Maisha Syeda is a writer, painter, and the Sub editor of Daily Star Books.
The verses remind us that a withering, war-torn Earth can still birth new life and hopes of freedom.
When Coke Studio Bangla released Meghdol’s Bonobibi, their second song of season 2, listeners found themselves torn between loving the song and questioning it. Questioning as to why the song was done under the banner of Coke Studio, a project funded by an American-based multinational corporation; questioning what qualifies Meghdol, a band known for singing about urban life in Dhaka city, to sing about tales originating in the Sundarbans; and why the song didn’t delve deeper into the history and background of the stories they were trying to tell. It has raised a wider question about how music plays a role in storytelling.
“I wonder what she’ll wear tomorrow,” he mumbled as his eyes drooped shut.
I’m no musician; my knowledge of good and bad music goes much beyond the superficial but, what do I know of the technicalities that goes into creating something that emerges as an enchanting composition?
We find out that civilisation underwent the threat of extinction, where only a few survived. About 100 years later, Anika, a 19-year-old girl, comes across an orb-like glowing “machine” that is meant to “change the fate of the current humanity forevermore.”
Preexisting publishers are struggling to sustain in the market since the Covid-19 and the recent rise in paper prices. How are smaller and emerging publishers faring?
The book will be launched at the Dhaka Lit Fest starting Thursday, January 5, where Rifat Munim is also hosting a session.
Be it for their nostalgic pull or the promise of escaping into a rich, evocative world, these tales have been consistent go-to’s for me over the years.
Even the Bangladeshi protagonist—merely referred to as Agontok (a stranger)—is established as an anti-hero, in contrast with the traditionally heroic Hercules, which I thought was an exciting change.
“We tried our best to keep the shop but the tides of change are upon us”, Bookworm announced on their social media today.
“What Men Live By” opens like a children’s story—the way Matilda or most Roald Dahl books would start out—with simple, everyday events and straightforward descriptions. Eventually, though, one line caught my attention and I couldn’t help but smile:
“Free light source plus [a] dude I can sit and ruminate with, it’s perfect.”
Based on an 18th century legend from Bangladesh’s Noakhali region, Beloved Ronglomala tells the story of one Queen Phuleswari, a child bride, and of Rongomala, a woman of legend.
Shabnam Nadiya was selected for The Ice Machine, her translation from the Bangla of Bangladeshi short story writer and novelist Wasi Ahmed’s Borofkol.
Chairing next year’s judges’ panel will be Leïla Slimani, the French Moroccan novelist known for books like Lullaby (2016) and Adèle (2019).
Despite the decelerating growth rate and with the country's population currently standing at 16.51 crore as opposed to just 14 crore in 2011—merely 10 years ago—overcrowding is still a massive cause of headache for most of us.
Glory is narrated by a vivid chorus of animal voices, while Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is partly told by the malevolent cancer travelling through the body of protagonist Lia.
When I noticed that Meghdol had released a song for the film “Hawa”, while scrolling through my YouTube homepage, I somehow knew that I would not be disappointed. Of course, this was a hunch owing to my eternal love for Meghdol. However, what I did not expect was to be moved by it to the extent that I was. It has been years since a piece of music managed to sincerely and deeply pull at my heartstrings to the level “E Hawa” has been able to.
Here are some books that, for their various tropes and themes, go hand in hand and allow us to relish these July evenings.
I remember Ma through her books as well, the little of her thoughts and ideas that she could share with the young me then.
Lifestyle-induced backpain is now such a systemic problem that even if wanted to change it, we wouldn’t know where to begin or how to keep up.
"I selected excerpts from eight famous works, books like Begum Rokeya’s 'Motichur' and 'Ekattorer Diary' by Sufia Kamal, and expanded on their implied or intended meaning as best as I could."
From the trailer it looks like Zoya Akhtar's Archies has a wider cast of main characters than Riverdale, but what we want to see is the original comics' innocence revisited.
Going live from May 15 is The Myth Bridge, a live-action simulation game that “[brings] to life” and connects nine women characters from Bengali and German folklore.
“My story concerns the lost souls of a metropolis”, the author tells The Daily Star, “those magnificent beasts that cannot find their places in a growing, sprawling cityscape.”
Reversal of fairy tale tropes and themes of mental health and alienation run dominantly across One Minute Past Midnight (Nymphea Publications, 2022), a debut collection of poetry and prose by poet and teacher Arshi Mortuza.
Chevening scholar, author, and head of business development at The Daily Star, Shuvashish Roy, has published his first work of fiction, Chamakiya O Biggani Bhajaghata (Gyankosh Prokashoni, 2022), released at the Ekushey Boi Mela this year.
Hashi Begum, from Uttar Manoshitola village in Barguna, took matters into her own hands when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit. She not only resolved to take care of her own family but her community as well.
Remember the song “Pappu Can’t Dance Sala” from “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”? It might come as a surprise to many people that that bespectacled individual was the genius behind the brilliant romance/drama, “Kapoor & Sons”. This year, Shakun Batra proved again that he is as brilliant as they come in Bollywood. ‘Pappu’ might not know how to dance, but he sure can direct! Released on Amazon Prime Video, under the notable Dharma Productions banner, Batra has co-written and directed yet another romantic drama–but with a few twists.
In a live YouTube broadcast, The University Press Limited (UPL) launched their book, An Internal Matter: The U.S., Grassroots Activism and the Creation of Bangladesh, written by Samuel Jaffe, at 7 PM on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
In a live YouTube broadcast, University Press Limited (UPL) launched their book, An Internal Matter: The U.S., Grassroots Activism and the Creation of Bangladesh, written by Samuel Jaffe, at 7 PM on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
In a discerning recollection of events, esteemed retired banker Anwarul Amin has released his memoir about opening the first branch of a Bangladeshi bank abroad.
In an intimate ceremony held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on December 4, national award-winning dancer, choreographer, and stage performer Kajol Ibrahim launched her memoir, Nritte Gantha Kotha Mala, published by Ramon Publishers.
On November 27, Saturday at 7 PM, Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq Foundation hosted its fifth episode of their discussion series,‘Bidyapeeth Baithaki: Antaranga Alape Gunizan, online’. The topic of this week’s episode was ‘Crack Platoon: The Freedom Fighters of Dhaka’.
Three days ago when I woke up in the morning to get ready for work, I stood on my balcony and felt a slight, familiar nip in the air.
The South-African novelist and playwright had been previously shortlisted for his books, The Good Doctor (2003) and In A Strange Room (2010) in their respective years, the former of which received the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
The Department of English and Humanities, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) has organised a two-day International Virtual Colloquium on October 30 and 31 entitled “From ‘Kabuliwala’ to the Fall of Kabul: Afghanistan in Popular Imagination”.
Tanveer Anoy’s second novel, Duradhay (Anandam, 2021), felt like a punch to my stomach; a wake up call, to be more precise.
The Unpublished PhD lecture series, organised by Gyantaposh Abdur Razzaq Foundation, resumed on October 12, 2021 at 7 pm over Zoom after a two year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In its eighth episode, researcher and professor of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University, Manosh Chowdhury, gave an illuminating talk on his doctoral thesis: “Popularizing Project: Some Aspects of Production of Culture and Discourses in Bangladesh”.
On the morning of Thursday, October 7, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh saw the launch of ULAB Press with its maiden publication, Commemorating Sheikh Mujib: The Greatest Bengali of the Millenium (2021).
The Abul Mansur Ahmad Smriti Parishad held the award giving ceremony for its fourth annual essay competition, commemorating journalist, author, historian, and politician Abul Mansur Ahmad, yesterday at 4 pm at The Daily Star Center. A day-long workshop on creative writing, editing, and research accompanied the programme.
Anyone familiar with Toni Morrison’s work would know about the gutting picture of slavery and racism that she painted with her stories.
The mystical riddle that was the film, The Green Knight (2021), was initially just that for me: a riddle. It was one of those films where I felt like my experience of watching it would be more rewarding if I had some idea of the actual story it was based on.