Bangla Itihash

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কার্টুনিস্ট নারায়ণ দেবনাথ (১৯২৫-২০২২) আধুনিক বাংলা শিল্প এবং সাহিত্যিক জগতের অতি উজ্জ্বল নক্ষত্র হয়ে থাকবেন। শৈশবের আনন্দের স্রষ্টার আজ ইন্দ্রপতন ঘটলো।
আপনি ও আপনার নন্টে-ফন্টে-কেল্টুদা, বাঁটুল দি গ্রেট, হাঁদা-ভোঁদা, বাহাদুর বেড়াল ইত্যাদির মত অমর সৃষ্টি চিরকাল বাংলার ছোট বড়ো সবার কাছে চিরস্মরণীয় হয়ে থাকবে।

There are stories of how immigrants shoot into fame and prosperity or slip into the pit of notoriety, but there are few as quirky as Somen Steve Banerjee's.

Having landed in Playa Del Ray, California near LA in the sixties, Steve failed at various ventures before putting his money into buying a failed Los Angeles strip club "Destiny II" and renaming it to Chippendale's. However, this was no ordinary strip club. Back in those days, strip clubs almost generally featured women. Steve went the other way round and put men on stage, oiled, cuffed, somewhat buffy, dancing for the entertainment of women outside cages. Director Nick De Noia made that happen - and when Steve got into business with him, the agreement was Steve would pay the bills while Nick would take care of the presentation.

Chippendale's, and the Chippendale's troop, soon found their business booming. The concept of men dancing for women was novel back then, and it made Steve a pioneer in the American adult industry. Touring profits exceeded $25,000 per week, and at its height, Steve controlled an $8-million-a-year business, and Steve embraced the life of an extravagant millionaire. Chippendale's became a legend.

And yet, the dazzle had a darker lining. Intolerant of competition, Steve was a suspect in at least two cases of arson, when he attempted to have two competing nightclubs burnt to the ground. Along with that, Chippendale's got embroidered into civil lawsuits, including one where de Noia sued Steve for violating a touring agreement.

Things went wayward when Steve was accused of hiring a contract killer who had killed de Noia. Having no hard evidence at first, Steve again hired the killer to eliminate two competing choreographers. But his luck turned astray as the killer had already become an FBI informant. It was over.

Following a complicated FBI chase, Steve was finally apprehended in 1993 and charged with the aforementioned crimes. It was clear that the least be would get was life imprisonment. Hours before he was to be sentenced, Steve hanged himself in his cell, on October 23, 1994. His su***de note was declared indecipherable by the police- possibly because it was written in Bangla.

Steve's later life would obscure the pioneering feats he had achieved in the American entertainment industry, especially for a non white immigrant. His recognition in media never went beyond an FBI criminal tracking documentary, and though plans for making a movie on his Scorsese-ish life were suggested, things never saw the light of day.

A dialect may be defined as particular linguistic variartion of a language peculiar to a certain region or social group. It generally doesn not reflect in the written language, but varies with speech.
Bangla dialects can thus be classified along atleast two dimensions: spoken vs literary, and prestige(socioeconomic) vs regional.
Linguists Suniti Kr. Chatterjee and Sukumar Sen classified Bangla dialects into 6 classes, based on their phonology and pronunciation. (Referring to the map) They are:

1. Bangali: The most widely spoken dialect. Akin to the regions of Dhaka, Barisal, Khulna, Mymensingh, Comilla and Tripura.

2. Rahri: Spoken across much of southern West Bengal, cumulating around 20% of the population. It encompasses the whole of erstwhile Presidency division (Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, south Burdwan, Murshidabad). It developed around the Bhagirathi river basin in Nadia and is well established to be the standard form of written Bangla.

3. Varendri: Spoken in Malda, Dinajpur(all) and Rajshahi, along with parts of Bihar adjoining these areas(Purnia).

4. Rangpuri: Common in Rangpur and Jalpaiguri, along with the border areas of Assam and Bihar.

5. Manbhumi: As it suggests, its typical in the historical regions of Manbhum, which includes Medinipur, Bankura and Burdwan, and the Santhali regions of Purulia and Jharkhand. It also features a prominent syncretism of Odia, and is rich in folk songs, notably the month long Tusu festival. Manbhumi songs are used in Chhau dance.

6. Sunderbani: Typical to the Sunderbans, and adjoining areas in both the 24 Parganas and Satkhira.

It's important to mention another notoriuously confusing dialect, but one that enjoys a large share of Bangla cultural history - Chittagong dialect or Chatgaiya - found in the south eastern divisions of Bangladesh.

