' where most of the people are '' Muchis'' (cobblers). Again, some ''para''s were based on
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
; for example, ''Bamunpara'' means a ''para'' where
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
s live. However, with the decline of caste-based segregation in India, this form of ''para'' has lost much of its significance. In cities, a person may refer to his neighbourhood as his ''para''.


References

Bengali words and phrases Culture of Bengal Culture of Bangladesh Culture of Kolkata Culture of West Bengal {{Bangladesh-stub