Language – Adnan's Den

A Guide to Unicode Bangla for Different Browsers

This article represents a quick-starter-guide for unicode Bangla environment in your browsers if you are using Windows. No matter which browser you use, just follow the separate instructions for separate browsers. This post covers mainly three major browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Google Chrome.

For viewing Bangla fonts in different browsers click the following links:

For writing Bangla click the following link:

Phonetic Bangla writing with Avro Keyboard.

Bangla Unicode Fonts in Google Chrome

First of all check that whether you can read Bangla Fonts with your Google Chrome. Just try to read the following boxed sentenced.

সুখ নাইরে পাগল… কী আছে দুনিয়ায়!

If you can’t read then you surely need to carry out the following instruction guide. By the way this guide is for “Windows XP Service Pack 2”. So make sure you are using that. I’ve not tried whether it works in SP1 or Vista. But as the release dates of Windows XP and Windows 2003 is almost same, it should work in Windows 2003 server. And for Vista it should work automatically.

Continue reading Bangla Unicode Fonts in Google Chrome

Bangla Unicode Fonts in Opera

First of all check that whether you can read Bangla Fonts with your Opera. Just try to read the following boxed sentenced.

সুখ নাইরে পাগল… কী আছে দুনিয়ায়!

Continue reading Bangla Unicode Fonts in Opera

February 21…

Within the last several years this is the first time I am missing the Book Fair in Dhaka… and I am really missing that fair. To be frankly, this is the only fair that allured me. The fascinating well gournished book stalls, the smell of newly publish books, exploring the fair with friends and family… all of those I am terribly missing.

The word "MOTHER" in 30 different languages

And today is February 21… The International Mother Language Day. A memorable day in the history of Bangladesh. It is the 57th anniversary of “Ekushey February” this year. Within this span of time has acquire its own place in online. The number of Bangladeshi bloggers as well as Bangla blogs are increasing day by day. People are now writing their blogs in Bangla. All of these happen because of sacrifices of some great people in 1952. My gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives for establishing Bangla Language on 1952 and to the all languages of this world. Each language is like a soul which has its own fascinating beauty.

Everything can change, but not the language that we carry inside us, like a world more exclusive and final than one’s mother’s womb.

– Italo Calvino

Bangla Unicode Fonts in Firefox 3

Previously I’ve written a step by step guide for setting the Firefox up for Bangla unicode fonts. That was for Firefox 2. But that guide can also handle Firefox 3 (some of my reader have already done that and I myself also). So if you are using Firefox 3 and can’t see Bangla fonts then click here.

Another common problem is, many users are seeing the Bangla title in the tabs too small too read clearly. This can be fixed if you use Solaiman Lipi as your default Bangla unicode fonts. Click here to download Solaiman Lipi fonts. Another font with which you can resolve this problem can be downloaded from here. Also you can use Siyam Rupali for avoiding this problem. If the problem still exists then go to Vrinda Hacking; download the Vrinda font from there and put it in your Windows’ Font folder replacing the older one. It should make your Bangla look better. (I myself didn’t try with the Vrinda font, because I got the better look with the Solaiman Lipi font and I actually don’t recommend Vrinda.) You also can download a lot of Bangla unicode fonts from Omicronlab.

If you are new to Bangla keyboard or facing problems in writing with Bangla fonts, you can read this article.

If you are done then welcome to Bangla Blogosphere.

Bangla Unicode Fonts in Firefox 2.0

Update!

Just a several months back like many people, I used to browse the Bangla sites (specially the Bangla news papers) with Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). Because Firefox (FF) couldn’t handle the Bangla fonts. Bangla fonts appeared in the Firefox was scattered and broken. Though as a browser FF is always my first choice, for the Bangla sites I stucked on IE7. Recent days I am able to handle the Bangla sites with FF smoothly. But I am hearing many complains from various persons regard the problem I’ve faced earlier. For this purpose, I decided to write an article which will guide anyone to fix this problem. This article is going to guide you for setting up FF for viewing Bangla unicode fonts. For writing this article, I took help from Bokaader Poddyo.

Continue reading Bangla Unicode Fonts in Firefox 2.0

Ekushey Boi Mela 2008

Today I went to Bangla Academy Boimela. For the last two weeks I just sorted out a list of books that has to be bought from the fair. As usual my sister helped me in that case. I felt the same emotion that I felt every year in boimela when I entered the entrance gate. All the publishing houses were colored with colorful covers of new as well as old books. It was just like a festival, a festival of books. All the renowned publishing houses were crowded with people as they publishes most of the books written by popular writers. I am one of the fan of Muhammad Zafar Iqbal. And as usual I bought his latest sci-fi and teen-adventure books. I’ve been searching for some old but appealing books that I’ve searched in many places. This time in Bishwashahittya Kendro, I got three of them. These are “Jokey’r Dhon” by Hemendra, “Chadey’r Pahaar” by Bivutybhushon and a story collection of Porshuram.

Unlike other years, Dipu was not with me this year in Boi Mela. Last several years, we just spent hours after hours in Boimela by just comparing the books. Dipu has a good taste in transliterated books. Some times we just bought books by seeing it’s front and rear cover. If we didn’t like the book then we just blaming the author for such a book 🙂 !

I was disappointed by the UNMAD stall. UNMAD is a cartoon magazine like MAD. Every year they brought some really hilarious funny posters and stickers which were sold like hot cakes. But today I didn’t find anything like that in their stall except some copies of their magazine issues.

What ever, I don’t have so much time to write this post, because more than fifteen fresh books are waiting for me. And I can assure that for a few dayz, I’ll not be available in my blog for the same purpose. 🙂

Another February… Another Bookfair

Another February has come which announces the glorious history of our beloved mother tongue Bangla. Who can live without speaking in his mother language? Nobody. And we are the only nation who sacrificed to gain the right of speaking in Bangla. Rafiq, Salam, Jabbar, Barkat, Shafiur and many unknown sacrificed their lives on 21 February in 1952 as the law enforcers fired on processions demanding recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages. In 1997, the UN declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day.

Click here to know more about 21st February and Bangla Language.

Another magnificent event of this month is the book fair which is widely known as “Omor Ekushey Boimela”. Bangla Academy has been organizing this book fair since 1972. For the whole February, this fair will be the common place for the writers and readers. Releasing new books and seminars on Bangla language is the common everyday event in the fair. Besides the seminars where keynote papers are presented and the Bangla Academy awards are distributed, the academy also organizes cultural programs and discussions every afternoon during the fair. The programs include musical and dance performances along with other forms of stage shows. But the main attraction is still the books, the fresh new books.

I always await for this book fair. Though I can buy book from nearby book shops, but I await the whole year for buying books from this fair. You can’t describe the fair scenario, it’s just great. People are crowded in the stalls, seeking favorite books, writers are busy with giving autographs on their newly released books, books are every where, the air is smelled with the scent of newly printed books. Last several years, in book fair, my closest friend Dipu was with me every time. But this time he is away from Bangladesh. Don’t know how I’ll enjoy book fair this time without him!

Hope like every year people will gather in book fair to celebrate the glorious 21st February. Proud to speak in Bangla.