Culture of Sylhet

Unique cultural and economic development, and linguistic differences (Greater Sylhet region was a part of Assam and Surma Valley State for much of the British Raj in comparison to the rest of Bangladesh), and given that Sylhet has, for most of its recent history, been a region of a larger entity. As so many Sylhetis are resident abroad, Sylhet has a major flow of foreign currency from non-resident Bangladeshis. The major holidays celebrated in Sylhet include traditional and religious celebrations, Muslim festivals are the Eid-ul-Fitr after Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr. Colourful Hindu festivals celebrated by the Hindu community, are the Raspurnima, Jhulan Jatra and Roth Jatra. Cultural or nationalistic celebrations include the Language Movement Day, this is where wreaths are laid at the Shaheed Minar paying tribute to the martyrs, the Bangladeshi Independence Day, Victory Day celebrated with parades by school and academies, and the Pohela Baishakh—celebration of the Bengali New Year.

There are large shopping malls in the city, cosmetics and confectionery is mainly available in Bondor Bazar, handicrafts and textiles stores can be found in Zinda Bazar, these include the Al-Hamra Shopping City, Bluewater, Sylhet Millenium, Sylhet Plaza, Shukria Market and many others. These malls sell many items in particular from a wide range of sarees. Majority of these shoppers are from the middle-class and visiting expatriates. Restaurants from different types of cuisines are available, such as the Agra Restaurant, Chinese and Thai food is also sold in Hamadan Restaurant or Royal Chef. The cuisine in Sylhet is quite similar to that shared across the country which is rice with chicken or meat curry, it does however have different staples of fish such as the Pabda fish, and the citrus fruit known as shatkora is used for flavour in curries, which is grown primarily in the Sylhet region.

All Bangladeshi television channels are available as in throughout the country via cable or satellite, such as Channel i, NTV or ATN Bangla in the Bengali language including many other Indian channels. There are no national television stations based in Sylhet or broadcasting programs in Sylheti, however the British-owned Channel S has a team, correspondents and reporters based in the city and the region mostly with Sylheti programs. The main newspapers produced in the city includes Sylheter Dak, Jalalabad, Manchitra, Probasha Protidin, Daily Sylhet Sanglap, and Aajker Sylhet. The first Grameenphone Centre opened in Sylhet on 20 May 2007, which was the first telecommunication centre in the city. The most celebrated personalities in Sylhet include Shah Jalal, who was one of the greatest saints in the region, credited for the conversion of people in the Bengal region. His tomb lies in the Shah Jalal Dargah Mazar Sharif in the north, which is still as used as a place of pilgrimage, M. A. G. Osmani was the commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War, and Abdus Samad Azad, was the first politician from Sylhet to be a member of the cabinet in the government. Sylhet has also influenced much of the music in Bangladesh, notable legends include Hason Raja, Radha Romon and Shah Abdul Karim who have produced Bangladeshi folk music.

Sylheti attachment to their regional identity also continues in the efforts of many Sylhetis to keep marital relationships within the same regional cultural background. Sylheti people are considered as a distinct ethnic group in Bangladesh; this is mainly because of language differences between the standard Bangla language, and the Sylheti language and they are fiercely protective of their language. There are also many cultural and customary differences between Bengalis and Sylhetis. Many Sylhetis only marry within the Sylheti-speaking community, and not people from other regions of Bangladesh. They are also more family-orientated and follow a community type of culture, and are more conservative Muslims. These stereotypes have led to some rivalry between non-Sylhetis and Sylhetis, due to differences of cultural customs. Marriages are practiced in a traditional Bengali Muslim style, with the gae holud ritual, and the prayers.