Bengáli Tűz: A Spectrum of Intercultural Transfer
Bengáli Tűz: A Spectrum of Intercultural Transfer

Summary/Abstract: A definite change occurs when two cultures interact and exchange information, which leads to the transformation in their respective cultures. Bengáli Tűz (Fire of Bengal) is a famous Hungarian journal and is often described as a travel journal or a novelistic voyage, which comes from the era of the early twentieth century and displays some impeccable shades of intercultural transfer. A Hungarian housewife went to India with her husband in 1929 and stayed there for three years while recording her personal experiences in a journal known as Bengáli Tűz in present time. Rózsa Hajnóczy’s journey started with a cultural shock that ended up in making her a knowledgeable person regarding a new culture. It is a chain of prominent events, narrating the story of how the author’s perspective about life met with a change and how she gained some openness and became culturally transformed. She had tears in her eyes when she left Hungary and came to India, as she was reluctant to leave her home, but after three years, when she departed from India, she again cried, but this time it was not for either India or Hungary. Her eyes were wet as she missed the notion of the entire “world” under the same roof. Other nationalities in this travel journal also underwent cultural transformation. The journal also showcases other compelling and significant topics, which makes it a tempting piece to read and an authentic piece of literature. Bengáli Tűz can be analysed from various points of view, of which here I chose “intercultural transfer”, but I am fully aware that a postcolonial reading would also offer fascinating insights into the journal.

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