Bengali Literature

Some of the world's finest short fiction has originated in and continues to flow from the cities, villages, rivers, forests and plains of Bengal. This selection features 21 of the very best stories from the region.

Welcome to my life as a pregnant Bengali lady. I went through the arranged marriage process. I met a boy, married him, then learned how to live with him in a whole new city. Life has been an adventure so far, and this might be the biggest yet. I’m going to be a mum!

As young widow Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she might be forgiven for feeling happy. Her children are almost grown, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air. But no one can foresee what will happen in the days and months that follow. For this is...

Our acerbic protagonist is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. With a new husband by her side, a new city to explore, and a set of in-laws with their own set of expectations, she's ready to embrace the next chapter of her life as a Bengali bride. They say that when you marry someone, you marry their entire family. And as she navigates her way through this new phase, she quickly learns the truth behind that statement.

The first three audiobooks in The Secret Diary series, starring the brown Bridget Jones, our acerbic heroine, will have you laughing, crying and desperate for one more chapter. From audiobook 1, The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage: A British-Bengali girl looking for Mr Right. A motley crew of men. A mum on a mission to match make and an age-old tradition with a twist. Welcome to the world of the arranged marriage. While I’m young, free and single, time is — by Bengali standards — marching on. I must meet my dream man, or someone I can grow to like, and get married.

A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way.

Welcome to Beginner's Bengali a course for those learning Bengali for the first time. Bengali, or Bangla, is a major language spoken in Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and parts of Assam. It is among the world's top languages, with over 230 million speakers. Originating from Sanskrit, Bengali has absorbed influences from Arabic, Persian, and Portuguese. This course, Beginner's Bengali, offers an accessible introduction to the language's basics.

Prepare for a laughter-filled journey through the chaos of wedding planning in The Secret Diary of a Bengali Bridezilla, a hilarious diverse romcom that will make you laugh and cry! Join our acerbic protagonist as she dives headfirst into the whirlwind of her big fat Bangladeshi wedding. With just three months to go, a guest list of 600 (including strangers she's never met), and a barrage of unsolicited opinions, she realises that finding a husband was the easy part!

His nickname is Himu. Full name is Himalaya. His father named him Himalayas as if he grew up like Himalayas - huge and broad, but not out of touch. Can be touched by hand. If so, he could have kept the name of the child The Ocean (Shamudro). The Ocean (Shamudro) is huge and wide and is touched by the hand. More than that, the shadows of the sky fall into the sea. But he kept the name Himalayas. The tough Mountains, which do not fall on the shade of the sky, but wants to touch the sky itself. Himu's father wanted Himu to be a great man, the great man who knows the absolute truth.

A fraught new(ish) mum. A toddler who doesn’t sleep. A big move. Life has a funny way of coming full circle. I couldn’t wait to leave my small neighbourhood up north, yet here we are, thinking of moving back. However, with a career in flux, older parents and in-laws that come with their own expectations, can I really leave my bubble in London to go back to all that? The latest book in the award-winning series sees our fraught heroine face new challenges as she navigates life in the sandwich generation – having a small child and older parents to take care of.

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. More than a century later, his stories still feel startlingly alive. In Selected Short Stories, one of the world's great literary voices turns his clear, compassionate...

A laugh-out-loud, tug-at-your-heartstrings tale of love, family, and freedom centered around three generations of Bengali women. Somlata has just married into the dynastic but declining Mitra family. At eighteen, she expects to settle into her role as a devout wife in this traditional...

His nickname is Himu. Full name is Himalaya. His father named him Himalayas as if he grew up like Himalayas - huge and broad, but not out of touch. Can be touched by hand. If so, he could have kept the name of the child The Ocean (Shamudro). The Ocean (Shamudro) is huge and wide and is touched by the hand. More than that, the shadows of the sky fall into the sea. But he kept the name Himalayas. The tough Mountains, which do not fall on the shade of the sky, but wants to touch the sky itself. Himu's father wanted Himu to be a great man, the great man who knows the absolute truth.

In this laugh-out-loud, heartwarming romantic comedy, our strong female protagonist—a British Bengali girl—is contemplating starting a family. But with a blossoming career and a transient life away from family, is she truly ready for the life changing journey of becoming a mum?

Nikhil is a passive landowner. His houseguest is Sandip, a headstrong anti-imperialist. Between them is Nikhil’s wife, Bimala, dutiful to her conventional husband yet drawn to the fiery independence and bold flirtations of the charismatic Sandip. As Bimala questions her role as a woman and the possibilities for her life outside marriage, the three undergo an emotional struggle that will change their lives forever—just as their country undergoes a radical upheaval of its own.

It is the funniest book by Humayun Ahmed. Humayun Ahmed is a Bengali writer. Bohubrihi is an audiobook and is a very fun book by Humayun Ahmed. Bohubrihi was also one of the most popular drama serials ever aired on Bangladesh television.

Modhanno by Humayun Ahmed has two parts, and it was published in two books. It’s not about the only historical story. This book background was in 1905. This is the longest Bangla book I have read, except for maybe Srikanta, but does not count because I was never able to finish it.

His nickname is Himu. Full name is Himalaya. His father named him Himalayas as if he grew up like Himalayas - huge and broad, but not out of touch. Can be touched by hand. If so, he could have kept the name of the child The Ocean (Shamudro). The Ocean (Shamudro) is huge and wide and is touched by the hand. More than that, the shadows of the sky fall into the sea. But he kept the name Himalayas. The tough Mountains, which do not fall on the shade of the sky, but wants to touch the sky itself. Himu's father wanted Himu to be a great man, the great man who knows the absolute truth.

The story is about a little girl with supernatural powers which has a strange and an almost impenetrable connection to the Nature. The story is about Misir Ali and him trying to find out the connection of nature with this child....

The story started in 1905 and ended around 1948 with the creation of Pakistan. According to the introduction, he had a plan for writing the third part, but obviously, we will never have the third part. Someday I wish to make a movie of this novel, and I can bet there are very few Western novels which can tell a story as deep and as inspiring as Moddhannya!