“I LOVE YOU” is “AMI TOMAY VALOBASI” in Bengali. Like the language,
the people of Bengal are mishti(sweet) too and
holds the soul of the ‘Bhadralok’: the intelligent, sensitive and
cultured. Apart from the Mishti Doi(sweet curd) and Rasogollas(sweet) theres a
lot to the Bengali language and the culture. Heres an insight to the language
and its people.
Bengali is a language of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European
family of languages. Bengali probably arose out of the Magadhi or Ardhamagadhi.
Its earliest examples are the caryagitis.
Bengal was not always indo-european. This group of languages are first attested
in India in the Rigveda, the language of the earliest parts of which probably
dates back to the copper-bronze age of Punjab and west, 1400–1200 BC.
The Bengali linguists Suniti
Kumar Chatterji and Sukumar Sen suggested that Bengali had its origin in the
10th century, deriving from Magahi Prakrit
(a spoken language) through Magahi Apabhramsha
(its written counterpart). The Bengali scholar Muhammad Shahidullah and his
followers offered a competing theory, suggesting that the language began in the
7th century ce and developed from spoken and
written Gauda (also, respectively, a Prakrit and an Apabhramsha).
It is spoken by more than 210
million people as a first or second language, with some 100 million Bengali
speakers in Bangladesh;
about 85 million in India, primarily in the states of West Bengal,
Assam,
and Tripura;
and sizable immigrant communities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and
the Middle East. It is the state language of Bangladesh and one of the
languages officially recognized in the constitution of India.
There are two standard styles in Bengali: the Sadhubhasa
(elegant or genteel speech) and the Chaltibhasa
(current or colloquial speech). The former was largely shaped by the language
of early Bengali poetical works. In the 19th century it became standardized as
the literary language and also as the appropriate vehicle for business and
personal exchanges. Although it was at times used for oration, Sadhubhasa was
not the language of daily communication.
Chaltibhasa is based on the
cultivated form of the dialects of Kolkata
(Calcutta) and its neighbouring small towns on the Bhagirathi
River. It has come into literary use since the early 20th century,
and by the early 21st century it had become the dominant literary language.
Although distinctions in the use of Bengali are associated with social class,
educational level, and religion, the greatest differences are regional. The
four main dialects roughly approximate the ancient political divisions of the
Bengali-speaking world, known as Radha (West Bengal proper); Pundra, or
Varendra (the northern parts of West Bengal and Bangladesh); Kamrupa
(northeastern Bangladesh); and Bangla (the dialects of the rest of Bangladesh.
A simple Bengali sentence
usually follows subject–object–verb word order. When present, the negative
particle comes at the end of the sentence. The verb linking the subject and predicate,
is often omitted. Compound verbs and a suffix, are a special feature. There are
3 verb tenses, but their subdivisions make them 10. There are two moods,
indicative and imperative, and two numbers, singular and plural. The first,
second, and third persons are expressed through six forms. Gender is natural,
and there is no special declension for feminine and neuter. Adjectives are
usually not modified according to the number or case of the nouns they qualify.
The Bengal Renaissance
refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth century’s
in the region of Bengal
in undivided India during the period of British rule.
The Bengal renaissance can be said to have started with Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1775–1833) and ended with Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941). Nineteenth
century Bengal was a unique blend of religious and social reformers, scholars,
literary giants, journalists, patriotic orators and scientists, all merging to
form the image of a renaissance, and marked the transition from the 'medieval'
to the 'modern'.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar played a massive role by giving birth to the Bengali Alphabets in
his book “Barno Parichay”
Raja Ram
Mohan Roy is regarded
as the "Father of the Bengal Renaissance."
Rabindranath Tagore
is Asia's
first Nobel laureate and a versatile genius, also
composer of Jana Gana Mana the national anthem of India as well as Amar Shonar Bangla the national
anthem of Bangladesh.
Swami
Vivekananda is considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta
and Yoga
in Europe
and America
and is also credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism
to the status of a world religion during the end of the 19th century.
Jagadish
Chandra Bose was a Bengali polymath:
a physicist, biologist,
botanist,
archaeologist,
and writer of science fiction. He pioneered the investigation
of radio
and microwave
optics,
made very significant contributions to plant science,
and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent. He is considered one of
the fathers
of radio
science, and is also considered the father of Bengali science fiction.
Satyendra
Nath Bose was a Bengali physicist,
specializing in mathematical physics. He is best known for
his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing
the foundation for Bose-Einstein statistics and the theory of
the Bose-Einstein condensate. He is honoured
as the namesake of the boson.
Subhash
Chandra Bose was one of the most prominent leader and highly
respected freedom fighters from Bengal in the Indian independence movement against the British Raj.
Sri Aurobindo is one of the most
respected freedom fighters from Bengal and also a poet, philosopher,
and yogi.
Ravi Shankar A multi time Grammy
Winner.
Amartya Sen was awarded by The Nobel Prize for his extensive work in the field of economics.
Sourav Ganguly also known as Dada is the 1st Bengali captain of international cricket team of India under whom the team flourished to a great level
Mamta Banarjee the present Chief Minister of West Bengal and the supremo of All India Trinomool Congress has concurred the hearts of many all over the world with her legendary slogan of “Ma, Mati, Manush” (Mother, Soil, Humans).
So, don’t hesitate, come, learn cause learning new things are always fun, why not start with a new language called Bengali. Don’t worry. It’s easy and fun and i am sure you will enjoy it. At least by now you are well capable of telling your girlfriend/boyfriend or going to be girlfriend/boyfriend ‘I Love You” in Bengali. Trust me, he/she will appreciate your effort.
You are welcome.
-Debjyoti
Ganguly
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