Image description: Two children seen from behind walking through a brightly lit airport terminal at night
English
UK (diaspora, Bangladeshi origin)
Illustrative editorial story
The word my grandmother used
Growing up in Dhaka, I never heard the word "depression." My grandmother had a whole vocabulary — মন খারাপ for the ordinary, তার ছেঁড়া for crisis, বাতাস লাগা for something that came from outside and unsettled you. It was only when I moved to London and tried to explain to a therapist what I was feeling that I realised how much had been lost in translation...
Mentioned in this story
Illustrative entry · editorial
Word / Phrase
Bengali
South Asia
মন খারাপ
mon kharap
everyday distress
mood
Illustrative entry · editorial
Word / Phrase
Bengali
South Asia
পাগল
pagol
stigma
sacred
Illustrative entry · editorial
Word / Phrase
Bengali
Bangladesh, West Bengal
তার ছেঁড়া
tar chhenra
crisis
breakdown