South Asia is one of the most intensely multilingual regions in the world. It covers over 5 million square kilometres, has a population of approximately 1.9 billion (around 25% of the world’s population), and is home to five families of languages (the Indo-European, Iranian, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic or Munda, and Tibeto-Burman).

The fishermen communities of Bengal were diverse with regional variations. Apart from Malos, Kaibartas, Bagdis, and Pods, the numerically significant fishermen sub-castes, there were many other smaller and localized communities involved in fishing.

“Ding dong ding dong,” an irregular bell continued to resound within Dhaka Central Jail on a Monday at around 3 a.m. This unusual and disquieting disturbance echoed throughout various cells and wards, catching the incarcerated off guard.

Fazlul Huq is a largely forgotten politician in West Bengal. The apparent indifference towards Huq in West Bengal or India can be partly explained by the unfortunate vivisection of India in 1947.

The Medieval period in Bengal was noteworthy for its amazing religious syncretism, with the fusion of Shaiva, Shakta, and Vaishnava cults with regional folk traditions.

The riverine area of Bengal has held a significant position in Indian Ocean trade for centuries and has also given rise to different narratives about the region in European accounts.

In 1870, a song collector from Calcutta called Nanda Lal Sharma flicked through the pages of his newly published book, Sangit Sutra. In the central pages was a thumri lyric, set to the rag Alhaiya Khamaj.

The emergence of tea as a beverage in India is a unique social event in history. Sylhet, Assam, Cachar, Dooars, and Darjeeling were preferred for tea production, considering the hill climate favorable for tea production.

Historical evidence suggests that almost every year before independence in 1971, present-day Bangladesh consistently grappled with a widespread shortage of food grains.

I returned to Chattogram from the Liberation War on December 20, 1971 with my nephew,

We have to ask an important question about Mujtaba Ali's Kabul adventures - what did this experience mean to this young Bengali man?

As I delved into the autobiographical works of Abul Mansur Ahmad, it became evident that he had a penchant for plain speaking, avoiding embellishments.

Kazi Nazrul Islam’s novels boldly explore the complex female psyche, challenging patriarchal norms in early twentieth-century Bengal.

The 1947 Partition's traumatic legacy endures in Bengal, vividly captured through subjective memory in contemporary Bangla literature.

I had once written extensively about S.M. Sultan. Why? Because it felt essential to make our ‘art authorities’ aware that he was a rare talent, although many were unwilling to accept it. Thus, the pen became my last resort.

In the opening years of the twentieth century, Abanindranath Tagore (1871– 1951), Rabindranath’s nephew and a prominent artist living at the Tagore palazzo in Calcutta, Jorasanko, made a trio of paintings depicting the Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58) at different stages of his life, together with his great monument to love, the Taj Mahal.

Thinking of Syed Waliullah and being his son always triggers contrasting feelings of joy and pride, melancholy and pain. Regrettably, neither my elder sister Simine nor I am able to remember much about our father, as we were both very young when he passed away.

Congratulations on your new book, “River Life and the Upspring of Nature.” With your academic background in religious studies and social life in Pakistan, what prompted you to shift your focus towards studying the river life and char communities in Bangladesh?

The circus industry in Bengal experienced a significant boost during the 19th century, thanks to the arrival of Russian and European performers, as well as contributions from Africans, Mongolians, and other Asians in the 20th century.

Sonamoni! No prefix, no suffix, that is her name. It signifies the golden pearl of the eye.