![bengali alphabet song bengali alphabet song](http://www.ukindia.com/zip/zben25.gif)
For once, I had the pleasure of experiencing in a small way the departure of King Vijay Sing from Bengal or the Vanga Deshaya to Sri Lanka.Ī similar incident happened during a speech by a Sri Lankan student at a meeting in the Kolkata International Students Association chaired by a Bengali gentleman. Time and again in Sri Lanka we talk about the arrival of King Vijay Sing and his 700 men. It was a sensation to realize our historical roots from where the story of the Sinhalese commenced. This immediately struck me with the fact that the arrival and departure of this legendary king is now connected and the well known historical event was confirmed from the other end from where the whole history began. He replied, ah, there you are! It is portraying King Vijay Sing sailing to Lanka two thousand years back”. I asked my friend what this picture is all about.
![bengali alphabet song bengali alphabet song](http://www.ukindia.com/zip/zben26.gif)
At a Bengali friend’s house, I happened to see a calendar with a picture of a stately personality standing on a decorated ship. Here is a rare incidence that none has so far documented anything similar. On a visit to a friend of mine at his residence, on seeing me he said ‘Alpa maathro’ (Alpa Mathrayak), meaning to wait for a while and slipped back in to the house returning minutes later. In between a close friend would describe to me his fiancée as ‘Ardhangani’. During lectures now and then I could hear many words that you come across in Sinhala such as ‘Kanija padartha’, ‘Anka’, ‘Jhol’ (Jalaya), ‘Raktho’, ‘Prathima’ and ‘ Porikkha’ (Parikshanaya or examination). It was clear what they said translated in to Sinhalese were ‘Ketharum Chamathkarada’ and ‘Mama Kalanthe Daanawa’ and that there should be a similarity between the two languages.
![bengali alphabet song bengali alphabet song](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71BaHK9sDVS.jpg)
The student seated next to me leaning his head on my shoulder said ‘Ami klantho’ mimicking a bout of fainting. Once during sessions, a lecturer pointing at a student with unkempt hair sarcastically said ‘Ki Chamathkar’? Another day during a lecture, an interlude was set aside for mimicking. In comparison the Sinhalese language appeared somewhat toned down in the force of pronunciations. You are struck by sharp quasi musical sounds such as Cha, Sha, Kha, Tha, etc. On your first arrival in Kolkata with a linguistically blunt mind, you don’t hear clear spoken words as such but a haze of sounds in the busy crowded metropolis of 14 million people. It must be noted that Bengali is the seventh most widely spoken language in the world catering to a population of close to 300 million people. However this article should stir up Sinhalese, Bengali and other language scholars to take a serious look at the Sinhala – Bengali linguistic and the other wider connections.
#Bengali alphabet song professional#
Being a pharmacy professional I have limited linguistic ability to write a scholarly article on languages. During the years 1967 – 1975 as a university student in Kolkata, the writer’s interest in Bengali language grew more intense with time as surprising similarities were discovered between the two languages.
![bengali alphabet song bengali alphabet song](https://files.liveworksheets.com/def_files/2021/4/18/10418235819789568/10418235819789568001.jpg)
Retired Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo.Ī couple of recent news paper articles on similarities between Sinhalese and Bengali languages prompted me to submit this article.