Saturday 26 March 2011

The Miracle of Bangladesh

 Hans Rosling who presents this video clip (born 27 July 1948 in Uppsala,Sweden) is a Swedish medical doctor, academic, statistician and public speaker. He is Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute and co-founder and chairman of the Gapminder Foundation,which developed the Trendalyzer software system.This software that converts international statistics into moving, interactive graphics. His lectures using Gapminder graphics to visualise world development and changes.
Have you heard about Miracle that has happened in Bangladesh over the last 40 years? No? Bangladesh has the highest population density among the worlds big countries. Today Bangladesh has more people than Russia. But the area is smaller than Florida.
So what is the Miracle?To know about the miracle watch this video clip. 

Thursday 17 March 2011

Bangla language, it's achievement and now one of the official language in Sierra Leone


Bangla speaking rigion in yellow colour

Number of Bangla Speakers : Bangla or Bengali (বাংলাpronounced bang-laa; baŋla) is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of Eastern South Asia known as Bengal , which comprises present day Bangladesh . Bangla is the mother tongue of the people of   Bangladesh .About 160 million people live now in Bangladesh. The Indian states West Bengal, Tripura, Assam-mainly southern Assam and other places of India also people speak in Bangla as their mother tongue . It is even a major language in the Indian union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands(Bengali speakers make up the majority in Neil Island and Havelock Island) due to lot of settlement post 1947 migration. Now a days we can count the Bangla speaking population in India on an average 90  million .Outside Bangladesh and India, Bangla is spoken in Nepal by over 27000 people and to a lesser degree in Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates,South Korea ,the United Kingdom,Canada and the USA .Across all countries where it is spoken an additional 5 million people speak Bangla as a second language. With nearly 255 million total speakers, Bangla is one of the most spoken language – ranking sixth (efter Mandarin, Spanish, English, Hindi and Arabic) in the world.

Bangla alphabets
 Bangla Script Uses in other Languages : The Bangla script has particularly close historical relationships with the Assamese script.With a few small modifications Bangla script is also used for writing Assamese.Other related languages in the region also make use of the Bangla alphabet. Meithei (Manipuri),a Sino-Tibetan language used in the Indian state of Monipur, was written in the Bangla alphasyllabary for centuries, until the 1980s, when Meetei Mayek (the Meithei alphasyllabary)returned to daily usage. For centuties, the Sylheti language used a different script, based on the Devanagari alphasyllabary. This script called Syiheti Nagori, has now fallen out of use, as most speakers of Sylheti have adopted the Bangla script .Even in Tripura(Indian States) another major language Tripuri also known as Kak- Barak, belongs to the Tibeto-Burman group of languages(root can be traced from Sino-Tibetan speech family) does not possess any writing script. This language also uses the Bangla script for writing.
Spread of Bangla, Official Status and achievement : Bangla is the national and official language of Bangladesh. Bangla is also one of the 23 national languages recognized by the Republic of India. It is the official language of the state of West Bengal and co-official language of Tripura, Assam which has three predominantly Sylheti speaking districts – Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi of southern Assam and the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

File:Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.jpg
President Alhaj Ahmed Tejan Kabbah

It is also remarkable that the government of Sierra Leone  declared Bangla as one of the several official languages in the country. On the 12th December, 2002 the President of Sierra Leone Alhaj Ahmed Tejan Kabbah(born February 16, 1932 ;3rd President of Sierra Leone, serving from 1996 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2007. He worked for the United Nations Development Programme and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992.) announced this decision while inaugurating a 54 km long rebilt road. This road was reconstructed by the engineering corp of Bangladesh Army – Bangladeshi peacekeepers in the West African country. So Bangla was made an official language of Sierra Leone in order to honor the Bangladeshi peacekeeping force from the United Nations stationed there.
 
Language movement martyrs sculpture
When from 1947 to 1971 Bangladesh and Pakistan were one nation(and were called East and West Pakistan), the central government tried to establish Urdu(spoken in West Pakistan)as sole national language.On February 21,1952,protesting students and activists were fired upon by military and police in Dhaka University and several students and activists were killed. But the government had to give in after massive protests and gave Bangla official status.

