An Ode to Bengali Second Paper
Bengali literature, which is as rich as literature could possibly get, has always been a favourite of mine. From the emotions of Tagore to the mysteries of Feluda, the ideas around which the works have revolved are commendable.
From our roots, as we deviate to school and Bengali becomes a tedious subject, a drastic change takes away some of the love. To me, Bengali second paper has been one of those tragedies. During school, it was always the exam I dreaded every term. Even now, though I do not remember the last time I sat for an exam in Bengali, the nightmares of class six still haunt me.
Every time the syllabus was handed out, I would feel the shivers run down my spine seeing the magnitude of words I had to memorise. Pages after pages, my already faltered memory had to slurp down words I never understood the meaning of. My sixth grader self questioned the need for the mass of jaw breaking words. However, once the pressure was lifted, it was not so difficult to realise that the paper was something that now represents the gravity of our language.
When it came down to the essay, the curricula would always have a rigid format for the chunk of writing – much like a jigsaw puzzle, only that the pieces had to be forced into a definite space. The essay would have to have the definite introduction, description and conclusion — a conventional format that has been around for an awfully long stretch of time. The topics were worn out, and repetition of similar topics gave off the aura that Bengali was limited to the contents of the book.
Everything we gobbled up the night before the exam was forgotten once the paper was submitted. However, I still remember the chanting of the memorised essay that would go on outside the exam hall, as nervous students tried to remember an entire page of thesis on a farm animal.
Nonetheless, Bengali second paper has been all about the usage of grammar and enriching our speech or writing. Standing at the observer's end when I see my juniors committing the same mistakes that I made, it all takes a toll. We were never asked to write something off of our own accord – it was all a point of getting through the term, making it a burden altogether.
And as redundant as it may seem even now, Bengali second paper was always in the bad light. With works like "Golpoguchho" that could make a reader cry because of the depths that may seem unapproachable to some, it is still part of a glorious collection of literature that needs some enthusiasm and a hint of ease. As for a reader, I learned that what matters is trying to incorporate the beauty of the language in the words that we use. And in the end, it all becomes a breeze because our native tongue is still the mode of speech whose familiarity is unparalleled.
Zarin Rezwana is a weird potato, trying to be a French fry. Send help, or send ketchup at riditah4@gmail.com