Importance of Bengali

Many people have never heard of Bengali. As I have said before, It is one of the most spoken langauges in the world. Maybe not as high as French or Chinese. But it is the 6th or 7th most spoken lanaguge. Bengali is the second most spoken langauge in India, after Hindi/Urdu. It is also the main lanaguge of Bangladesh. Sayjit Ray, one of India's finest film directors native langauge was Bengali and most of his movies were in Bengali.

Actors and Actresses with Bengali orgin:
Actors and actresses
Abhishek Bachchan—Bollywood actor, son of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri, husband of Aishwarya Rai. Half Bengali.
Jaya Bhaduri—Bollywood actress and wife of Amitabh Bachchan
Victor Banerjee—Bengali and Bollywood actor
Bipasha Basu—A Bengali Bollywood actress
Seema Biswas—Bollywood actress
Bobita —Bangladeshi film actress
Rahul Bose—Bengali and Bollywood actor and rugby player
Mithun Chakraborty—Bollywood and Bengali film actor
Moushumi Chatterjee—Bollywood actress
Chhabi Biswas—Bengali actor
Biswajit Chatterjee—Bengali and Bollywood actor
Priyanshu Chatterjee-Bollywood actor
Sabitri Chatterjee—Bengali actor
Shefali Chowdhury—Hollywood actor, seen in Harry Potter movies as Parvati Patil
Soumitra Chatterjee- Bengali actor
Nandita Das-Bollywood actress.she is known for her critically acclaimed performances in Fire (1996), Earth (1998), Bawandar (2000) and Aamaar
Sumita Devi—Bangladeshi film and television actress
Tanushree Dutta-Former Miss India and Bollywood actress
Utpal Dutt—Bengali actor
Humayun Faridi—Bangladeshi film actor
Rupa Ganguly-Bengali and Bollywood actress
Rabi Ghosh—Bengali actor
Shahana Goswami- Bollywood actress
Raakhee Gulzar—Bollywood actress
Konnie Huq—British television presenter
Imran Khan—Bollywood actor
Saif Ali Khan- Bollywood actor. Half Bengali.
Soha Ali Khan- Bollywood actress. Half Bengali.
Ashok Kumar—Bollywood actor
Kishore Kumar -Bollywood singer, actor, music composer
Uttam Kumar—Bollywood and Bengali film actor
Pradeep Kumar—Bollywood actor
Diya Mirza—Bollywood actress. Part Bengali.
Koena Mitra-Former channel V VJ and Bollywood actress
Rhona Mitra-Half-Bengali actress in Britain
Moushumi, Bangladeshi Actress
Kajol Mukherjee—Bollywood actress.
Kamalini Mukherjee- Bollywood & Tollywood actress
Madhabi Mukherjee- actress notable works include charulata, mahanagar
Tanisha Mukherjee—Bollywood actress.
Rani Mukerji—Bollywood actress and superstar, Multiple Filmfare award winner.
Lisa Ray—Model & actress. Half Bengali & Half Polish
Subrata Routh—Bengali-American actor
Reena Roy—Bollywood actress
Debashree Roy—Bollywood actress
Deep Roy-Hollywood Actor
Rohit Roy-TV actor
Abdur Razzak—Bengali actor
Aparna Sen—Bengali film actress
Nandana Sen—Bollywood actress, daughter of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen
Raima Sen—Bengali Film and Bollywood actress
Reema Sen- Bollywood & Kollywood actress
Rimi Sen—Bollywood actress
Riya Sen—Bollywood actress
Suchitra Sen—Bollywood and Bengali film actress
Sushmita Sen—Bollywood actress, India's first Miss Universe
Konkona Sen Sharma—Bollywood Actress
Shabnam— (Jharna Basak) —actress in Bangladeshi and Pakistani films
Sharmila Tagore—Bollywood and Bengali film actress
Ruma Guha Thakurta- actress notable works include Ganashatru, Abhijan, Palatak; wife of Kishore Kumar
Rituparna Sengupta- Bollywood and Bengali actress
Shayan Munshi- Bollywood and Bengali actor
Tannishtha Chatterjee -Bollywood and bengali actress
Joy Mukherjee -Bollywood actor


