Swarachakra Bangla Keyboard 2.01

Moder Gorob, Moder Asha, Amari Bangla Bhasha - Atul Prasad Sen

When your device displays this sentence in Bengali correctly, it indicates full support for the Bengali language and suggests that Swarachakra should function effectively. If any text is missing or appears incorrect, the performance of Swarachakra may be compromised.

Swarachakra Bangla (স্বরচক্র বাংলা) is a touch-screen keyboard designed specifically for Bengali text input. This keyboard is also available in several other languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Konkani, and Tamil. Swarachakra utilizes a logically ordered design that mirrors the structure of Bangla script. It presents consonants sequenced according to their logical order, phonetically grouped and organized in a grid format similar to those found in educational textbooks.

Typing with Swarachakra

In Bengali typing, combining a consonant (ধ) with a matra (ো) is quite common; for instance, ধ + ো = ধো. Upon touching a consonant, a chakra appears showcasing various combinations of that consonant and the ten most frequently used matras (ধা, ধি, ধী, ধু, ধূ, ধে, ধৈ, ধো, ধৌ…). Users can select their desired combination by sliding their stylus or finger toward it.

Typing conjuncts, such as ক্রি , ষ্থ, চ্য়, often poses a challenge. Swarachakra simplifies this process. Initially, tap on the first part of the combination and select the halant from the chakra (স + ्). Afterwards, Swarachakra provides a preview of all possible conjuncts that begin with that consonant (স + ् + থ = স্থ; চ + ् + য় = চ্য়, etc.). If a matra is required, it can be selected from the new chakra in the same manner (স্থানী , স্থি , স্থী , স্থু , স্থূ …).

To type specific characters like থ (forর্থ) or ত্র (for rashtrachinha) as well as sounds requiring a nukta (like ড় , খ় ), select the respective key from the right-most bottom keys and proceed with regular typing.

Total vowels (অ আ ই ঈ উ ঊ এ ঐ ও ঔ ) are accessible via a separate chakra located at the bottom right. Less commonly used vowels and matras are adjacent to it (). Numerals and symbols are displayed on a shift key. Additionally, users can temporarily switch to a QWERTY keypad for English character input.

The Installation Process for Swarachakra:

The installation of Swarachakra Bangla begins by clicking the “Install” button provided above. After installation, you need to enable the keyboard by accessing “Settings”, navigating to “Language and Input”, and checking the box next to swarachakra বাংলা (Swarachakra Bangla) in “Keyboard and input methods.” Finally, set it as the default keyboard by selecting “Default” in that section. (This step is necessary as per Android functionality.)
Note: Swarachakra requires Android 4.0 (ICS) or later for optimal operation; it currently does not support older versions due to lack of Unicode compatibility.