
The Bengalis
A Portrait of a Community
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $19.48
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Anindya Chakravorty
About this listen
The Bengalis are the third largest ethno-linguistic group in the world, after the Han Chinese and the Arabs. A quarter of a billion strong and growing, the community has produced three Nobel laureates, world-class scientists, legendary political leaders and revolutionaries, iconic movie stars and directors and an unending stream of writers, philosophers, painters, poets and musicians of the first rank.
But, bald facts aside, just who are the Bengalis? What is the community all about, stereotypically and beyond stereotype? In order to find the answers to these and related questions, the author (a Bengali born and steeped in his own culture but objective enough to give us a balanced reckoning of his fellows) delves deep into the culture, literature, history and social mores of the Bengalis. He writes with acuity about the many strengths of the community but does not flinch from showing us its weaknesses and tormented history. He points out that Bengalis are among the most civilized and intellectually refined people on earth but have also been responsible for genocide and racism of the worst kind. Their cuisine is justly celebrated, but few remember the cause and effect of millions of Bengalis dying of famine. Renowned for their liberal attitudes, they are also capable of virulent religious fundamentalism.
Argumentative and meditative, pompous and grounded, hypocritical and wise, flippant and deep - Bengalis are all this and much, much more. With erudition, wit and empathy, this book manages to capture their very essence. Unarguably, it is the definitive portrait of one of the world’s most vibrant and distinctive communities.
©2017 Sudeep Chakravarti (P)2018 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Great Partition
- The Making of India and Pakistan
- By: Yasmin Khan
- Narrated by: Jeed Saddy
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This new edition of Yasmin Khan's reappraisal of the tumultuous India-Pakistan Partition features an introduction reflecting on the latest research and on ways in which commemoration of the Partition has changed, and considers the Partition in light of the current refugee crisis.
-
-
In depth and balanced history of the Partition
- By Ragnorr on 05-31-25
By: Yasmin Khan
-
The Great Mughals and Their India
- By: Dirk Collier
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A definitive, comprehensive and engrossing chronicle of one of the greatest dynasties of the world—the Mughal—from its founder Babur to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the clan the magnificent Mughal legacy is an inexhaustible source of inspiration to historians, writers, moviemakers, artists and ordinary mortals alike. Here is a fascinating and riveting saga that brings alive a spectacular bygone era—authentically and convincingly.
By: Dirk Collier
-
The Shortest History of India
- From the World's Oldest Civilization to Its Largest Democracy—A Retelling for Our Times
- By: John Zubrzycki
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
5,000 years of history—from the Bhagavad Gita to Bollywood—fill this masterful portrait of the world's most populous nation and a rising global power.
-
-
Quick paced coverage of a very great deal of India’s History
- By Caleagle on 03-22-24
By: John Zubrzycki
-
A Concise History of Modern India
- By: Barbara Metcalf, Thomas Metcalf
- Narrated by: Raj Ghatak
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The narrative focuses on the imaginative and institutional structures that have successfully sustained and transformed India, first under British colonial rule and then, after 1947, as an independent country. Woven into the larger political narrative is an account of India's social and economic development and its rich cultural life. The final chapter charts the dramatic developments of the last 20 years, from 1990 through to the Congress electoral victory of 2009, and the rise of the Indian high-tech industry in a country still troubled by poverty and political unrest.
-
-
Soporific.
- By Amazon Customer on 06-06-19
By: Barbara Metcalf, and others
-
Bengali for Kids
- A 4-Week Course Filled with Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Language Mastery
- By: Young Linguists
- Narrated by: Ameena Helai, Joe Maluso, Omnia Bassiouny, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Linguists teaches kids essential language skills fast. That means 20-minute lessons to help kids stay engaged, and daily repetition to reinforce learning. We also narrow down vocabulary to the most-used words and phrases, so that you are learning what you can apply. These books also included detailed sections in English on effective strategies for learning new languages and ideas to carry on learning and applying what you know once the course is complete. In addition, there are complete review sections for learning, comprehension, and speaking repetition.
By: Young Linguists
-
The Lost River
- By: Michel Danino
- Narrated by: Vishal Menon
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Indian subcontinent was the scene of dramatic upheavals a few thousand years ago. The Northwest region entered an arid phase, and erosion coupled with tectonic events played havoc with river courses. One of them disappeared. Celebrated as Sarasvati in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, this river was rediscovered in the early 19th century through topographic explorations by British officials. Recently, geological and climatological studies have probed its evolution and disappearance, while satellite imagery has traced the river's buried courses....
-
-
The book is amazing but audio has lot of cuts
- By Anonymous User on 08-12-24
By: Michel Danino
-
The Great Partition
- The Making of India and Pakistan
- By: Yasmin Khan
- Narrated by: Jeed Saddy
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This new edition of Yasmin Khan's reappraisal of the tumultuous India-Pakistan Partition features an introduction reflecting on the latest research and on ways in which commemoration of the Partition has changed, and considers the Partition in light of the current refugee crisis.
-
-
In depth and balanced history of the Partition
- By Ragnorr on 05-31-25
By: Yasmin Khan
-
The Great Mughals and Their India
- By: Dirk Collier
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A definitive, comprehensive and engrossing chronicle of one of the greatest dynasties of the world—the Mughal—from its founder Babur to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the clan the magnificent Mughal legacy is an inexhaustible source of inspiration to historians, writers, moviemakers, artists and ordinary mortals alike. Here is a fascinating and riveting saga that brings alive a spectacular bygone era—authentically and convincingly.
