World in Other Words: Bengali Readings

Subrata Kumar Das, Bhajan Sarker, Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik, Akhtar Hossain, Shabbeedur Shuja, Sreyoshi Bose Datta and Badal Ghosh

World in Other Words: Bengali Readings

Subrata Kumar Das, Bhajan Sarker, Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik, Akhtar Hossain, Shabbeedur Shuja, Sreyoshi Bose Datta and Badal Ghosh

3:30pm

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Stage in the Park, October 1 at 3:30pm ET.

Meet storytellers from unique communities around the world and across the local neighbourhoods of Toronto in the World in Other Words. With a population of more than 100,000 Bengalis from Bangladesh, and a large Bengali diaspora from India, the language was one of the few that grew in usage by forty percent in Canada, according to the 2011 census. Hosted by Subrata Kumar Das, hear members of the Bengali writing community in Canada, including Bhajan Sarker, Akhtar Hossain, Shabbeedur Shuja, Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik, Sreyoshi Bose Datta and Badal Ghosh, read their work in English and Bengali.

This is a free outdoor event. Find the venue on the #FestofAuthors22 map here.

Stage in the Park, October 1 at 3:30pm ET.

Meet storytellers from unique communities around the world and across the local neighbourhoods of Toronto in the World in Other Words. With a population of more than 100,000 Bengalis from Bangladesh, and a large Bengali diaspora from India, the language was one of the few that grew in usage by forty percent in Canada, according to the 2011 census. Hosted by Subrata Kumar Das, hear members of the Bengali writing community in Canada, including Bhajan Sarker, Akhtar Hossain, Shabbeedur Shuja, Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik, Sreyoshi Bose Datta and Badal Ghosh, read their work in English and Bengali.

This is a free outdoor event. Find the venue on the #FestofAuthors22 map here.

Featured Authors

Subrata Kumar Das
Subrata Kumar Das, an immigrant in Canada since 2013, is an author and curator. A member of the Writers’ Union of Canada and Literary Translators Association of Canada, Subrata has 29 books to his credit. Subrata’s Bengali book on CanLit has been hugely acclaimed by the Bengali literature-lovers living in Canada and Bangladesh. The initiator of Bangladeshi Novels (bdnovels.org), the first website on Bengali literature in 2003, Subrata is the recipient of Nalanda Best Canadian Bengali Author Award at Canadian South Asian Literary Festival 2023 and Gayatri GaMarsh Memorial Award in 2018. He was shortlisted as Best Canadian Immigrant Award in 2021.

Read more about Subrata Kumar Das

Bhajan Sarker
Bhajan Sarker, a Bengali author, was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. After studying at Terasree Kali Narayan Institution, Dhaka College, Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET), and Windsor University, Bhajan Sarker is now a Professional Engineer in Canada and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. Although he started writing with poetry, Bhajan Sarker is now well-known as a fiction writer and essayist. The number of published books are Bivaktir Satkahan (Essay), Canvas e Behular Jol (Poetry), Banshee Pravase (Essay), Red Indian der Sathe Bosobas (Essay) and Chandramukhi Janala  (A Novel on  Bangladesh Liberation War and Naxalite Movement).

Read more about Bhajan Sarker

Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik
Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik has always lived in a cloud of creativity. Although her academic degrees are in Architecture and Computer Science Engineering, she holds an immense passion for creative writing. At the age of seventeen, Debanjana was selected nationally by the Poetry Society Of India, Delhi, as one of the youth poets. She has had many of her write-ups, stories, and poems published in acclaimed newspapers and magazines. Her poetry books include Canvas of Dreams and Primitive Poems of New Eve. Her book Flying Letters from Berkshire is a compilation of letters based on real-life experiences about residing in England.

Read more about Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik

Akhtar Hossain
Akhtar Hossain is a writer, drama director, and columnist. His recent novel is based on the true story of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Akhtar has written and directed 13 stage plays. They were all staged in Canada. Akhtar was involved in television and radio program as a child artist. His first short story was published in the weekly Bichitra, the most popular weekly magazine in Bangladesh during the 1970s and 1980s. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science and a Master of Social Science from Dhaka University. Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh Akhtar Hossain has been in Canada since 1987.

Read more about Akhtar Hossain

Shabbeedur Shuja
Shabbeedur Shuja was born and raised in Bangladesh and has been writing since his teenage years. His first book of fiction Nilee was published in Bengali when he was nineteen. Since then he has written over two dozen novels in Bengali. He traveled to the USA in the early 90s for higher education and later emigrated to Canada. Currently, he edits a bilingual literary magazine Dhaboman and writes primarily in English (short stories, essays, screenplays, translations) and has received one award for a screenplay (Royal Reel). His notable Bengali novels are Damama, Nishith Kuhu, Chadni, Mohnay Dariye, Jujuba, Shukhe dukhe Canada.

Read more about Shabbeedur Shuja

Sreyoshi Bose Datta
Sreyoshi Bose Datta, a copy editor by profession, has a master’s degree in English literature and language from Jadavpur University, India, and University of Windsor, Canada. She is a supporter and advocate of language rights and language equity in Canada and elsewhere. Sreyoshi is an interpreter and translator in Canada, working with community partners to ensure limited English speakers’ access to vital information related to healthcare, education, legal rights, etc. Passionate about translations of literary and research-based work, she believes that translation is an important tool in opening up the minds of readers to new knowledge and experiences.

Read more about Sreyoshi Bose Datta

Badal Ghosh
Badal Ghosh was born in Bangladesh in 1966 and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Marketing. He also completed advanced studies in Digital Marketing Management from UofT. Now he is teaching at a renowned College in Toronto. Badal has published more than 20 research articles in different research Journals, more than 100 creative articles and 1000 poems/rhymes in contemporary collections and magazines. He started his scholarly activities since 1985. A few of his major books are titled Trivujh Annonde Vhashi, Chhanda Gantha Onak Kotha, Akkerturare Chhara and Jhalmolo Rudduray.

Read more about Badal Ghosh

3:30pm

Saturday, October 1

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