Bangla in America: Sociology of the Third Center for International Status

Curson

With the rise of Bangladeshi émigré in the North American continent, as an international language, in everyday life, the status of Bangla is gaining a gradual recognition. In other words, the story of Bangla being catapulted into international scene, is an integral part of the story of how over the years, Bangladeshi communities in North America have gained a foothold. In order to comprehend the saga of Bangla language, the elevated status of Ekushey February as the International Mother Language Day, one requires realizing success stories of innumerable migrant Bangladeshis, who through their toil, in the USA and Canada, have made Bangladesh a familiar name.

This is crucial to understand, because to promote Ekushey February as International Mother Language Day, although the credit goes to a group of North America based patriotic Bangladeshis; for their extraordinary contribution, saving our sincere gratitude; yet one can safely state that for achieving such an exalted status of Bangla, in reality, the half a million strong Bangladeshi Diaspora in the North American continent, deserves the credit. It is their passionate love for the language and in an alien environment, hard rock determination to promote it in everyday usage, to receive such a formal recognition, laid down the foundation.

 At the turn of 1990s, for the first time, en mass, Bangladeshis begun to arrive on the US soil. Earlier, it was sporadic and individual incidence—people mostly of professional background and/or international students came to the US. Because of their social orientation and demographical distribution, formation of a community life was impossible. As a result, they remained detached from Bengali culture. With the wave of Bangladeshi immigrants, the landscape was changed forever. Their settlements in specific regions, in the big metropolises, laid down the edifice of a community life. Consequently, independent of collective South Asian identity, with its linguistic distinction, a Bangladeshi identity was consolidated.

It was economic necessity that however, gave birth to such a cultural distinction: establishment of Bangladeshi grocery stores. Bangladeshi owned grocery stores served as venue for personal interaction as well as cultural orientation, as in these premises, greeting and chatting with fellow Bangladeshis could be done; advertisement for a roommate posted; news papers and periodicals printed in Dhaka bought; videos of Bengali teleplay rented; as much as, plan to float social and cultural clubs organized. The process never looked back. With the steady rise of Bangladeshis, to meet the demands of the expanding clientele, as numbers of grocery stores expanded, so are commodity specific stores and service oriented firms, owned by Bangladeshis, since the demands for deshi foods, goods, and services, as the figure of expression is employed, gave birth to a class of Bangladeshi entrepreneurship.

Because of such an economic reason, today, North America became a prime destination for exports of agricultural commodity, produced in Bangladesh, one the one hand; on the other, it had a profound impact in developing the community life, affecting the future status of Bangle language, as export-import business broke down the patterns of employment structure of sectarian concentration, traditionally held by Bangladeshis, paving the way for the rise of an intermediate class of entrepreneurship. In the initial stage of settlement, the sharp division between high skilled and labor class émigré that was a characteristic of the Bangladeshi community, affecting socialization of community life, as a result, began to erode, diversifying economic horizon of the community.

As mentioned before, with the expansion of the community oriented economy, as the advent of a second generation Bangladeshi entrepreneurs was made possible, so is the status of Bangla. As opposed to grocery stores, the new generation established restaurants; travel agencies; jewelry and clothing stores; gift shops; thrift houses; immigration, income tax, and legal aid offices; and so forth, which as time went by, gradually had spilled over into other forms of economic activities, linking the community with the mainstream economy.

Because of migrant Bangladeshis’ neck to entrepreneurship and that, instead of becoming a member of the salaried class, their preference for trade and commerce, across the New York City, Bangladeshis have made their presence highly visible. As a result, in certain segments of trade such as ethnic culinary, which the mainstream Americans perceive as Indian cuisine, is completely predominated by Bangladeshis, as much as, one notices the presence of innumerable stores of various kinds, owned by Bangladeshis, be it a sandwich deli on the 42nd Street at Times Square in downtown Manhattan, or newspaper stalls in front of New York and Columbia Universities campuses.