Bengali Writers:
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) - poet, novelist, essayist, nobel laureate
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (1876-1938) - novelist
Pramatha Chaudhuri - editor of Sbuj patra,one of the Greatest writer even in the pervasive era of Rabindranath Tagore.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar - a philosopher, academic, educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist of the Bengal Renaissance period.
Sukanta Bhattacharya - one of the most honoured poets of Bengali literature
Banaphool - writer of short stories
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (1894-1950) - novelist
Manik Bandopadhyay (1908-1956) - novelist, short story writer
Tarashankar Bandopadhyay (1898-1971) - novelist
Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) - Oscar winning Film Director, he was also is well known for his contributions to Bangla literature. He created two of the most famous characters in Bengali: Feluda the sleuth, and Professor Shanku the scientist.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838-1894) - novelist, essayist, penned the Indian National Song of integrity Vande Mataram
Krittibas Ojha - medieval Bengali poet,his major contribution to Bangla literature and culture was the translation of the great Indian epic Ramayana to Bangla
Chandidas - Chandidas is perhaps most well known for his strikingly modern assertion Shobar upor manush shotto tahar upore nai (Above all is human, none else)
Buddhadeb Bose (1908-1974) - poet, essayist
Kumud Ranjan Mullick - one of the most eminent poets of the Tagore era of Bengali literature.
Swarnakumari Devi - first among the women writers in Bengali to gain prominence.
Nirendranath Chakravarty (b. 1924) - poet
Haraprasad Shastri - He is most known for discovering the Charyapada, the earliest known examples of Bengali literature
Nirad C. Chaudhuri (1897-1999) - scholar, essayist
Sandipan Chattopadhyay (1933-2005) - novelist
Shakti Chattopadhyay - poet
Jibanananda Das (1899-1954) - poet
Amit Chaudhuri - currently Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia, 2002 Sahitya Akademi Award for A New World
Jhumpa Lahiri - novelist, short story writer, Pulitzer prize winner.
Ashapurna Devi (1909-1995) - novelist, short story writer
Mahasweta Devi (b. 1926) - novelist, short story writer
Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873) - poet, dramatist
Romesh Chunder Dutt
Sudhindranath Dutta (1901-1960) - poet
Sunil Gangopadhyay (b. 1934) - poet, novelist
Amitav Ghosh - novelist, essayist
Ritwik Mallik - novelist
Shankha Ghosh (b. 1932) - poet, essayist
Vidyapati - medieval poet and Sanskrit writer.
Joy Goswami (b. 1954) - poet
Ramprasad Sen - was a Shakta poet of eighteenth century Bengal. His bhakti poems, known as Ramprasadi, are usually addressed to the Hindu goddess Kali and written in Bengali
Toru Dutt - wrote in English and French, and made a mark in literature in spite of her premature death.
Ekram Ali (b. 1950} - poet
Buddhadeb Guha (b. 1936) - novelist
Mir Mosharraf Hossain (1847-1912) - novelist
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal - science fiction writer
Bharatchandra Ray - poet and song composer famous for his Mangalkavya.
Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) - poet
Abul Bashar (b. 1951) - novelist, essayist
Al Mahmud (আল মাহমুদ) - poet, novelist
Arun Mitra (1909-2000) - poet
Premendra Mitra (1904-1988)- poet, short story writer
Dhan Gopal Mukerji ধান গোপাল মুখোপাধ্যায় Dhan Gopal Mukhopaddhae - author
Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay (b. 1935) - novelist
Subimal Basak - fiction writer, one of the Hungryalists in Bengali literature
Subhas Mukhopadhyay (1919-2003) - poet
Tridib Mitra - Hungryalists,the poster-boy of the Hungry Generation Literary Movement in Bengali culture.
Narayan Gangopadhyay - author, Famous Literary character Tenida is a much loved among childrens.
Samaresh Majumdar - writer,creator of the famous Animesh Trilogy.
Taslima Nasrin (b. 1962) - novelist
Shamsur Rahman (1929-2006) - poet
Dwijendralal Ray (1863-1913) - playwright, poet
Annadashankar Roy (1905-2002) - novelist, essayist, poet
Arundhati Roy - novelist, essayist
Samir Roychoudhury (1933-) -poet, novelist, short story writer and philosopher.
Nares Chandra Sen-Gupta (1882-1964) - novelist, legal scholar.
Jasim Uddin (1903-1976) - poet, novelist, essayist
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (born Chitralekha Banerjee) - author, poet
Subhash Mukhopadhyay (poet) - One of the foremost Bengali poets of the 20th century
Bharati Mukherjee - author, educator
Mallika Sengupta - Bengali poet, feminist, and reader of Sociology from Kolkata.
Humayun Ahmed (b. 1948) - novelist
Alaol (1607-1680) - poet of medieval era
Monica Ali - (b. 1954) - novelist
Syed Mujtaba Ali (1904-1974) - novelist, essayist
Upamanyu Chatterjee - Author and administrator, notable for his work set in the milieu of the Indian Administrative Service, especially his novel English August.
Subodh Sarkar - poet,his works are translated into various Languages like French,English etc,
Narayan Sanyal - was a well-known & versatile writer of modern Bengali literature.
Sasthi Brata - Fiction writer,based in UK
Sanjeev Chattopadhyay - Bengali fiction writer.
Aroup Chatterjee - physician, author of the book Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict
Rimi B. Chatterjee - novelist, short story writer based in Calcutta won the SHARP deLong Prize for 2007.
Binoy Majumdar - poet, Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005,
Srijato - won Ananda Puroskar in 2004 for his book Udaranta Sawb Joker: All Those Flying Jokers
Tanika Gupta - playwright, appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2008.
Sake Dean Mahomed - first Indian to have written a book in the English language.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Her novel, The Mistress of Spices, was released as a film in 2005
Syed Mustafa Siraj - eminent poet, novelist, short story writer Sahitya Akademi awardee
Malay Roy Choudhury - Bengali poet and novelist who founded the "Hungryalist Movement" in the 1960s.
Arun Mitra - well known poet
Prabir Ghosh - head of the Science and Rationalists’ Association of India,author.
Moti Nandi - Probably the only Sports Centric Novelist in India.
Suniti Kumar Chatterji - linguist,educator,litterateur,accompanied Rabindranath Tagore to Malaya, Sumatra, Java, and Bali, where Tagore delivered lectures on Indian art and culture



