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Talking about Bangla
9 years ago
I’ve realised that I should be talking and writing more about Bangladesh and the Bangla language here because it’s something important, something I’m growing a passion for and something the rest of the world needs to know.
So recently I got my grades back and I got an F in Bangla.... yeah.... It left me really depressed. However, my teacher never said anything like I am a disappointing student; instead she stated that even though I failed, I was still trying to push through. That really inspired me, I guess, since it meant that all my efforts weren’t futile.
Bangla has a very rich literary tradition; however, many works haven’t been translated yet. Perhaps that’s due to the literacy rate, which isn’t much due to the poverty in this country. Also, Bangla is the official language here, only Bangla, thus making English a foreign language so many people may not know English fluently. The national anthem of Bangladesh (Aamar sonaar baangla/ আমার সোনার বাংলা) was written by Rabindranath Tagore who also wrote the national anthems of India and Sri Lanka.
Then there was the Liberation war (muktijuddho/ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ) from where Bangladesh got its independence from Pakistan; they were called West Pakistan and East Pakistan then. There’s also International Mother Language Day (আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবস Antôrjatik Matribhasha Dibôs) on February 21st to promote awareness for people’s native language and the right to use one’s native language. On that day in 1952, university students proposed Bangla to be the national language of East Pakistan (Bangladesh today) and were brutally shot dead by police making Bangla the only language in the world which people died for. It makes me really nostalgic and sometimes even cry when I think about it.
So yeah, that’s my reason to learn Bangla.
So recently I got my grades back and I got an F in Bangla.... yeah.... It left me really depressed. However, my teacher never said anything like I am a disappointing student; instead she stated that even though I failed, I was still trying to push through. That really inspired me, I guess, since it meant that all my efforts weren’t futile.
Bangla has a very rich literary tradition; however, many works haven’t been translated yet. Perhaps that’s due to the literacy rate, which isn’t much due to the poverty in this country. Also, Bangla is the official language here, only Bangla, thus making English a foreign language so many people may not know English fluently. The national anthem of Bangladesh (Aamar sonaar baangla/ আমার সোনার বাংলা) was written by Rabindranath Tagore who also wrote the national anthems of India and Sri Lanka.
Then there was the Liberation war (muktijuddho/ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ) from where Bangladesh got its independence from Pakistan; they were called West Pakistan and East Pakistan then. There’s also International Mother Language Day (আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবস Antôrjatik Matribhasha Dibôs) on February 21st to promote awareness for people’s native language and the right to use one’s native language. On that day in 1952, university students proposed Bangla to be the national language of East Pakistan (Bangladesh today) and were brutally shot dead by police making Bangla the only language in the world which people died for. It makes me really nostalgic and sometimes even cry when I think about it.
So yeah, that’s my reason to learn Bangla.
