Epar and Opar.

Epar Bangla refers to the Indian State of West Bengal, capital Calcutta (Kolkata), mostly populated by Ghoti's and apparently has been going to the dogs for ever.... (this is a delicate and subtle point.. everyone will tell you that West Bengal and its inhabitants have been going to the dogs for ever... the fact that we are not yet there leads one to either of two conclusions... 1. the dogs are really far away or 2. people who say such things are full of shite.).

Opar Bangla refers to Bangladesh, capital Dhaka, mostly populated by Bangals, tropical cyclones and amazing seafood. Now if West Bengal has been going to the dogs.... its spiritual brother, the independant country of Bangladesh cannot be very far behind... in fact, is probably leading the way. But again, as those people have managed to keep their country afloat for quite a while.. they obviously have a lot going for them.. apart from the fact they simply cannot decide upon what kind of government they want.

Now "epar" means 'this side' and "opar" means 'that side'. So, obviously, while Epar is home to me and Opar is the home of my ancestors (not kidding), the situation is probably just reversed for any regular Imran or Abdul sitting in Dhaka. The reason I suddenly got to writing is because I was on Orkut where someone was saying that the best Epar Bangla band is 'Fossils' while the best Opar Bangla band is 'Miles'. So, then think about this... we keep exchanging musicians and other artists all the time.. Bangladesh keeps a more or less continuous flood of refugees on the borders of West Bengal, so why not simply cut the border away and reunify? After all the whole separation of Bangla.. the whole Bangla was a uniquely British piece of work.. done by His Sonofabitch Excellency, Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of British India waaaay back in 1905. Isn't it time to undo this rather hideous piece of work?