Sustained by their relative affluence, available leisure time, opportunity to meet fellow Bangladeshis, and above all, dedication to native culture, directly and indirectly, these entrepreneurs have become sponsors of Bengali culture. For a Bangla speaking person, to read a Bengali billboard in New York City; therefore, is no longer an exotic experience, as Bangla became part of the mainstream landscape, so much so that along with English, not only the majority of Bangladeshi owned stores display billboards in Bangla; but also, to attract Bangladeshi clientele, non-Bangladeshi firms put advertisement in it.

However, as an offshoot of these business enterprises, it is their indirect financial support that contributes to the growth and expansion of Bengali culture in North America today. Consequently, alone in the New York City, more than half a dozen Bengali weeklies are being published and similar number of stores catering Bangla books, CDs, videos, and DVDs to expatriate Bangladeshis exclusively are thriving. In stores, resonating familiar names such as Muktadhara, Abashar, Abakash, Ananya, Meghna, Srijani, and others, one can browse the latest title, sometimes ahead of time, published in Dhaka. Similarly, in local theatre halls, release of a Humayun Ahmed’s recent blockbuster has become a regular phenomenon.

It is this entrepreneur class that also sustains the cultural link to Bangladesh, as throughout the year, they sponsor cultural festivals: book fairs, concerts, fashion shows, and cultural nights, inviting writers, singers, and celebrities from Bangladesh, which people attend purchasing ticket. Because of such enthusiastic response, observance of the Bengali New Year and the Ekushey February has become a common feature, organized by numerous cultural organizations.

In the chilly New York City midnight of 21st February, as a result, under the amazed gaze of the Americans, hundreds of Bangladeshis gather at the rotunda of the United Nations Plaza, and on the bank of the icy East River, they lay garland wreaths, sing patriotic songs, and recite poetry at the feet of the replicated Saheed Minar, temporarily made for the exclusive purpose.

One aspects of Ekushey celebration; however, requires a special mention: book fair. To be precise, in accordance to the original tradition in Bangladesh, organization of Bangla book fairs have become a hallmark of the event, as this year, it would step into its 12th year of celebration. Usually, observed in a convenient weekend, the book fair, organized by Bangla book stores collectively, consists of display and sell of recent and old titles, supplemented by CDs and cassettes of Bangla songs; DVDs of classics of Bangla silver screens; and traditional Bengali snacks as well as confectionaries. What attracts most; however, is tête-à-tête with popular writers. What initially was a one man show of Biswajit Saha, proprietor of the Muktadhara, now, has become a cultural event for the entire community.

It has become a norm that prominent literatures such as Humayn Ahmed, Sunil Gangapadhaya, Samaresh Majumdar, and others, as it is the case for this year as well, preside over the Bangla Sahitya Sammelayana, the gravity of attraction of the fair. Invited authors speak about their works, comments on trends in contemporary writings, answer to queries of the audience. Such conference is usually followed by a cultural show: dances, songs, recitations, and screenings, where local bards and cultural activists participate enthusiastically. Such gatherings of Bengali authors, in addition to Ekushey, on regular basis, once or twice a year, currently, are also organized in other States, with high Bengali concentration.

The outcome of such ethos is an emergent cultural identity, which among the Diaspora, is marked by its passionate love for Bangla language and a yarning for the evergreen homeland left behind, epitomized in celebrating the Ekushey. To release their ingrained creativity, equipped with advanced education, across the major US cities, the enthusiastic youths have formed numerous social and cultural organizations. The establishment of Udichi Shilpa Gosthi (NYC); BAPA–Bangladesh Arts & Performing Academy, (NYC & Dallas); BSK--Biswa Sahity Kendra (NYC & LA) are prime examples of Bengalis cultural affirmation. BSK holds monthly study circle sessions in which identical to its Bangladeshi chapters, participants discuss classics of Bangla and world literature.

In order to introduce the classics of Bangla to the American born second generation kids, as they are weak in reading in Bangla, BSK is contemplating to initiate a study circle, where Bangla classics in translation would be read. In the Campuses and in the Net Worlds, presence of Bengali culture and Ekushey is also highly visible; thanks to our college going students, both of second generation origin and international background, whose individual pride in introducing Bengali milieu through numerous web portals; formation of Bangladesh Student Organizations (BSAs) across American and Canadian campuses; organizing Bangladeshi cultural nights and fashion shows have brought Bangladesh in the American living room.

