Monday 1 April 2019

A is for....April... A-Z... n... Aarombho...the beginning







Ashoon, aarombho kori...bangaliana'r porikroma....which means - Come, let's begin...the tour of Bengaliana... The suffix 'ana' in Bengali is different from Latin. It can loosely be equated to 'dom' as in fandom...the universe of some given quality, in this case, Bengaliness. Or you can interpret it in terms of the Latin too - Bengaliana, it still makes sense as the theme. Welcome to the A-Z Challenge 2019, which is in its tenth year and I'm participating for the sixth time. 


As with the last couple years, I'm starting off with some music. Aj kothao by AlienZ an indie Bangla band from Kolkata...have a listen.





Here's another number Alo o AaNdhar (Light and darkness) this time from a Bangladeshi band called Aurthoheen (Meaningless). Enjoy!



If we are talking about A and Music, I've got to tell you about Srikanto Acharya, a vastly popular singer from Kolkata, singing in various genres - from Rabindrasangeet (Tagore songs) to devotionals to Adhunik (Modern). Listen to him sing the title Ami khola janala (I'm an open window) from the late 90's.






And finally, here's Artcell a super popular band from Bangladesh with Amar Poth Chola (My Walking the Road)




Arrivals and Antecedents 

There are roughly 270 million native speakers of Bengali, the 7th most spoken language in the world. Another 15 million or so speak Bengali as a second language. So, who are the Bengalis and where did they come from? How long has Bengal been settled? And how far back does this civilisation go?


in bengal A=Amazing Art n Architecture...
Current theories hold that early humans migrated out of Africa along the coast of Arabia and into Asia about 50-60,000 years ago.  These dates are forever being jostled backwards and forwards due to new archaeological discoveries being made. Recently the first migration out of Africa has been pushed back a few thousand years. So has the date when they arrived in India.

Forget the exact date, let’s take a shufti at their route instead. Ancestral humans moved along the coastline of peninsular India from the west to east, ultimately peopling the vast Ganges delta region which is Bengal. I use Bengal here in a broader sense –  not just Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Bengal is larger than the sum of its parts – it spans bits to the east and west of it, parts of Bihar and Assam and the Indian states further to the east. Bengali speaking peoples make up significant populations in all of them, part of their demographics since ages past. Bengal was large enough, significant enough to have an entire stretch of the Indian Ocean named after itself - the Bay of Bengal.
...both Ancient ...

There is evidence of stone age shelters in the region dated to around 100,000 years ago (Paisra, Bihar). A recent discovery of a cache of stone tools near Murshidabad in West Bengal has been dated to 20,000 years ago. Unfortunately, torrid heat coupled with moving waters and shifting mud do not leave many traces of organic matter. But there is no doubt that Bengal has been inhabited since prehistoric times.
n modern

Mythological references in the Indian epic Mahabharata tell us that “Vanga,” from which Banga and ultimately Bangal (anglicised to Bengal) derives, was already in existence when the epic was composed around 1500 BCE.  Ancient Bengal was an entrepot of the Silk Road, it established colonies on Indian Ocean islands and maintained close trade links with Arabia, Persia and the Mediterranean.  Civilisation here goes back some 4000 years.

The first historical reference comes from the Greeks who mention the Delta peoples as Gangaridae, a warrior-like race. Alexander, in 326 BCE, is held to have turned back because his armies were inadequate in morale and materiel to take them on. Bengal by then was part of the powerful Nanda Empire.

Bengal was subsequently ruled by the Gupta empire (240-550CE) before it gave way to regional kingdoms of Gauda,  Pala, Sena and  others. By late 16th century Bengal had come under the Mughal Empire. Under the Mughals, Bengal grew to be one of the richest regions. It generated nearly 50% of the Mughal GDP, and 12% of that of the entire world, playing a monumental role in the global trade of textiles. Its skills in shipbuilding were legendary, its gold- silver- and coppersmiths created magic with metals, its potters and swordmakers and a whole heap of artisans underpinning an industrially well-developed region where a range of refined goods were available.

As the Mughal Empire declined, independent rulers (styled Nawab) came to power in Bengal. The British had their eyes on Bengal for a long time and made their move. The last independent Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, was defeated by Robert Clive who plotted with the Nawab’s traitorous military chief Mir Zafar in 1757. The British East India Company assumed control. For two hundred years, Bengal’s trajectory reversed under colonial rule, as the British repatriated all the revenues to Britain. Bengal was gradually deindustrialised and stripped of its riches.

