Monday 18 March 2019

A-Z Challenge 2019 : Theme Reveal





Hello A-Zers, Bloggers, Netizens! Lend me your...um...attention for a few seconds. Today is the pre-bash of the main event starting April, the A-Z Theme Reveal. And I am here to tell you what you can expect here on M-i-V all of next month as I participate in this marathon blog event. A-Z celebrates its tenth year in April...what? you don't know what the A-Z Blog Challenge is? shhh...shhh...don't say that too loudly, go here and find out. 


As I was saying, A-Z completes a decade next month, and first off, thanks and credit are due where they are - no mean feat to co-ordinate a blogfest this large and keep it going year after year.  I love that they actively seek feedback and build it in and keep the event fun and challenging. So kudos and thank yous to the A-Z team for the hard work they do. Here's to the next ten. 


As anyone visiting here will know, I am from West Bengal, which is on the eastern shores of India. I was born there, but was swiftly carted out to another part of the country and then outside it. So that I have spent less than a couple terms of my school life at my birthplace. I speak and read and write Bengali fluently but I have never sat an exam in the language, never had to prove any degree of proficiency in it. I didn't spend childhood nights learning the abstruse conjoint consonant clusters used in Bengali or its complicated grammar rules. 


I learnt to read Bengali because I needed to do so to get at the stories. I learnt to write it because I had to write to my grandmother back home who didn't read any other language.  I never got to know Bengal through its formal school curricula in strict classrooms, parsing Tagore's writing, memorising the names of kings and dynasties, regurgitating dates and battles, nope, not me. I went back to live in Bengal only as a working adult.
Credit


So when I got to know Bengal it was softly, softly, through her stories - in books, in films, in theatre and ballads; through the small, delicate folds of family histories. I got to know her out in her small towns and paddy fields and tea gardens and forests and mountains and beaches, out on assignments for a job, or back on home leave. I learnt her history through her architecture and her literature, her geography through her roads and rivers and railways, her cultural riches through her festivals and poetry and songs. Growing up, I spent all my summer holidays in Calcutta, always an outsider, angsty and inadequate because I didn't know all the nuances inside out and back to front, always scared of putting my foot in it every time I opened my mouth, being the butt of 'westerner' and 'westernised' jokes. It has taken me the longest time to realise that this too is a gift - being a stranger in one's own land. Being an outsider everywhere I go. It's a perspective few get to have. And bonus! - it breeds its own heady adventure. 


If you haven't guessed it yet, my theme for this year's A-Z is...tadaa...

~ Bengaliana ~


As with my previous series, I will section things off for ease of consumption, start and stop where you like, as you like. Read as deep or as light as you prefer. There will be a smorgasbord of Bengali music, architecture, personalities, culture and landmark events to choose from.


Come with me once again, as you have in the past two years, this time to my verdant birthplace. Come with me, to a land whose history goes back deep into antiquity to a time when time itself had no measure. Come with me, as I explore my heritage of literature and handicrafts and history from the outside in and inside out. 

Come with me, to the broad sweep of rivers, to the narrow, unpaved pathways lurking round every corner, serene and fragrant with the smells of ripening mangoes and jack-fruit. To cities which are teeming with millions, yet if you happen upon some difficulty, there will be ten strange hands proffered immediately for help. Come with me to a land that is defined by its waters and has in turn given its name to the oceans. Come with me on this addictive adventure that is Bengal...




Posted for the A-Z Theme Reveal 2019 

43 comments:

  1. I didn't know you were specifically from Bengal. I'll be taking a break next month but I will tune in to learn more about the land and its language.

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    1. It's the 7th most spoken language in the world - I've got lots to say as usual :)

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  2. Sounds so interesting. I am looking forward to your theme!

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    1. It has a fascinating history. The geography isn't too bad either...thanks for being here.

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  3. Hari OM
    Oh Nila, you know I am drooling at the thought of this adventure!!! Sadly, I cannot formally join in A-Z this year, as am travelling in OZ during April and May... indeed, I will be hard-pressed even to keep up with comments, so I do hope you will forgive in advance that I may not respond on every post. Be assured, however, that I shall be here drinking in every delicious drop!!! YAM xx

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    1. A proper trip is better than an armchair one any day! So lucky to be going to Oz - enjoy your travels!

