There has been an old tradition of linguistic analysis in Bengal. There are many important publications in Bangla on linguistic theories. A new venture has been started to create a bilingual linguistic dictionary under University Grants Commission's UPE Project at the University of Calcutta. It is a privilage for me to be a part of this project.

We are trying very hard to make terminologies of relatively newly coined linguistic terms which did not have any Bangla term. It is a tough job, but still let us move.

Coming back

• I am back in my own city.The charming royal university of the city is my workplace now. It is perhaps the most charming old library of the country.You just cannot compare it with any libraries of Delhi.The old book racks, book stand and the photographs make you mismerized...

Central Library-r stobdho research floor. Mobile phones are not allowed. Amar tebiler opare ekta purono amoler chotto jal ghera janla. Tebiler opor rakha laptop, hiseb cholche uttorbonger shishuder shikkha-porishyonkhaner.

Tebiler ekpashe ekta thanda joler botol..ar tar pashe Kamalkumar-er shobdera...

Bikel gorile jachche dilli shohore..chokher samne bhasche uttor kolkatar kono rasta..bikeler kolkatake kotodin dekha hoy na..dekha hoy ni...

sondhye nambar thik age college street..kotodin kotodin hoye galo...
akasher rong jokhon neel ar komla meshano,tram-er bhitore alo jolte suru korche..emon somoy, hoyto jhor aste pare bole Kolutolar lomba baranda kimba purono chadgulo theke kapor tulche amar-i moto kono meye..

Hat rikshay lagano notun polythiner porda,kyatkyate neel..jhor...college square-e dhue khelche...


ebr bodhhoy bristii suru holo...ekta ekta kore fnota porche..college square-er joler opor...

Ar ami, kothay kothay bose laptope kromagoto type kore cholechi shobodo,shobder pore shobdo...


engriji bakyoder gothon palte felchi brishtibhule..Kamalkumar, ei to kamon sob bakyo likhechen..kothay tar punctuation-bidhi?


....likhte likhte hothat boro klanto lage..mono mor meghero songi hoye ure chole dik-digontero pane..brishti dekhi kolkatar rastay...janlar opare sondhye name...


....ar kichu noy, shudhu ektu chokh bujhte icchhe kore...ichchhe kore ektu thamte....

My first Posting for Cry

The New Linguistic Survey of India and the Rajbanshi children

The initial workshop for the new Linguistic Survey of India (NLSI) is continuing with the promise of re-visiting Grierson, documenting the changed linguistic situations and mapping it. In the Central Institute of Indian Languages at Mysore, we-a group of linguists were trying to imagine the probable outcome of the NLSI report in various parts of India-where language contact and multilingualism is the norm, and language attrition and endangerment is overlooked.
I was attending the group meetings on the Tibeto-Burman languages because; one of my targets was to find out Tibeto-Burman elements in Rajbanshi, in order to show that it cannot actually be termed as a ‘dialect’ of Bangla.

Fortunately, I have found a person who is a speaker of Rajbanshi at CIIL. And normally, my first question to him was whether he is expecting a major change in the linguistic map of North Bengal and Western Assam or not. Surprisingly, his answer was- there may be a change in the linguistic map of AXom, but not in Bengal.

In linguistic surveys, we have to depend on the speaker’s statement regarding what his/her mother tongue is. But what about the children, who is expected to remain out of the language-politics circle of the state? What name can a child give to his/her mother tongue?

Shockingly, I have got the response from the Rajbanshi speaker (and also a field-researcher) that in Jalpaiguri area, the children have started to understand that they should not utter the term ‘Kamtapuri’ or ‘Rajbanshi’, otherwise they will go to jail. Children of areas like Haldibari-Mathabhanga-Mainaguri area have begun to understand that it is better to say ‘I speak Bangla’, even if they do not understand the question papers written in Bangla at schools, or the Bangali town-teachers laugh at them.

What can a linguist term a situation like this? Is it a situation when a language is endangered (in a different sense)? Or is it a situation where there is a typically pre-planned conspiracy of the State where many many Rajbanshi speakers are the victim?

Languages are born naturally, what is the reason for which the language policies of a state are compelling the Rajbanshi children of North Bengal to say that they are the speakers of a ‘dialect’; they are defeated people, nothing else.

Perhaps, the NLSI will not be able to answer this…..

the colours of friends fade in sunset light..

My friend Navprit got married. I was waiting for the day for a long time. Some of us went to Chandigarh to attend the ceremony. It was for the first time I had attended a ceremony at a gurdwara. The custom was observed with music,silence was wonderful. We came back to Delhi yesterday. The journey was not so long, but something was missing.

As we entered Delhi through the North highway, crossed the Yamuna near Majnu ka tila, the sun was about to set.

I went for a walk in the Univ garden,alone. I missed her a lot. She said that she will come back to Delhi after a month. University garden was looking different to me yesterday. I didn't look at my favourite trees..

Our friends move to a different way like this, may be..We miss them in an orange sunset-light. We remember all the green evenings,and wish to cry, sometimes...

It is wonderful to work with children. And academically doing things with children is a big challenge. Apart from my research focus, I have become a part of a wonderful project, in which I am supposed to compose lessons for rural children of India. I am presently composing lessons for standard 1st and 2nd students which is really really a tough job, in some way, it is tougher than writing a dissertation for higher degrees. I ws searching materials from the NCERT library. But as most of the good textbooks are composed by people outside our continent, I had to re-arrange the theme. Topics selected by the Vidya Bhaban ELT team members are very carefully chosen.
We hardly ponder over the fact that rural children are far far behind than the urban children in understanding the textbooks which are provided for them. So, they need spesial care.
Teachers' manuals are often badly designed, exercises are too boring for them.
It is a great experience to be engaged in such a work.

ondhokar rong bodlay...

Nijer bhitor ondhokar,sei ondhokare dub diye asi.Ondhokarer rong kokhono kalo, kokhono ba ghor neel.

Ondhokare dub dite giye hariye jai.Widescreene ekta bachha knete othe.majhrater batash sei aschorjo ondhokar-ke chnuteo parena.

Ondhokar ghoniye ase jokhon boier pata hneshe othe,chup kore, majhrate.

Nijer bhitor ondhokar jholmoliye othe,ondhokarer rong neel kimba kalo..