 
Language martyrs monument-Shaheed Minar
In 1999,UNESCO decided to celebrate every 21 February as International Mother Language Day in recognition of the deaths of the language martyrs.
And at last I like to say that Rabindranath Tagore(1861-1941), the first Asian author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature was a Bangali poet and writer, wrote the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh in Bangla.

S:en.wikipedia.org;mybengali.com;joutho.wikidot.com;bangladeshcanadaandbeyond.blogspot.com; voanews.com(27-12-2002);bangalnama.wordpress.com/2008/09


Tuesday 15 March 2011

Jambul(Jaam/Jam/Kalojaam) is one of the desirable summer fruit in Bangladesh

Ripe Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)

Ripe Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)


Green and ripe Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)

 Jamblang/Jambula or Black plum(Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) in the tree


Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) leaves


 Jamblang/Jambula or Black plum(Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)hanging in the tree

 Green and ripeDuhat Plum,Java Plum or Portuguese Plum(Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)


 Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) flowers

Blooming Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) flowers

Yielding Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)and flowers

Green young Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) fruits

Green and mature Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) with leaves

Ripe Duhat Plum,Java Plum or Portuguese Plum(Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)


Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) seeds


Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) tree bark

Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) tree trunk and leaves


A line of Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) trees


A short size Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam) tree

A vendor on a roadside with Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)
Ripe Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan (Jam/Jaam /Kalojaam)























Jambul/Jamun or Jambolan is known as  Jaam /Kalojaam in Bangladesh. This fruit is also known as Jamblang, Jambula, Black Plum, Damson Plum, Duhat Plum, Jambolan Plum,Java Plum or Portuguese Plum. Jambul/Jamun Or Jambolan (Jaam/Kalojaam) is  an evergreen tropical tree. It is native to Bangladesh, India and Indonesia region. It is also grown in other areas of southern Asia including Myanmar and Afghanistan. The word 'Jambul' is sometimes mistranslated as 'Blackberry', which is a different fruit. Its scientific name is Syzygium cumini and belongs to family Myrtaceae.
The tree was also introduced to Florida, USA in 1911, and is also now commonly planted in Suriname. In Brazil, where it was introduced from India during Portuguese colonisation, it has spread out in the wild in some places also. The various names for this fruit are (in Java) plum, jambul, jamun, jaman, black plum, Indian blackberry, jambol, doowet and jambolan.
According to Hindu tradition, Rama subsisted on the fruit in the forest for 14 years during his exile from Ayodhya. Because of this, many Hindus regard Jambul as a 'fruit of the gods'. In Hindu mythology Lord Krishna has been described as having skin the color of Jambul. The leaves are used in India as marriage pendals.
A fairly fast growing species, in native conditions it can reach heights of up to 25m and can live more than 100 years. Its dense foliage provides shade and is grown just for its ornamental value. Large oblong leaves are smooth, glossy, with a turpentine smell. Leaves are broad-tipped, opposite, shiny and leathery, ellipitic, 6 to 15 cm long. The Jamun tree starts flowering in March-April. The fragrant flowers of Jamun are small, nearly 5 millimetres in diameter. This is followed by the fruit which appears in May-June and resembles a large berry. The berry is oblongovoid and 1 to 2 cm long. It is green when just appearing, pink when as it matures, and shining crimson black when fully ripe. Jamun fruit is a mixture of sweet, slightly sub acid spicy flavour that stands out even after eaten since it turns the tongue into purple color. Its timber that is the wood of this tree is strong and water resistant. The fruit is universally accepted to be very good for medicinal purposes, especially diabetics. The seed is also used in various alternative healing systems like Ayurveda,  Unani and Chinese medicine for digestive ailments. The leaves and bark are used for controlling blood pressure and gingivitis.Wien and vinegar are also made from the fruit. The flowers have abundant nectar, and the honey is of fine quality. The essential oil distilled from the leaves is used to scent soap and is blended with other materials in making inexpensive perfume.
All parts of the java plum can be used medicinally and it has a long tradition in alternative medicine.The bark has anti-inflammatory activity and is used In India for anemia, the bark and seed for diabetes which reduce the blood sugar level quickly, the fruit for dysentery and leave's juice for gingivitis (bleeding gums).In the Philippines and Suriname wine is made from the fermented fruit.In Surinam also, the whole leaves are used by women as a feminine sitz-bath to shrink the vagina after giving birth and getting rid of mucus and odors. This bath from the Jamun leaves is also used at any other time to shrink the vagina. This gives the ultimate in sexual pleasure for both partners .
The tree occurs in the tropical and sub-tropical climates under a wide range of environmental conditions and can thrive on a variety of soils. Jambul grows easy in sub-tropics and tolerates cooler winters. It prospers on river banks and has been known to withstand prolonged flooding, yet it is tolerant of drought as well. Dry weather is even more desirable during the flowering and fruiting periods. The seedlings starts fruiting in 4-7 years.

