Ashfaque Swapan

US, reeling from fatal racial attacks, goes to midterm polls

Americans vote on November 6 in a momentous mid-term elections. Polls suggest that the total Republican grip on federal power is about to be shattered as Democrats regain the House.
Bangladeshi festival fever hits Atlanta

July is less than a month away, and festival fever is beginning to take hold among the estimated 10,000-strong Bangladeshi expatriate community in greater Atlanta. All hands are on deck for the 32nd FOBANA convention, the upcoming Bangladeshi jamboree to be hosted at the World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. All told, at least 5,000 attendees are expected, by conservative estimates.
A haunting, sombre memorial to African-American suffering

It was a lovely spring morning when my friend Arif and I drove down to Montgomery, Alabama. A new memorial, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, opened here on April 24—dedicated to African Americans who had been the victims of extrajudicial killings in the post-Civil War United States.
Meeting Amar Mitra: The anguish of a complete Bengali author

AMAR Mitra's literary achievements are formidable. His works of fiction have won India's coveted Sahitya Akademi Award (for the novel Dhrubaputra) as well as West Bengal's Bankim Puraskar (for the novel Ashwacharit).
Pahela Boishakh in Atlanta:how expatriates celebrate

Here in Atlanta, in the land of fried chicken and grits, Pahela Baishakh is celebrated with great fanfare. As the chill of winter gives way