Not once in my life before the year 2020 had I thought of recording audiobooks, and that too in Bengali. Having been educated in the English-medium school system of Bangladesh, my exposure to Bengali literature was quite limited, limited to works of Humayun Ahmed and Satyajit Ray, Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Kakababu series, and Rakib Hasan’s Tin Goyenda books, I confess. And although I tried to blog in Bengali in the past, I could not carry on, because my vocabulary did not flow smoothly. I was a person who lacked confidence in her spoken and written Bengali; I was also under the impression that I could never undertake a Bengali-language project and become successful. But life had its own plans for me.
We do not know what life has in store for us. Like I never thought I would one day run a YouTube channel that targets a niche audience, I also never thought before 2020 that I would bear witness to a pandemic and live under a stay-at-home situation for more than a year. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, had its silver linings; for instance, it helped people like me discover our hidden talents, skills that we did not know we had!
Background story
Upon request of a friend, I hosted a series of Facebook webinars on health and wellness during the pandemic, where Bangladeshi-born healthcare professionals working in different parts of the world joined as guests. After hosting the first webinar, I began receiving messages on Facebook from friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers. They appreciated my voice and Bengali diction, although I must admit that I myself was not very proud of either - I thought I should have and could have done better. However, it was those messages infused with warmth and kindness which prompted me to start something where I could use both my voice and my first language: Golpo Paather Ashor was born.
Before launching the channel, I did my own research and found out that audiobooks are enjoyed by young and old alike. In a world where I think people read books much less than they used to, there are still people out there who love literature as much as the older generations did. However, because we live in a fast-paced world, many of us cannot make time to actually sit down and read a book. Audiobooks are a godsend in this regard, because they allow bookworms to enjoy books even when they are on the go or doing other tasks!
I also learned that there are middle-aged and senior men and women who once loved to read and but cannot read anymore because of age-related health issues; poor eyesight is the number one reason why they do not read for pleasure anymore. However, the tech-savvy members of this demographic group regularly listen to audiobooks on YouTube! Let me share some numbers to put things in perspective: 15% of my listeners are between 55 and 64 years of age and 14% percent are over the age of 65.
Over the past couple of years, I have come to know senior citizens from Bangladesh and West Bengal who regularly tune in to my channel and leave heartfelt comments. They even share personal stories and opinions related to the Bengali novel they are at present enjoying on my channel. For instance, last year, when I was recording Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Purba-Pashchim, an acclaimed historical fiction set against the backdrop of Partition of India in 1947, its aftermath, and the eventual birth of Bangladesh, a valued senior listener named Purnendu Chandra from West Bengal shared his and family’s experiences of those tumultuous decades from time to time. His insights enriched my little channel every day.
It is worth mentioning that it took me six-and-a-half months to finish narrating Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Purba-Pashchim, and the day I recorded the last chapter, I felt that I had really done something that I could be proud of. Just a month before I finished recording Purba-Pashchim, however, I lost my voice to laryngitis. The overuse of my voice day after day to record a novel as massive as Purba-Pashchim left me voiceless for a week!
The purpose of the channel
My prime objective behind creating a Bengali audiobook channel was to produce a virtual library of Bengali books for people living now and the generations to come. It feels so surreal to think about the day when I will not be here, but a Bengali speaker living somewhere in this world will be tuning in to my channel to listen to a Bengali story in my voice!
Golpo Paather Ashor targets a niche audience, people who genuinely delight in the richness of Bengali literary works and are ready to spend their time to listen to them. The channel is growing organically, purely with the love and support from Bengali speakers living in Bangladesh and India. The channel also has Bengali-speaking listeners residing in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, various European countries and the Middle East.
Personal development
Although I narrate much better than when I first started, I still have “miles to go before I sleep.”There are times when I think of re-recording the stories which I recorded two years ago, because I know I can do a far better job today and give my listeners a pleasanter experience. To improve my Bengali diction, I carefully listen to Bengali speakers, who speak well. I am also not shy to seek help from friends when I do not know the correct pronunciation of a Bengali word. The more I read and record, the more I tell myself, “I wish I had started earlier!”
I would have probably missed out on the plethora of Bengali literary works, if I had not started this small-scale creative endeavour of mine. Golpo Paather Ashor pushes me every day to explore and discover Bengali literature, its wealth and breadth.
My exploration of Bengali literature and my efforts to preserve it in my own little way has helped me reconnect with the language, history, culture, and heritage of my native land. It has made it possible for me to reestablish my roots on foreign soil. As a Bangladeshi American, my exploration of Bengali literature has helped me better understand the cultural idea of “salad bowl.” Salad bowl is a metaphorical term used to describe a multicultural society. Similar to a salad bowl, where every ingredient is identifiable, in a multicultural society, people of different cultures and ethnicities coexist, but maintain their own unique characteristics.
Had I not explored Bengali literature, I would have missed out on Tarapada Roy’s satirical sense of humour; Ashapurna Devi’s strong female protagonists; Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s fictional detective Byomkesh a.k.a. the truth seeker; Satyajit Ray’s Feluda and Professor Shonku; Syed Mujtaba Ali’s “Ramya Rachana” and his incredible life and experiences as a writer, journalist, and traveller.
Did reading Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Purba-Pashchim and Shei Shomoy; Sankar’s Chowringhee; Abu Ishaque’s Surja-Dighal Bari; Akhteruzzaman Elias’s Chilekothar Sepai; Alat Chakra, Omkar, and Maranbilash by Ahmed Sofa; Kothao Keu Nei, Shongkhonil Karagar, and Nondito Noroke by Humayun Ahmed; Hajar Bochhor Dhore and Borof Gola Nodi by Zahir Raihan; Upomohadesh by Al Mahmud, or Lalsalu by Syed Waliullah increase my understanding of the world around me and the people living in it? Yes, most certainly.
To know who you are and how you came to be who you are, flipping through the pages of your land’s literary works in your native language is imperative. If you can’t find the time to read, then listen; there are dozens of quality Bengali audiobook channels on YouTube, all waiting to guide you in your journey through the rich and captivating landscape of Bengali literature.
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