Art, literature, music and other intellectual expressions of a
particular society are together regarded as the culture of that society. Ideas,
customs and social behaviour of a particular people or society are also its
‘culture’. Contrary to what we think, it is not easy to describe ‘culture’, nor
is it easy to write the cultural history. Writing the history of Bengali
culture is even more difficult because Bengali society is truly plural in its
nature, made even more so by its political division. The two main religious
communities that share this culture are often more aware of the differences
between them than the similarities. Nonetheless, the people remain bound by
history and a shared language and literature. Ghulam Murshid’s Bengali
Culture over a Thousand Years is the first non-partisan and holistic
discussion of Bengali culture. Written for the general reader, the language is
simple and the style lucid. It shows how the individual ingredients of Bengali
culture have evolved and found expression, in the context of political
developments and how certain individuals have moulded culture. Above all, the
book presents the identity and special qualities of Bengali culture. The book was published in Bengali in Dhaka in 2006.This is
the first English translation.