Bengal

Most of Bengal is in the enormous delta area formed by a complex of three rivers. The Ganges flows roughly west-to-east across much of northern India, and is historically the country's most important river. The Brahmaputra is the greatest river of northeast India, and both it and the Meghna are important in Bangladesh. By the time they reach the sea, the combined rivers (called the Padma in this region) are the world's third largest by volume of water discharged. The Brahmaputra, considered by itself, ranks eighth.
At times political units called "Bengal" extended into nearby areas which were not ethnically or linguistically Bengali. When the British defeated the last Nawab of Bengal and his French allies at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, they took not only Bengal itself but also the Nawab's other territories, now the states of Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand. Under the British, what is now Assam was administered as part of the Bengal Presidency.

We list only a few of the most important cities here. For other cities, see West Bengal, Bangladesh, and regional articles under those.
The great cities of the region are:

• — former Portuguese, Mughal and British port; known for its rolling hills and great harbour; nicknamed the Queen of the East
• — thriving modern Bangladeshi capital; known as the Rickshaw Capital of the World; historically a cosmopolitan commercial center during the Mughal Empire
• — the third-largest city in India, the state capital of West Bengal and the historic seat of British India; nicknamed the City of Joy

Two smaller places are very important for tourism:

• — a popular vacation town on the Bay of Bengal, well known for its vast sandy beaches
• — a hill station and the tea capital of West Bengal; home to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway; nicknamed the Queen of the Hills

• — a nature reserve in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal
• — archaeological ruins from the Sultanate of Bengal; includes Adina Mosque, once the largest mosque in South Asia
• — wildlife sanctuary on the eastern foothills of the Himalayas
• — includes several palaces of the Bengali aristocracy
• — site of the archaeological ruins of Somapura, including the imperial monastery of the Pala Empire
• — the only coral reef in the northern Bay of Bengal
• — the world's most extensive mangrove forest; home to Bengal tigers
• — Famous for tea gardens, rolling highlands, rainforests and waterfalls
• — includes an elephant sanctuary and the river border between Bangladesh and Burma

There are a number of international airports that facilitate entry into the region.

• Shah Amanat International Airport - Chittagong, Bangladesh
• Shahjalal International Airport - Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport - Kolkata, India
• Osmani International Airport - Sylhet, Bangladesh

==Talk==

• Bengali phrasebook