দুই বাংলা, না দুই বাঙালি | Dui Bangla, na dui Bangali

Abstract

In this article the roots of the Bangla language in two regions, both the independent country of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India, are analyzed from a literary perspective by two authors. The first author, Raghab Bandyopadhyay, is a linguist and novelist based in Kolkata and the other author, Saymon Zakaria, is a playwright in Bangladesh. Before discussing these two literary languages as a single pair, however, they note the many forms that can be taken by a single language, citing different characteristics that distinguish the fields of American English literature, British English literature, African English literature, and Australian and South Asian English literature. They then recount various literary opinions on this subject from around the world. Finally, the article deals with literary creations by two Bengals at their border which indicate a single Bangla literature; an elaborate analysis with quotations is presented on the modes of speech, story-weaving, election narratives, and more on this subject as found in two countries, two birthplaces, and by two authors. Using one and the same Bangla, various authors of literature just as with authors of literature and their literary works in different countries around the world-have created a comparative literature that is discussed by two contemporary authors.