Magic Words

When we first started our Bangla lessons two weeks ago, I assumed communication would be the primary benefit. However, at least up to this point, most everyone I’ve interacted with knows enough English to facilitate communication and if they don’t, there’s always someone nearby eager to help translate my words or my accent. While I’m very much looking forward to being able to communicate in Bangla, so far I think the primary benefit of learning to speak the language is not the exchange of information but the connections that are formed with people. When I was going shopping for a kurta (long tunic) on Wednesday and described one of the pieces the saleswoman showed me as shundor (pretty), her eyes lit up and she started giggling. We started speaking to each other in broken English and broken Bangla as she asked about what brought me to Kolkata and as I asked her for fashion advice. Earlier that night, a similar exchange happened at an amazing Bengali restaurant, Bhojohori Manna. There, the staff were eager to recommend dishes, happy to de-shell the chingri (jumbo prawns), and all hoped we would abar achen (come again). As with the saleswoman, once we started using Bangla, their faces lit up and they started asking us questions and teaching us words. They were such amazing interactions and they’ve made me even more determined to become conversant in Bangla before I leave. If just a few words could have such a huge effect, imagine what a complete sentence could do!