I'm feeling slightly better than yesterday. To battle the blues, I generally listen to music or watch dance videos on youtube. As some may already guess, I love dance in most forms and did quite a bit myself during school years. I try to continue doing it from time to time, but I generally am too tired or have no time.
I suddenly felt very nostalgic towards my Bengali roots - I'm Bengali from both sides of the border - mom's Urdu-speaking (yes, it does get confusing) from Calcutta in India, and dad from Comilla, but settled in Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Anyhow, my knowledge and literacy in Bengali (also known as Bangla) is very limited. I studied it in school - more like forced to - and passed just above failing. I can read, write, and even speak. But how much I understand - that's debatable. My dad would always say I should learn my 'mother language', but my mother speaks Urdu! So I was always quite confused. Why is the dad's culture more prominent and called the 'mother tongue/language', when the mother might speak a different language?! I always wondered the answer for that.
Anyhow, back to youtube surfing. I came across this one video which is mix of two popular Bengali rock/pop songs by Bengali boys in the States. I rather liked it:
Don't ask me for the translation as I'm rather clueless too. The first song is a little beyond my comprehension, while the second song is in easier Bengali. Anyhow, the boys in the video do a good job of explaining what the songs mean.
There is quite a big difference between Indian Bengalis and Bangladeshi Bengalis. Somehow, I identify more with the Indian Bengalis than the Bangladeshi in terms of the arts, culture and lifestyle, possibly because I stay with my mother. And I find Calcattian Bengalis so much hotter than Bangladeshi - possibly because they're not midgets like the Bangladeshis. I like my men tall.
I remember once in my senior year (11th grade), having to submit an assignment to my Bengali teacher and I decided to give it before the end of the day. So I head over to the boy's section classroom (boys and girls were segregated in our school) and see her teaching a class of midgets - with ties. Since ties in our school meant they were senior school students, I assumed they were 7th graders - the first senior school grade. As I knock and head inside to submit my assignment, I glance at the board. And then I see it's 11th grade lessons - those midgets were my classmates!!!!
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You're quite a mix, aren't you? The Sub-continent is rich in culture and history. I, on the other hand come from parents with Punjabi roots (Paki side). The regional dialect of this vast language they speak is just absolutely sweet. Sadly, despite being a huge family, we failed to carry it among the siblings and their children. My mother and aunts are the only native speakers [My dad passed away two years ago].
Roots... they're a strange part of who we are.
This is just my ethnic heritage. I haven't gotten to my cultural heritage, which includes where I live, what cultures I've been exposed to and adopted and the languages I'm comfortable using everyday.
Punjabi for me is quite a - passionate language. I always feel like they're either angry or terribly excited.
I remember the way one Lahori guy I dated said 'sohniye'. The way he said it just sent chills down my spine. *sigh*
roots are strange.
Now you are going to have all the men here in the USA flocking to your blog to read this... They LOVE to read, watch, and hear about midgets. I don't know what it is...
but it is cool as hell to read about your heritage, as I wasn't at all sure what part of the globe you actually hail from.
As for me? I was born in Massachusetts, raised in New York, and am a half and half mix of Irish and French Canadian. The temper suggests I'm mostly irish...
Glad you are feeling better now, and it is true, that music can soothe the most wounded of souls.
<3
The UK is full of Bangladeshi Bengali's and the way we recognise them here are:
1) Weird crew cuts;
2) The amount of hair gel and the patterns made in their hair;
3) dark lips because of smoking or paan;
4) shorties
:D
G'day from Australia,
I speak fluent Bengali - and there are some Bengali sentences in my first novel (albeit with English translations).
@karen:
i never understood men's fascination with midgets either. and what i wrote in this post is just the basic ethnic heritage...there's alot mixing in my genes.
@biscuit:
another way to identify them is the fact that they probably own or work in an indian restaurant :)
@david:
welcome to my blog! sounds like you know bengali better than me :)
@mars
aah, ok :) I thought that was only a british stereotype for Bengalis xD
I can identify with the feeling of suddenly becoming really nostaligic about your roots. It only usually comes when I watch something arabic, or hear some arabic music, or sometimes even mixing with cool people that can speak arabic.
at all other times, I am mostly with my american friends, listening to motley cru or something.
Its a warm feeling and sometimes I wonder which side I will take. Because more often than not - I feel a struggle because both are such a huge part of me.
where did you grow up?
@biscuit:
it is mostly a british stereotype
@MY:
I'm born, raised, educated and now working in Dubai. And I don't know a single word of arabic - beyond the usual phrases.
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