By: Dirk Collier
-
The Shortest History of India
- From the World's Oldest Civilization to Its Largest Democracy—A Retelling for Our Times
- By: John Zubrzycki
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
5,000 years of history—from the Bhagavad Gita to Bollywood—fill this masterful portrait of the world's most populous nation and a rising global power.
-
-
Quick paced coverage of a very great deal of India’s History
- By Caleagle on 03-22-24
By: John Zubrzycki
-
A Concise History of Modern India
- By: Barbara Metcalf, Thomas Metcalf
- Narrated by: Raj Ghatak
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The narrative focuses on the imaginative and institutional structures that have successfully sustained and transformed India, first under British colonial rule and then, after 1947, as an independent country. Woven into the larger political narrative is an account of India's social and economic development and its rich cultural life. The final chapter charts the dramatic developments of the last 20 years, from 1990 through to the Congress electoral victory of 2009, and the rise of the Indian high-tech industry in a country still troubled by poverty and political unrest.
-
-
Soporific.
- By Amazon Customer on 06-06-19
By: Barbara Metcalf, and others
-
Bengali for Kids
- A 4-Week Course Filled with Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Language Mastery
- By: Young Linguists
- Narrated by: Ameena Helai, Joe Maluso, Omnia Bassiouny, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Linguists teaches kids essential language skills fast. That means 20-minute lessons to help kids stay engaged, and daily repetition to reinforce learning. We also narrow down vocabulary to the most-used words and phrases, so that you are learning what you can apply. These books also included detailed sections in English on effective strategies for learning new languages and ideas to carry on learning and applying what you know once the course is complete. In addition, there are complete review sections for learning, comprehension, and speaking repetition.
By: Young Linguists
-
The Lost River
- By: Michel Danino
- Narrated by: Vishal Menon
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Indian subcontinent was the scene of dramatic upheavals a few thousand years ago. The Northwest region entered an arid phase, and erosion coupled with tectonic events played havoc with river courses. One of them disappeared. Celebrated as Sarasvati in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, this river was rediscovered in the early 19th century through topographic explorations by British officials. Recently, geological and climatological studies have probed its evolution and disappearance, while satellite imagery has traced the river's buried courses....
-
-
The book is amazing but audio has lot of cuts
- By Anonymous User on 08-12-24
By: Michel Danino
-
Gun Island
- A Novel
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Sagar Arya
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island is a beautifully realized novel that effortlessly spans space and time. It is the story of a world on the brink, of increasing displacement and unstoppable transition. But it is also a story of hope, of a man whose faith in the world and the future is restored by two remarkable women.
-
-
Loved the story and the narrator
- By Frances on 10-10-19
By: Amitav Ghosh
-
The Greatest Bengali Stories Ever Told
- By: Arunava Sinha
- Narrated by: Swetanshu Bora
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Horrible Bengali pronunciation
- By PS on 11-25-21
By: Arunava Sinha
-
The Anarchy
- The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
- By: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting audiobook to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.
-
-
excellent book but awkward narration
- By TexasVC on 02-25-20
-
Home in the World
- A Memoir
- By: Amartya Sen
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Amartya Sen, “home” has been many places, including Dhaka, in modern Bangladesh, where he grew up; Calcutta, where he studied economics; and Cambridge, where he engaged with the greatest minds of the 20th century. In Home in the World, these “homes” collectively form an unparalleled and truthful vision of 20th- and 21st-century life.
By: Amartya Sen
-
A Golden Age
- A Novel
- By: Tahmima Anam
- Narrated by: Madhur Jaffrey
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As young widow Rehana Haque awakes one March morning, she might be forgiven for feeling happy. Today she will throw a party for her son and daughter. In the garden of the house she has built, her roses are blooming, her children are almost grown, and beyond their doorstep, the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. Change is in the air.
-
-
sad, poignant, thought-provoking, beautiful
- By Rio Delta Wild on 06-04-08
By: Tahmima Anam
-
The Journey Home
- By: Radhanath Swami
- Narrated by: Radhanath Swami
- Length: 19 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Within this extraordinary memoir, Radhanath Swami weaves a colorful tapestry of adventure, mysticism, and love. Listeners follow Richard Slavin from the suburbs of Chicago to the caves of the Himalayas as he transforms from young seeker to renowned spiritual guide. The Journey Home is an intimate account of the steps to self-awareness and also a penetrating glimpse into the heart of mystic traditions and the challenges that all souls must face on the road to inner harmony and a union with the Divine.
-
-
Excellent
- By Julia on 01-28-21
By: Radhanath Swami
I cannot believe that there are no reviews, other than the reviews of the paper book.
It is a long book and I found every moment interesting.
I think it is very important to read about India.
It is an immense country, so much history, such a diversity of people.
The book is very well written and the narrator, mr.Anindya Chakravorty, was a pleasure to listen to.
He is the right choice for a book such as this.
India has such an interesting history and the world has not heard the last of it.
My thanks to all involved, JK.
VERY INTERESTING
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.