The fruit has a high source in vitamin A and vitamin C, and has received recognition in folk medicine and in the pharmaceutical trade. The seeds, leaves and bark are also used in various alternative healing systems like Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.

S:  en.wikipedia.org; toptropicals.com; wonderherbs.org/syz.html; genuineaid.com

Thursday 3 March 2011

Bangladesh has succeeded to save the world’s last one wild Tali Palm tree

Corypha taliera is a species of palm, native to Bangladesh region of South Asia. It is known as Tali Palm in Bangladesh. There was one last plant left of this extinct species, which was protected and grew in the scrub jungal on the Dhaka University campus, Bangladesh. The Tali Palm plant was discovered in the 1950s growing in the scrub jungle on the Dhaka University campus, Bangladesh. Professor Md. Salar Khan from the Department of Botany,Dhaka University, was first to identify a Tali Palm at the premises of the Dhaka University in 1950. He failed to identify in which species group  belongs to this palm tree. But he could understand that the plant may be a rare species. He took steps and appealed to the higher authority to save that plant and then subsequently protected in what became the enclosure of the residential quarters of the Pro Vice-Chancellor. In addition this species of tree was originally discovered in 1919 by William Roxburgh and considered endemic to Bangladesh.  
Corypha taliera or Tali Palm plant disappeared as it only flowers and bears fruit once its life and then dies.Tali Palm grows for say 80 years without producing a flower, then upon coming of age the flower grows out of the top of the tree, the leaves die and fall off leaving a massive terminal panicle flower atop the massive trunk. Corypha taliara or Tali Palm holds two world records which it shares with Corypha umbraculifera, the largest flower structure among flowering plants and the largest palmate leaf which is 6 meter(20 ft)wide.
The International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources(IUCN) classified Tali Palm plant on its Red List, as being ‘’extinct in the wild’’. No other specimen of Corypha taliera or Tali Palm Tree has been found in the wild in almost 30 years. In 1979, a Tali Palm tree , located in the Birbhum district of West Bengal in a village near Shantiniketan, had begun flowering. The locals fearing that it was a ‘’ghost palm tree’’ due to its horn-like flowers. Botanist Shamal Kumar Basu tried to motivate local people but failed. Local fearful people chopped it down before the flower could set seed. Then when he visited Bangladesh in 2001, he saw the Tali Palm treein the Dhaka University campus and identified it as the last one wild Tali Palm species.



When the 10 meter high Tali Palm tree at Dhaka University flowered in January 2010, students and academics stepped up their efforts to preserve the species with Arboriculture Department, collected seeds and produced  up to 500 samplings. University authorities had already distributed some plants aged over three months, in July 2010, among forest and arboriculture department of the government and other institutions.
Now we have good hopes of increasing the population and re-planting back of the Tali Palm plant into the wild.
S :The Khaleej Times, July 2010 ;The Daily Star, July 20,2010;Daily Prothom Alo, November 10 ,2008; Nature-Environment.com,October 21,2010;Rezowan.wordpress.com ;Wikipedia.org ;Trebrown.com/articles/blog