International Mother Language Day honors world languages
#EkushiFebruary #MotherLanguageDay #LanguageForward #Bengali #Bangla
In 1999, the United Nations recognized February 21 as International Mother Language Day, also a memorial day in Bangladesh, to commemorate world languages.
According to the University of Washington, Bangla is spoken by 250 million people. It is now one of the top 10 languages spoken in the world.
In this issue of Saa Nasta learn about International Mother Language Day, a Bangladeshi-owned cookie company, and find a recipe for decadent brownies.
If you’re new to Saa Nasta Newsletter, here you’ll find stories and recipes of Bangladeshi food culture. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @thesaanasta. Email tips to thesaanasta@gmail.com or tag #SaaNasta.
Bengali Language Movement Creates Global Movement
International Mother Language Day
by Nargis Hakim Rahman
In 1947 the British split India into religious lines, sending Muslims to Pakistan and leaving Hindus in India. Today’s Bangladeshis, who were religiously Muslim were part of East Pakistan. Although they shared the same religion, Bangladeshis, also known as Bengalis did not have cultural or linguistic similarities to West Pakistanis - today’s Pakistan.
East Pakistanis were told they must speak Urdu only, leading to protests at Dhaka University on Feb. 21, 1952.
Adwity Borna who grew up in Bangladesh said, “At a point they declared, no one could speak Bangla! Even though Bengali couldn’t speak any other language besides Bangla. They forcefully implemented the rule that everybody has to speak Urdu. They started to punish/ torture people for speaking Bangla.”
At least five people died during the protests, and many more afterward. The movement gradually built momentum, leading to the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.
In Bangladesh, people gather at the Shahid Minar (Martyr Monument) to commemorate the sacrifice of those who died for their language on February 21, also known as “Ekushi February.”
Borna says Bangladesh was created due to honoring culture and language.
“There is only one nation in the whole world that gave their lives for language - fought for their language. And, there is only one nation that became a country because of their language!,” she says.
Borna remembers practicing songs for the commemoration at 4-years-old before she could fully comprehend the occasion. She and her friends went to practice for the “prohabat peri,” a morning march in which they were wearing black-and-white, walking barefoot and carrying fresh flowers while they sang, “Amar bhai er rokte rangano ekushe February ami ki bhulite pari,” which translates to, “How can I forget 21st February, soaked with my brother’s blood?” and other songs, she says.
“Even though the 4-years-old girl couldn’t fully comprehend the whole thing, but she realized that she felt special about what they were doing, it was bigger than she could imagine,” she says.
Afterward, she went to school where her parents, a warden and teacher, created a makeshift monument. They placed the flowers at the monument. “That little girl’s eyes got teary. She felt the sorrow - joy - respect and responsibility. After forty years still, she feels the same way she felt when she was four,” she says.
This is how many Bangladeshis show their love, respect, and mourning for the language martyrs she says.
In 1999 the United Nations declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day in honor of the Bengali Language Movement and, “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world.”
In Hamtramck, Mich., part of the third-largest concentration of Bangladeshis in the United States, officials hold an annual ceremony in front of the City Hall with local community leaders to commemorate the day.
Hamtramck City Council Member Nayeem Choudhury said the city is not doing an in-person event due to the pandemic. The City of Hamtramck issued a proclamation to observe Mother Language Day.
Asha Mohamood Noor, Somali Community Activist, says Somalis use this day to educate people about the Somali language and culture, and the Bengali Langauge Movement.
“Language is so crucial to Somali culture and identity. We’re often called the land of poets, but I believe we’re more than that. We embody poetry and storytelling as a form of communication, and history, and cultural preservation. So this day is a day many Somalis host a program in their city to commentate,” she says.
“Usually, Mother Language Day programs will have a lecture on the history of Somali languages and dialects, with poetry and storytelling performances, as well as plays often written and performed by the youth to encourage a connection to the language. There are cultural items and artifacts displayed as well.”
Noor says when she hosts the program she includes history and literature, and “its roots in the Bengali struggle for language recognition, and the Bengali Language Movement.”