Three other dialects considered somewhat different: Coochbihari (Rajbangshi), Cachari and Sylheti- typical to the namesake areas, have a strong Assamese influence.

"একুশ আমার অহংকার, একুশ আমার গর্ব।
এই একুশের জন্য আমি ছাড়তে পারি স্বর্গ।"

১৯৫২ র ২১ শে ফেব্রুয়ারি শহীদ আব্দুল, বরকতের রক্তস্নাত ঢাকার রাজপথ জন্ম দিয়েছিল এক নতুন সূর্যের। হৃদয়ের ভাষা উচ্চারণের দাবিতে গর্জে ওঠে তরুণ পূর্ব পাকিস্তান। শাসকের রক্তচক্ষু উপেক্ষা করে বাংলা গান আর কবিতা কে সম্বল করে শুরু হয় ভাষা আন্দোলন। তারুণ্যের কাছে হার মানতে বাধ্য হয় পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান। ১৯৫৪ র ৭ই মে বাংলা ভাষাও সরকারি ভাষা রূপে স্বীকৃতি পায়। শুধু তাই নয়, আন্তর্জাতিক স্তরে ১৭ই নভেম্বর ,১৯৯৯ এ ইউনেস্কোর পক্ষ থেকে ২১ শে ফেব্রুয়ারি কে আন্তর্জাতিক মাতৃভাষা দিবস ঘোষণা করা হয়।
অকৃতজ্ঞ থাকা হবে পুরুলিয়া, বরাক উপত্যকার শহীদদের কথা না বলা হলে । পুরুলিয়ার প্রভা দেবী, অতুল চন্দ্র ঘোষ ও অন্যরা - যাঁরা ১৯৪০ থেকে ১৯৫৬ অবধি দীর্ঘকালীন সংঘর্ষ করে গেছেন হিন্দী আগ্রাসনের বিরুদ্ধে, কিংবা বরাক উপত্যকার কমলা বা শিলচর স্টেশনে শহীদ হওয়া সত্যাগ্রহীরা - অসমীয়ার সাথে বাংলার সমকাম্যতা দাবী করার প্রতিবাদে প্রাণত্যাগ করেন যাঁরা। পূর্ব পাকিস্তানের ভাষা শহীদদের সঙ্গে পায়ে পায়ে দাঁড়িয়ে বাংলা ভাষায় ইতিহাসে অমর হয়ে থাকবেন তারাও।
আজ এই ২১শে ফেব্রুয়ারির পুণ্যলগ্নে আমরা স্মরণ করছি সেই সব ভাষা শহীদদের, যাদের রক্তের বিনিময়ে আমরা পেয়েছি মাতৃভাষার আস্বাদ। মাতৃভাষা হোক আরও সমৃদ্ধ, মায়ের মতোই আগলে রাখুক আমাদের। ।

History of "Joy Bangla"

The phrase was first used in the 1922 poem পূর্ণ অভিনন্দন (Pūrṇa Abhinandan) by Kazi Nazrul Islam as:

জয় বাংলার পূর্ণচন্দ্র,
জয় জয় আদি অন্তরীণ,
জয় যুগে যুগে আসা সেনাপতি,
জয় প্রাণ অন্তহীন

During the Bangladesh Muktijuddo, it appeared in the 11-point charter put forth by the Sarbadaliya Chhatra Sangram Parishad on 4 January 1969. A slogan small and simple, yet capable of arousing ethnic pride. After the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the SCSP held a rally at the Ramna Race Course ground, Dhaka on 22 February 1969, to honour him. When Mujib was conferred the title of Bangabandhu, cries of Joy Bangla came from all over the park.

Thus, Joy Bangla became the slogan and war cry of the Mukti Bahini that fought for the independence of Bangladesh. On 27th March 1971, Major Ziaur Rahman broadcasted announcement of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujib and he finished with "Joy Bangla". After the assassination of Sheikh Mujib, Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad replaced Joy Bangla with Bangladesh Zindabad.
On 10 March 2020, the Bangladesh High Court has declared that ‘Joy Bangla’ will be the national slogan of Bangladesh.

Now let's talk about the regional meaningfulness of the slogan. It was penned down before partition, when all of Bengal was together as a single Bengali speaking region of the world. In general, Joy Bangla is a reverence addressed to the Bangla motherland, ethnicity and the language. Joy Bangla translates roughly to "Glory to Bengal" or "Hail Bengal". It can also be translated to "Glory to Bangla (the language and the culture)".