Bengali Singers/Musicians:

Pandit Ravi Shankar- Regarded as one of the greatest musicians of the world. 3 time Grammy awards winner.
Kishore Kumar - Late playback singers of Bollywood
R.D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman - music composer (half Bengali & half tripuri)
S.D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman - famous music composer and singer and father of R.D. Burman
Sameer Bhattacharya - Lead Guitarist of the American alternative rock band Flyleaf.
Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay - Bollywood and Tollywood playback singer
Manna Dey Manna De - Bollywood playback singer
Shaan Shantanu Mukherjee - Bollywood playback singer
Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu - Bollywood playback singer
Arnab Chakrabarty - Inndian Classical musician , sarod player
Anoushka Shankar - sitar player and composer
Abhijeet Abhijeet Bhattacharya - Bollywood playback singer
Nikhil Banerjee, sitar player
Gautam Chattopadhyay - Composer, film maker, Mohiner Ghoraguli founder
Anjan Chattopadhyay, Notable Sitar Player
Anjan Dutta - Singer and musician of popular Bengali music. Also a Bengali filmmaker and actor.
Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh - legendary Tabla player and Musician
Norah Jones - pianist and singer-songwriter, Grammy award winner
Rupam Islam - Frontman of Bengali hard rock band Fossils, Bollywood Singer
Allauddin Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Vilayat Khan Bilaeet Khã - sitar maestro
Lalan Fakir, Bengali Folk Genius.
Pritam Pritam Chakraborty - Bollywood Music Composer
Runa Laila, Bangladeshi singer, equally popular in Bangladesh, India & Pakistan.
Sanjaya Malakar is an American born Bengali and Italian singer
Ruma Guha Thakurta- founder and lead singer of Calcutta Youth Choir. Also playback singer
Abbas Uddin, folk singer
Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt - Bollywood playback singer
Babul Supriyo Babul Supriyo - Bollywood playback singer
Sabina Yasmin, popular Bangladeshi playback singer
Shreya Ghoshal Shreya Ghoshal - Bollywood playback singer
Madhushree Madhushree - Bollywood playback singer
Mumzy Stranger -First Bangladeshi artist in the Mainstream music industry and working with Multi talented Producer Rishi Rich
Shantanu Moitra -Bollywood Music composer
Monali Thakur Monali Thakur -Bollywood playback singer
Suman Kalyanpur Suman Kalyanpur -Bollywood playback singer
Bappi Lahiri Bappi Lahiri -Bollywood Music Composer
Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury -Bollywood Music Composer
Sapna Mukherjee Sapna Mukherjee -Bollywood playback singer
Jolly Mukherjee Jolly Mukherjee -Bollywood playback singer
Amit Sana Amit Sana -Bollywood playback singer and Indian idol runner-up
Aarti Mukherji Aarti Mukherji -Bollywood playback singer
Palash Sen Palash Sen - singer and lead vocalist of Indian band euphoria
Anil Biswas Anil Biswas - late Bollywood Music Composer
Chitra Singh Chitra Singh - Hindi/Urdu Ghazal Singer and wife of Jagjit singh
Amit Kumar Amit Kumar - Bollywood playback singer and son of kishore kumar
Mohammed Aziz Mohammed Aziz -Bollywood playback singer

Bengali Lesson 7

Bengali Lesson 7 : The Future tense

Bengali Future tense is fairly easy. For example with the verb kora which means to do. All you do is add either bo, be or ben. Example's

Ami korbo-I shall do
tumi korbe-you will do
se korbe-he/she will do
apni/tini korben-you/he/she will do

Extreamly easy rght? :)

Here are some examples with I:
ami dekhbo- i shall see
ami shunbo-i shall hear
ami likhbo- i shall write
ami rakhbo-i shall keep
ami khabo- i shall eat
ami hobo- i shall become
ami debo- i shall give


And now some useful/fun Bengali phrases!

আপনি কোথায় থাকেন?
(Where do you live?)
আমি খুব ব্যস্ত।
(I'm very busy)

আমি আগামী সপ্তাহ পর্যন্ত থাকব।
(Will stay till next week)
অনেক দিন আপনাকে দেখিনি।
(I haven't seen you in so long)
আপনার বাবাকে আমার নমস্কার?
(What can I do for you?)
আবার দেখা হবে।
(See you again)
কী ব্যাপার?
(what's wrong?)
আমাকে বিরক্ত করবেন না।
(Do not trouble me)
চুপ করুন!
(Shut up!)

try to read the script, i will post the transliteration soon. But try to practice reading Bengali. :)