There are lots of things that Bangladeshi people are proud of and ‘Earning their own mother tongue’ is surely one of the top ones. Because Bangladesh – the only country on the world map to have fought for its own language and sacrificed their blood to make it their own.
Feeling proud? You should be .
Our country’s history, heritage and culture is built on this very language. However, for a country that has shed blood to speak its own mother tongue, the increased exposure to neighboring and western cultures have thistorted the way we speak Bengali in general.
Addressing this current emergency of reviving the Bengali in Bangladeshi people once again, Ispahani Mirzapore Tea- the leading tea brand of Bangladesh organized a national competition named ‘Banglabid’. Ispahani stated their mission very clearly through a very strong message delivered by their campaign theme. Have a look-
There has been a growing outcry amongst many Bengali laureates about glaring spelling errors present on books and official documentations and the youth growing detached from the language. Generation Z is born and brought up by staring for hours at end at glowing screens. English is the language they are most exposed to in these social platforms. In some cases, words like “pera”, “joss” and “pinik” are invented by the urban youth. On TV, kids calmly watch Doraemon speak in Hindi or English.
Ispahani Mirzapore Banglabid was a platform that was formed to revive the Bengali in us and kick start the process of speaking correct Bengali language. The aim of the campaign was to revitalize the young generation to speak, write and use correct Bengali in their daily lives. It was an att to stop the growing deformation of our beloved language.The result is a country with a very young population with minimal exposure to its own mother language.
TVCs promoting the show highlighted key points that must have made viewers wonder if they speak the correct form of Bengali or not. In one of the TVCs, a boy asks his father if “Khati gorur dudh” meant that the “goru” was “khati” or the “dudh”. Concepts of the TVCs, taken from daily life, are thought-provoking.
Banglabid was embraced by the audience in millions. It received great viewership and was showered with plaudits by newspapers across the nation. The success of the show was crucial because it meant that people from all walks of life including the parents of the children were stimulated by the show and encouraged to push their young ones to speak correct Bengali. It also put the issue into perspective for the mothers who are often glued to Hindi serials on TV.
Though Ispahani has done a remarkable job in creating awareness about the current negligence towards Bengali but the real success will only come when the campaign is sustained and the youth is truly inspired to use correct Bengali and be proud of it. Here’s wishing more campaigns like Banglabid that revives the Bengali in us.
Let us know what you think about the campaign and comment bellow.