Learn more here.
** This story was updated 2/19/2021 at 12:30 p.m. to reflect how Ekushi February is celebrated from Adwity Borna’s experiences. **
Community News
Ben Carson High School senior Mahbuba Sumiya receives a full-ride to Harvard. Sumiya says she’s happy about the scholarship. She’s waiting to hear back from other college choices before making a decision. (Fox 2) Read her guest column for Model D about completing school virtually during a pandemic.
Rising Voices of Asian American Families is hosting a virtual event to commemorate International Mother Language Day Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. There will be in-language readings, storytelling, and a discussion about heritage. Register: http://bit.ly/RisingVoicesIMLD
Biskoot & Co. pays homage to Bengali language and tea time
During the pandemic Rukia Ali and Sanjida Uddin were making biskoot, cookies usually eaten with saa or tea. The duo made so much at home that they were giving it away, taking it to dawaths or dinner parties, and sharing them with people if they came over.
“We were cooking and baking so much,” says Ali. “During Eid Al-Adha, we made little goodie bags.”
Ali says family and friends encouraged them to sell their product.
They were inspired to open a homemade cookie company called Biskoot & Co. Bangladeshis usually refer to cookies as “biskoot.” Ali and Uddin built their brand around the household name.
Biskoot & Co. launched on Instagram in October 2020 with a fall flavors menu for cookies that ship nationwide. Flavors included maple, cinnamon brown sugar, and butter pecan.
“When we started we didn’t even come up with the flavors. The day we came out with it we made p the flavors on the spot,” says Uddin.
Building on that model, they later came out with a winter flavors menu.
Ali says they were blown away from the response from customers.
She says during the first week of delivering orders locally, an older father opened the door at one home. His daughter told him that their company’s name is Biskoot. She later said to Ali, “My father was so happy to see young Bengali children in the community doing this and the name was so cool.”
“It lit up my day that an older person said that,” says Ali.
Uddin says a lot of orders for the American flavored cookies came due to the name with, “both of our cultures mixed together.” To date, they’ve made nearly 200 orders. They are also catering events.
Ali says the business is a family effort- from family taste fests to shipping out orders. She says their company depends on other women-owned small businesses - from the graphic designer to the person who made their cookie cutters - who came together to help.
“Making our Biskoot mix is therapeutic. At the end, it’s so satisfying to finally tying the ribbon writing name on thank you card,” says Ali.
Uddin says she enjoys wrapping. “For each batch, it’s like a challenge. You want to see how much you can get done. It’s a game, a hobby, everything… a therapy session all in one.”
The cookies are made from organic ingredients and use less sugar than traditional cookie recipes. They said it’s just right for older adults who may not want to consume as much sugar. Ali says they are conscious about the ingredients used - such as unbleached flour and non-alcoholic flavoring.
Uddin grew up in New York and always dreamed of opening her own bakery. Ali, who is married to Uddin’s brother in 2019, was born and raised in Michigan but later moved to Georgia, then Alabama with her family.
The sisters-in-law have a lot in common - coming from big families - Uddin is one of five siblings, while Ali is the youngest of six; their heights and features; they are both in their 20’s, and they love baking. People ask us if we’re twins, they laughed.
Ali says she watched her older sister baking from a young age. She also took on cooking to help her mother in the kitchen since 13. Uddin remembers baking since she was 10-years-old.
Now the two of them say they combined their passion for baking. “Cooking just us two… we are just in our zone. We get to spend time too. We’re cracking jokes,” says Ali.
The duo is thinking about ways to expand. Uddin hopes to make more desserts locally and continue to grow.
They are humbled that people are ordering, in some cases without knowing how the cookies taste in advance.
“We opened because of the pandemic but don’t know where it will go because of the pandemic,” Ali says.
Biskoot are made fresh to order. To get your batch message @biskoot.co on Instagram (read this how-to order guide), or email biskootandco@gmail.com three days in advance. Cookies are mailed with 2-day priority shipping.