From the archive record
Women cut vegetables, as a group, using traditional Bengali knives known as boti at a Bengali wedding. Akin to a fish seller's knife that is held down on the ground, a boti is also used in Bengali household kitchens. Boti, Dao, Da, or Pirdai (Bengali: বঁটি; also transliterated Bonti or Bnoti) is a cutting instrument, most prevalent in Bengal, a region in eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Barak Valley of Assam and the independent country of Bangladesh. A boti is a long curved blade that cuts on a platform held down by foot. Both hands are used to hold whatever is being cut and move it against the blade. The sharper side faces the user. The method gives excellent control over the cutting process and can be used to cut anything from