The British left India in 1947, their parting shot was to partition Bengal into two along religious lines – West Bengal went to Hindu-majority India, and East Bengal became Muslim majority East Pakistan. West Pakistan and Islamabad, the capital of that newly formed country, were a thousand miles away from Dhaka, separated by vast tracts of Indian lands. Not just lands, but more importantly language, history, customs, a whole culture.  

When the Bengali-speakers of East Pakistan wanted Bengali made into an official language, the leaders of West Pakistan refused to entertain the idea. The East Pakistanis were not amused. From the 50’s onwards their struggle to get their mother tongue its rightful voice led to a bitter war of liberation and finally to the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. But that is another story and a post for another letter.




Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2019 

30 comments:

  1. Yay! And away we go again!

    So much information you are starting me off with here and so interesting. It's an area and history that I don't know much about. Interestingly, I was just yesterday watching a TV show that told about some of the early human migrations and where various peoples ended up and how their languages relate. It's interesting complex stuff.

    Love the music! Especially the first song--nice!

    Have a great April Challenge!

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. It's so strange that linguists can map out the relationships between the different language families but no-one can definitively say when exactly language started. Thank you for the wishes. Wish you a wonderful April too.

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  2. HI NILA!

    Get that cuppa on and read a few A - Z posts, eh? Whoever knew Bengali is the 7th most spoken language in the world? Wow. This is going to be another of your wonderful cultural awareness journeys, always well researched. Good luck!

    Just posted the sign up for WEP. Maybe I'm being optimistic!

    Denise

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    1. I call these series I've been doing cultural thumbnails :) thanks for the wishes. You have a great April too. See you soon

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  3. I am so grateful for the expansion of my world that I get with each and every one of your A-Z posts (and indeed almost every post you create).

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    1. So value the support, EC and so very glad to see you here!

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  4. Cheers to the beginning. We shall all learn much in the month of April about Bengal and all things thereof Bengalese. So much history and a vibrancy. You bring it all to life with your words and enthusiasm. You've put a lot of work into this first post - you stand tall for the month ahead. Kudos already

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    1. Thank you. All my posts are the same format - some bits of music and a bit of writing... :) Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers.

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  5. As a fellow Bangali, osadharon laglo porte.my theme for the challenge last year was called A dollop of Bengal ans your post was not just enjoyable but also helped me walk down the memory lane.

    https://soniasmusings.com/2019/04/01/and-it-begins-here-a-for-advice-mostly-the-unsolicited-kind/

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  6. I did nt know much about Bengal. i have been to kolkotta on two occasions. thanks for sharing the information about your state.

    https://ideasolsi65.blogspot.com/2019/03/arms-parts-of-body.html

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    1. Anytime :) Bengal has a very rich and layered history - and a fascinating culture. Even though I may be a bit biased.

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  7. Interesting, informative, entertaining, fascinating! What a great way to start the challenge.

    My children's stories - Are we there yet?

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    1. Looking forward to a month of your flashes, a highlight of the A-Z for me.

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  8. Hi Nila - this is wonderful ... loved the history - and also I particularly enjoyed "Aurthoheen" - lovely music. I'll be reading these avidly and learning more about your world ... so much to take in - you've covered lots of areas here ... fantastic post - cheers Hilary

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    1. Thanks Hilary, always bite off more than I can chew for every A-Z :)

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  9. Lovely music! Super write up and your huge efforts is highly evident! Happy AtoZ!!

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  10. Great music and an interesting history lesson: an excellent start to A to Z!

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    1. I do tend to dip into history for most of my posts. Thank you.

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  11. I'm seriously delighted April has begun and we're being treated to another month of your educational posts. I have that excited feeling one gets when signed up for a much anticipated class - so much good stuff to absorb!

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    1. Hope I can keep the classes interesting :) thanks for being here.

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  12. Looking forward to learning more. Wondering what literature you will share as we go on.

    http://findingeliza.com/

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    1. Oh Kristin I chickened out on that this year :( Bengali literature is just too vast to tackle - and majority is not translated.

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  13. Enjoyed the introductory note of "Bengaliness!"

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    1. Thanks. Looking forward to some interesting reads the whole month.

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