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  4. I love saying "Bengaliana". But you had me at "abstruse conjoint consonant clusters". You've been with us almost from the beginning, haven't you? I know you're a long time friend and I'm glad you'll be challenging with us again.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Thank you. This is going to be my 6th year and I'm so glad to be part of the challenge. I can't imagine April w/o it.

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  5. Welcome back to the challenge! What a lovely theme! I'll be following your posts :) I only know Bengal through its folktales, so I am excited to find out more.

    The Multicolored Diary

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    1. Thank you for all the support and for hosting. Looking forward to April.

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  6. As a frequent visitor to all parts of Asia, I know I'm going to find your posts of great interest. I hope there'll be some food on your smorgasbord too!

    Keith's A-Z Ramblings!

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  7. I look forward to learning about a world I do not know - Bengal. Your writing is always sublime and I shall,no doubt, enjoy your journey. Fun!

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    1. Thanks, for coming along on the journeys past and this April.

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  8. This is going to be super fun! I will definitely be dropping by to reading your tales on Bengal :)

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    1. Always fun going exploring isn't it? Hoping for some myself too :)

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  9. I have had a few Bengali friends over the years, but dont know much about the culture, traditions of Bengal. Looking forward to gain new insights and information about this lovely state of ours. All the best, Nilanjana!

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    1. Thank you. All the very best to you too. April is always a great month.

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  10. That sounds like a great theme! I love learning more about world cultures, and I've been fascinated by the Indian subcontinent since ninth grade.

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    1. I'm hoping so - Bengal has a rich history. It's just a part of India, which is seriously diverse and indeed completely fascinating.

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  11. Ohhhh, yeah. I know we can all count on you to make next month's post interesting, intriguing, and informative!

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    1. Thank you. But... hoping that there won't be too many long post alerts! :)

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  12. Nila,

    Sounds like a great way to honor your grandmother with your theme idea for April. It's sure to educate those outside your country such as me. Here's to looking forward to some interesting reads next month . :) Thank you for dropping by to check out my Theme Reveal!

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  13. Hi Nila - this is going to be brilliant - a great idea ... and I'm going to love your take on your birthplace ... I'll be learning so much ... my grandmother went out with her 2nd husband (my mother's father had died in accident) and I've some basic photos of the place - but nothing of history etc ...

    I'm not going to be doing the A-Z this year ... life gets in the way - but I'll definitely be coming along with you - your posts are always so detailed and informative ... looking forward to it - cheers Hilary

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    1. Oh wow! I didn't know you had such a close connection to India. So cool. Will miss you at this A-Z. Hope life goes well for you in April, and that you'll make it for the WEP. See you around.

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  14. Stranger in your own land? In a way, I can identify with that (in a totally different way - being a member of a religious minority in the United States). Glad to see you will be joining in this year again.

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    1. Glad to be part of the A-Z and reconnect with the vets :)

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    1. Thanks for visiting. Looking forward to April.

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  16. Fantastic! This sounds like the perfect compenion to last year's challenge where you talked about your 'adoptied' homeland.
    Can't wait to read more!

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    1. Ya, adopted home, spiritual home and now the real home :)

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  17. Hi Nilanjana, Hailing from Madras and settled in Mumbai, I know very little about Bengal. Would love to read your posts and get to know about your culture, music and just about everything. Looking forward to it. Wish you the best with A2Z challenge this year

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    1. All the very best to you too. See you in April.

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  18. Best wishes for another fabulous A to Z challenge! I've retired from that, but will try and stop by to gain some new cultural insights. Your posts are always interesting. Cheers!

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    1. Thank you! Hope to see you at the WEP in April too.

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  19. I landed on your blog via the Theme Reveal List on the A-Z Challenge blog.
    I have many Bengali friends. So the April posts of yours will be truly interesting to read, I am sure.
    Looking forward to them.

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    1. Thanks for coming by. Bengal is truly fascinating - I may be a little biased :) See you in April. All the best.

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  20. What a fabulous theme - your posts are always a highlight of the challenge for me and I'm looking forward to all the fascinating things I'll learn. Happy April!

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    1. A brilliant April to you too! Less than a week to go :)

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  21. Looking forward to exploring Bengal through your words. See you in April

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  22. Although I am not participating in A to Z this year your theme ensnared me as I too am a 'stranger in my land'. Appreciate and look forward to an opportunity to rectify my ignorance. Thank you!

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  23. Bengaliana - Good theme. I just visited Kolkata.

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