However, it's relevance as a "warcry" stayed limited to Muktijuddo. Among non-Bangladeshi Bengalis, it remains a salutation. Even the word "Bangladesh", though has a specific meaning in geopolitics, is still used in literature to signify what lies within the boundaries of erstwhile undivided Bengal.

Joy Bangla resonates a sense of pride among Bengalis, a pride born out of rich cultural heritage, elegant literature, art, music and folklore. It would be dire injustice to over 500 years of history, to limit the slogan by religious, regional and political tags.

Here we have Bangladesh Juddho (Pic 1) by Chittoprosad Bhattacharya. If one places it side by side to Pablo Picasso's Guernica (Pic 2), one can find the astute similarities between both of them.

Guernica was a 1937 anti-war oil painting based on the N**i bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Bangladesh Juddho, well obviously, was based on Muktijuddho.

To begin with, the chaotic representation of atrocities and sufferings is evident in both the paintings, and the sufferers occupy the center stage. The protruding hand holding a candle is substituted by a little man holding a 'dwip'. And there might be some more.

But what about the ingenuities? Well, Chittoprosad has included some of his ideas too. Firstly, Bangladesh Juddho depicts the fighting spirit of the Bengalis - their rejection of bowing down before their skeletal(inhuman) oppressors, and instead, fighting them. Matriarchal figures take leading roles in the battle, both as a fierce defender of her children and a benevolent mother calming them down. This might be a reference to the women regiments of the Muktibahini, or a nod to the Motherland itself, or an appreciation of the what is called the মাতৃশক্তি।

The acute painting styles were different too, as Picasso stayed with his cubism while Chittoprosad preferred his own style of painting. Either way, Bangladesh Juddho remains one of the most prominent paintings of post colonial Bengali history.

আজ ১৬ই ডিসেম্বর (BST)
বিজয়া দিবসের শুভেচ্ছা 🇧🇩🙌

On 30th September, East Bengal defeated their rivals Mohun Bagan 5-0 in the 1975 IFA Shield final. This defeat was rather saddening for Bagan fans, because they have been losing the Kolkata Derby matches for 5 years then.

The after-effects of the derby were devastating as usual. Unhappy Bagan supporters surrounded the players’ tent and hunted down their players. Subrata Bhattacharya and Prasun Banerjee spent the night on a boat in the Ganges hiding from their own fans.

Umakanto Palodhi, a Mohun Bagan supporter committed su***de that day. In his su***de note, he wrote, “In my next birth, I will take the revenge by becoming a Mohun Bagan footballer.”

Pic 1 : Front page of Anandabajar Patrika, 1st October, 1975
Pic 2 : Team photo of East Bengal, after winning the shield.

A solemn cloud of sadness encloses the Bengali community today as we bid adieu to one of the brightest gems of Bengali cinema, who was fighting with prostate cancer for a long time and finally succumbed to the ferocity of Covid-19.

Chatterjee, an occasional theatre actor then, had gone on the sets of Ray's fourth film, Jalsaghar (1958) to watch the shoot. He was still unaware that he had already been selected for the title role of Apu trilogy. That day, while he was leaving the sets, Ray called him over and introduced him to actor Chhabi Biswas as "..This is Soumitra Chattopadhyay; he's playing Apu in my next film Apur Shongshar" leaving him much surprised. Despite being selected, as a debutant actor, Chatterjee was nevertheless unsure for his career choice and especially his looks, as he didn't consider himself photogenic. However, on 9th August 1958, when the first shot of the film was given an okay in one take, he realized he had found his vocation. Thus, Soumitra's film debut came in 1959 in Satyajit Ray's Apur Shongshar.

Over the course of years, he has received numerous awards, including the Padma Bhushan, Dadashaheb Phalke, National Film award for Best Actor and international awards such as the 'Officier des Arts et Metiers', the highest award for arts given by the French government, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Italy.

In 2017, exactly thirty years after auteur Ray was honoured with France's highest civilian award- the coveted Legion of Honor, Chatterjee, arguably, the most prominent face of Ray's films, also received the prestigious award. He was the seventh recipient of this award.

His brand of stardom was in stark contrast to the other shining luminary of contemporary cinema in the state -- Uttam Kumar -- whose position as Mahanayak in the Bengali psyche was primarily cemented in idol worship and mass hysteria. Chatterjee answers to the term ‘phenomenon' as absolutely as few actors do, for the sheer ease with which he defied the cliches of image. His stardom was sensational, and yet born out of realism.

1. Apur Shongshar (1959)
2. Charulata (1964)
3. As Feluda
4. Koni (1984)
5. Paromitar Ekdin (2000)
6. Belasheshe (2015)