#integration
ESSAY
Lives in Engelberg. Raising two beautiful daughters and pursuing painting, knitting and crochet as hobby. Contact: ligia.tuk@gmail.com
Lives in Engelberg. Helps Lígia (see above) to run the family. Fools around with computers in free time. Contact: razorpeak@gmail.com
The Portuguese - Bengali Bridge Aquas do Gange, e a terra de Bengala Fertil de sort que outra não lhe iguala (by Ganges rolled, and here the land Bengal is rich in sort her wealth exceedeth all) — Camões, Os Lusiadas, Canto VII, Stanza XX1 (1)
Luís Vaz de Camões (born 1524 Portugal, died 10 June 1580) arrived on board the Portuguese ship São Bento in the year 1553 in Goa and lived in different cities over the years. His work, the “Os Lusiadas” is the first recorded poetic description of India and Bengal in the Portuguese language. Through trade, through cotton, through spices, through sugar and through poetry, there once existed a bridge which connected Portugal with Bengal. A History of the Portuguese in Bengal In the year 1518, (a couple of decades after the arrival of Vasco da Gama in Calicut in 1498) explorer João da Silveira was the first Portuguese (and indeed, the first European) to reach Bengal. Alongside their regular trade in indigo (Neel) and cotton, the Portuguese joined the then Nawab of Bengal in his fight against Sher Khan. This alliance marked the beginning of European involvement in Indian politics. In 1580, the Portuguese captain António Tavarez was the first to receive consent from Emperor Akbar to freely choose a spot in Bengal and establish a trading post on the banks of the Hooghly River, 25 miles upstream from the site of present-day Kolkata. In the end, Bengal had three Portuguese trading points (ports). These were; Saptagram, Porto Pequeno or Small Port; Chittagong (Chattagram), Porto
Grande or Great Port; Ugolim (Hoogly) and Bandel at Chandannagar. In 1599, the Portuguese constructed the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário (commonly known as Bandel Church) at Bandel, Chandannagar. It was rebuilt in 1660 after its destruction during the attack by the Moors in 1632. In Ugolim (Hoogly) the Portuguese also established a hospital, a Casa da Misericórdia (institution of charity) and a school. The Spoken Word: Bengali and Portuguese The Portuguese missionary, Manuel Da Assunpção wrote the first Bengali -Portuguese grammar text in 1743. It was called the ‘Vocabulário em idioma Bengalla, e Portuguez’; it was printed in Latin, in Lisbon. The Portuguese language remained a common language of communication (lingua franca) in Bengal until the late 18th century until it was slowly replaced by English. As a result of their long, lived experience of each other, both languages now have many words in common. You can see some of this in the table below.
Bengali
Meaning
Portuguese
Bengali
Meaning
Portuguese
Bengali
Meaning
Portuguese
almari
closet
armário
baranda
verandah
varanda
anarôs
pineapple
ananás
istiri
to iron
estirar
balti
Bucket
balde
kaju
cashew
caju
ispat
steel
espada
botam
button
botão
kôpi
cauliflower
couve
kamij
shirt
camisa
saban
soap
sabão
pepe
papaya
papaia
gamla
basket
gamela
kedara
chair
cadeira
girja
church
igreja
chabi
key
chave
shaya
skirt
saia
sagu
sago
sagu
janala
window
janela
ata
custard
prego
ingrej
english
inglês
fita
Lace ribbon
fita
pau
sliced bread
pão
padri
Catholic priest
padre
mej
table
mesa
peyara
guava
pera
krush
cross
cruz
SWISSPUJA PATRIKA 2016
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