Bengali Culture Over a Thousand Years
Bengali Culture Over a Thousand Years

Author: Ghulam Murshid

Publisher: Niyogi Books

Published: 2018-01-25

Total Pages: 507

ISBN-13: 9386906120

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Art, literature, music and other intellectual expressions of a particular society are together regarded as the culture of that society. Ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society are also its ‘culture’. Contrary to what we think, it is not easy to describe ‘culture’, nor is it easy to write the cultural history. Writing the history of Bengali culture is even more difficult because Bengali society is truly plural in its nature, made even more so by its political division. The two main religious communities that share this culture are often more aware of the differences between them than the similarities. Nonetheless, the people remain bound by history and a shared language and literature. Ghulam Murshid’s Bengali Culture over a Thousand Years is the first non-partisan and holistic discussion of Bengali culture. Written for the general reader, the language is simple and the style lucid. It shows how the individual ingredients of Bengali culture have evolved and found expression, in the context of political developments and how certain individuals have moulded culture. Above all, the book presents the identity and special qualities of Bengali culture. The book was originally published in Bengali in Dhaka in 2006. This is the first English translation.

History of the Bengali-speaking People
History of the Bengali-speaking People

Author: Nitish K. Sengupta

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 588

ISBN-13:

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History Of The Bengali Speaking People Is A History Of The People Who Speak Bengali In Bangladesh And The Indian State Of West Bengal And Other Bengali-Speaking Areas Of The Country - From The Earliest Recorded Times To 1947 When The Indian Subcontinent Was Partitioned Into India And Pakistan, And Nearly Two Thirds Of Undivided Bengal Went Out Of India. The Study Starts With The Origin Of The Bengalee Race And Traces The Growth Of Bengali Language, Which Is The One Great Motivating Force That Binds Together Racially Different People Who Converse In This Language. The Study Focuses On The Political History Of The Bengalees From The Earliest Times To The Time When The Two Bengals Stopped Sharing A Common Political History. It Delves Into The Cultural, Linguistic, Literary And Social Aspects Of Bengal'S Development Only In So Far As They Have A Direct Impact On The Political Developments Of The Time.

Bengali
Bengali

Author: Hanne-Ruth Thompson

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 413

ISBN-13: 9027238197

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Bangla (Bengali), an Eastern Indo-Aryan Language, is the national language of Bangladesh with 150 million speakers and the state language of Paschim Banga (West Bengal) in India with 90 million speakers. There are sizeable communities of Bengalis scattered all over the world. Altogether, the number of native speakers make Bangla the fifth or sixth largest language in the world. Like Hindi and other South Asian languages, Bangla has subject-object-verb word order, postpositions, causative and compound verbs. Unlike Hindi it has no gender. This volume presents a systematic overview of the language, from the sound system to parts of speech, syntactic categories to reduplicative features and some short text passages. The book is written in transliteration throughout to provide ease and convenience to non-Bengali as well as to Bengali linguists and students. In order to connect linguistic analysis with the living language, the book is furnished with plenty of real language examples, demonstrating the spirit, grace and wit of the Bangla language.

The Cultures of History in Early Modern India
The Cultures of History in Early Modern India

Author: Kumkum Chatterjee

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-02-11

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0199088012

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This book examines the nature and function of history-writing in India by focusing on early modern traditions of historiography with particular reference to Bengal. Situating distinctive cultures of history vis-à-vis their relevant political and cultural contexts, it highlights the richness, variety and politically sensitive character of a range of oral and textual narratives. Kumkum Chatterjee also makes a significant contribution to the intellectual and cultural history of early modern India by exploring interactions between regional, vernacular cultures on the one hand and the Islamicate, Persianized culture of the Mughal Empire on the other. Strongly grounded in primary sources, The Cultures of History in Early Modern India re-examines the concepts of authority, evidence and method in early modern historiography. It also discusses the debates surrounding the culture of history writing in India.

Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis
Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis

Author: Kunal Chakrabarti

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2013-08-22

Total Pages: 605

ISBN-13: 0810880245

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The Bengali (Bangla) speaking people are located in the northeastern part of South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh and two states of India – West Bengal and Tripura. There are almost 246 million Bengalis at present, which makes them the fifth largest speech community in the world. Despite political and social divisions, they share a common literary and musical culture and several habits of daily existence which impart to them a distinct identity. The Bengalis are known for their political consciousness and cultural accomplishments The Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis provides an overview of the Bengalis across the world from the earliest Chalcolithic cultures to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 750 cross-referenced dictionary entries on politicians, educators and entrepreneurs, leaders of religious and secular institutions, writers, painters, actors and other cultural figures, and more generally, on the economy, education, political parties, religions, women and minorities, literature, art and architecture, music, cinema and other major sectors. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Bengalis.

Bengali: A Comprehensive Grammar
Bengali: A Comprehensive Grammar

Author: Hanne-Ruth Thompson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-25

Total Pages: 800

ISBN-13: 1000284646

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Bengali: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to Bengali grammar. It presents a fresh, accessible and thorough description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in modern Bengali. The book moves from the sounds and script through morphology and word classes to a detailed analysis of sentence structures and semantic features such as aspect, tense, negation and reduplication. The Grammar is an essential reference source for the learner and user of Bengali, irrespective of level. It is ideal for use in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types. With clear and simple explanations this book will remain the standard reference work for years to come for both learners and linguists alike. The volume is organized to promote a thorough understanding of Bengali grammar. It offers a stimulating analysis of the complexities of the language, and provides full and clear explanations. Throughout, the emphasis is on Bengali as used by present-day native speakers. An extensive index and numbered paragraphs provide readers with easy access to the information they require. Features include: detailed treatment of the common grammatical structures and parts of speech extensive exemplification particular attention to areas of confusion and difficulty Bengali-English parallels highlighted throughout the book.

Land of Two Rivers
Land of Two Rivers

Author: Nitish K. Sengupta

Publisher: Penguin Books India

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 657

ISBN-13: 0143416782

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Land of Two Rivers chronicles the story of one of the most fascinating and influential regions in the Indian subcontinent. The confluence of two major river systems, Ganga and Brahmaputra, created the delta of Bengal--an ancient land known as a center of trade, learning and the arts from the days of the Mahabharata and through the ancient dynasties. During the medieval era, this eventful journey saw the rise of Muslim dynasties which brought into being a unique culture, quite distinct from that of northern India. The colonial conquest in the eighteenth century opened the modern chapter of Bengal's history and transformed the social and economic structure of the region. Nitish Sengupta traces the formation of Bengali identity through the Bengal Renaissance, the growth of nationalist politics and the complex web of events that eventually led to the partition of the region in 1947, analyzing why, despite centuries of shared history and culture, the Bengalis finally divided along communal lines. The struggle of East Pakistan to free itself from West Pakistan's dominance is vividly described, documenting the economic exploitation and cultural oppression of the Bengali people. Ultimately, under the leadership of Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman, East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971. Land of Two Rivers is a scholarly yet extremely accessible account of the development of Bengal, sketching the eventful and turbulent history of this ancient civilization, rich in scope as well as in influence.