On January 21, Abdul Wahab, who teaches English at Samsi College in Chanchal in Malda district, received an award for Kafer Kobityar Poshalu (A picnic with infidel poetry), his collection of poems written in Shersabadia. It was a rare honour. Not only because it was discerning, but also because hardly any books have been written in Shersabadia. Which is surprising, considering about an estimated 50 lakh people — or more — speak it in Bengal. Advertisement Shersabadia is a Bengali dialect spoken extensively in the Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts of Bengal. But it remains obscure because the people who speak it also remain obscure, though they constitute almost 1/20th of the population of Bengal. This collective linguistic identity has hardly ever been recognised and this is now being addressed from within the community.