Page:The history of the Bengali language (1920).pdf/264

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242
SOME HINTS

be subsequent to it. Looking to the metrical system and the grammatical forms, some verses may be declared to be composed in Hindi. Generally the language of many effusions is such a jumble of various words and grammatical forms of various provinces and of various times, that we can hardly say that the writings represent any particular dialect. I do not think anybody will proceed se­riously to determine the language of the following hybrid sentence, which I compose to illustrate my case, viz.:—মালাবাড়্‌তে (I think—Mārhātti) কোই এক শক্‌স্ (somebody—Hindi) মোক কহি ছিল (told me—Asamese) যে এই ঘরে (that in this house—Bengali) পূর্ব্বরে (previously—Oriya) মিয়াদ্ (one—Mundāri) বিরাম্‌মণন্ (Brahman, Nominative—Tāmil) গলাডু (lived—Telegu). Why this strange phenomenon occurs in this book is partly explained by the name of the language 'সন্ধ্যা ভাষা.' The male 'অবধূত's and the female 'বিয়ালি's came together very likely in a colony of theirs, and there composed the secret tenets, etc., of their cult for their disciples in such a manner, that when the songs would be sung or muttered, the uninitiated might not understand either the language or the purport of them. Though the language is mainly Hindi, the authors allowed words and forms of many dialects to flow freely into their composition. No doubt, to us now, the veil is very thin, and we can see the whole thing through and through. The collection is highly important to the philologists and the Anthropologists. We are not concerned here with the doctrine, but can say that such a sentence of the book as "রুখের তেন্তলি কুম্ভিরে খাঅ" reminds us of the Bāul song—

উঠন্ ঠন্ ঠন্, করে রে ভাই, ঘরে জলের ঢেউ;
নৈরামনির নিরঞ্জনে পায়না খুঁজে কেউ৷