Saturday 19 January 2013

Launch of Shoptodina


বাঙালি আত্মপরিচয়ের সন্ধানে। সপ্তডিঙা। আবার ভেসে উঠেছে...

Shoptodina refers to a grand fleet of merchant ships from ancient and early medieval Bengal. “Shopto” means seven in Bengali. There are also reasons to believe that Shoptodina could have been named after Shoptogram, an ancient harbour of Bengal. “Dina”/"ডিঙা" (which is correlated with the term dinghy, but stands for a much larger boat than a dinghy), as in Shoptodina, is an Austric word, and it belongs to the language of the most ancient, earliest group of native inhabitants of Bengal. All we know is that we really don’t know how far dina/ডিঙা goes back in history. Shoptodina thus stands as a symbol for the Bengali identity as well as the global reach and spread of the Bengalis and their culture.


We welcome everyone who has a lively interest in Bengal's history and culture. We welcome Bengalis and non-Bengalis alike to experience the unique feel of Bengal.
 
Journal of Bengali Studies is henceforth managed by Shoptodina, an organisation meant for promoting Bengali identity, history, culture and community. Be a part of the Shoptodina experience. Join us. This is our site: www.shoptodina.org