With the festival season's greetings, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sent Durga Puja gifts for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a sign of goodwill. According to reports, the gifts include four sarees, 10 kg of sweets, and flowers.
The gifts were reportedly channelled through the office of the Bangladesh High Commissioner in India.
Although Bengalis remains partitioned in figure, the feelings of mutual goodwill and trust across West Bengal and Bangladesh, especially during the annual Durga Puja season, is a specific highlight of the festival's syncretic nature that cuts across geography and religion and unites the community in spirit.
Earlier as well, Mamata Banerjee and Sheikh Hasina had maintained custom of sending each other gifts on several occasions. The Bangladesh premier usually meets the West Bengal chief minister whenever she is on an official visit to India. Mamata has also been to Hasina's residence in Bangladesh.
India-Bangladesh diplomatic relations have historically always been friendly, with ties bettering in recent years due to developments in long-pending land and maritime boundaries as well as healthy bilateral trade.