Dhaka, Feb. 21 -- Like many people I have a jomidari background. There is a lot of glamour and show shah attached to the idea of jomidari and its lifestyle but at the end of the day it's just a profession. People go through many kinds of activities to make a living and jomidari is just another activity of that kind.

Usually jomidars were officials of some higher royal who got land grants from their superiors -as in the case of the Pannis of Tangail- or traders who made a lot of money and used it to buy jomidaris. Under British rule this was common such as the case of the Tagores or the Nawabs of Dhaka.

My ancestors were a little mixed and more interesting as they became Chowdhury by marrying into a jomidar family without a male heir but...