Students of Bangladeshi origin, across the continent, are a common face today; especially, in the USA, as they could be found from coast to coast. These proud youths, with their head held high, walk into and mingle with the mainstreams; consequently, whether in private or public schools, along with others, in the staffs, Bangladeshi flags fly with distinction.

On the other, in individual levels, creativity of younger Bengalis’ are also gaining a gradual recognitions that addresses agonies of the Diaspora. As a result, there has been a boom of locally produced Bengali cultural stuffs: books, videos, stage plays, musical albums, and full length feature films, aimed to cater the local populace. To feed the demands of the electronic media, i.e., Bengali Television & Radio channels: the New York City based Ruposhi Bangla and the Los Angeles based Betar Bangla, dissemination of local Bengali culture by connecting the disparate Bangladeshis, consolidation of ethnic identity was made possible.

It is noteworthy to mention that two full length Bengali feature films and few video plays about lives of the Diaspora by Enayet Karim Babul and Ashiq Mustafa already have made entries as representative works of ethnic culture. Similarly, a bilingual poetry quarterly, edited by Hasan-al-Abdullah, defying Kippling’s skepticism, makes confluence of East and West possible. One hardly requires mentioning publications of numerous short-lived literary journals, mostly aimed to celebrate the Ekushey, as it has become a hallmark of Bengali sensibility.

Yet, as a community, similar to other ethnicities in the US, Bangladeshis also face a daunting challenge: how to transmit Bengali language and culture, down the posterity. This has become an acute concern; therefore, for every family with grown up children, born and raised in the US, a repetitive talk in social gatherings.

To understand the complexities of the issue, one must analyze it in proper perspectives: of parents’ and children. For working parents, whether of high skill professional or of labor class background, as it is the case for most Bangladeshis, in addition to dedication, to teach reading and writing Bengali, time constrains, what makes it an impossible task, as initially, children must be taught at home.

Besides, in most cases, because of their poor educational background, parents are either unable to or unaware of the necessity to teach their children Bangla at home. Lack of proper text books, cognizant to cognitive growth of children only complicates the problem.

Consequently, although in recognition of the Bangladeshi Diaspora, the Department of Education of New York State has formally declared Bangla as one of its scheduled language, which to obtain high school diploma, fulfills the foreign language requirement; yet the acute shortage of certified Bengali linguists, beyond handful schools, have hindered the growth of Bengali pedagogy.

As a result, among the high school going children, who are raised in the US, the extent of skill in Bengali is minimal. Bereft of personal help at home and resource constraints at school, to acquire adequate linguistic skills, for a child, hardly, there is any possibility to succeed. In other words, similar to other linguistic minorities, for the time being, our next generation is likely to loose connection to their parental culture.

But the battle for Bangla is yet to over, as time and again, on voluntary basis, attempts to run Bangla language schools are initiated. Based on pragmatic policy and institutional support, should they succeed, among the next generation, Bangla is likely to survive. In sum, in North American continent, with rapid pace, Bangla has made its permanent intrusion. It obviously is here to stay and expand, as Bangladesh and Bangla language are two landmarks of community identity, which, now-a-days, instantly, is even easily recognized by the mainstream Americans; unheard of, even a decade ago.

For the Diaspora, it is of great achievement, as among all South Asian communities in the USA, being the youngest and the smallest to arrive, to preserve their language, only the Bangladeshis have displayed a hard rock determination.

However, the significance of the recognition of the Ekushey as the International Mother Language Day, in international scene, transcends the status of Bangla per se, since as opposed to the prevalent misconception, the elevated status of the Ekushey, in reality, is a global effort to remember and feel the necessity to preserve the numerous minor languages of the world, which because of hegemony of major languages, including Bangla, are about to wither way.

In this respect, thus, the recognition of the Ekushey February as the International Mother Language Day is but a global recognition of the love for one’s mother tongue, of all the suppressed people on earth.

Curzon

Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dahuk/message/3010