The boti is a curved steel blade that almost every Bengali household has in the kitchen. My mother moved to the U.S. in 2011. Ever since, she uses the boti everyday when she cooks, to cut meat and veggies. I used to watch her sit on the ground with one leg up and the other on the stood up boti. At the end of the boti was the blade. She sharpened it with a knife before cutting freshly washed vegetables. The boti was much larger than a knife and needed more  maintenance. As a little girl I always pestered my mother for snacks. She would cut pears for me. I could taste the carrots, onions, garlic and everything else that touched the boti before.
When my aunt came from Bangladesh to visit us for a few days, she brought me my own mini cooking set made of steel, pots and pans, and my favorite, the boti which was much smaller than my mothers. I used to cut grapes next to her while she cooked. People around New York have a variety of kitchen items that they bring back from home. It gives them a way of feeling close to their home even when they are hundreds of miles away from where they originated. The boti is my mothers reminder of home, and my reminder of where I came from, Bangladesh. 

– SA

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant