Mannan Mashhur Zarif

Bangladesh Business & Disability Network (BBDN): Supporting people with disability

The number of people with disability in Bangladesh is high. While most people in this group are yet to be covered under a general education scheme, those who do attain a degree find it difficult to get suitable jobs. To help people with disabilities find employment in the job market, the Bangladesh Business & Disability Network (BBDN) has been working with its member organisations and other stakeholders in the industry since 2016.

Father's Day 2022: A father’s letter to his daughter

Today is what they call Father’s Day. Every day is a Father’s Day I am being told. And every single moment passes by, I am made aware of that fact. From the moment you came to exist, we share a bond that will last a lifetime, and more. And all I can promise is that it will be a ride of a lifetime, for the both of us.

London 1971 — A political frontier of the Liberation War

Warzones of the 1971 War were many, and political confrontations were often fought thousands of miles away from the battleground. Case in point, London — the bustling metropolis where expat Bengalis, and people with conscience of all nationalities launched a civil protest, and thus began a diplomatic struggle against the Pakistani military junta.

Parenting 101: Understanding the need of giving sex education to children

Recently, there has been much talk about sex education — long considered a social taboo in Bangladesh. Specialists agree that comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) should be an integral part of school curriculum, and that in an ideal setting, it should begin at home.

Positive discrimination to create a gender balanced society

Unfortunate as it may be, we still do not live in such a world. Gender equality is a far cry under most circumstances, but we are working together in our society to eradicate discrimination at all levels.

Sewing for the groom: Points to remember before ordering the perfect wedding sherwani

Designers across town will vouch for the fact that although festivities calm down at the end of winter, the proverbial ‘wedding season’ is now a yearlong phenomenon.

Celebrating Ekushey

It has been 70 years since that fateful February morning.

Stories of the liberation war, and how we must never forget to pass it on

Fifty years have now passed since that glorious day in December 1971 when we achieved victory after a battle for nine months.

Golden girls of the silver screen

When Honey Ryder rises from the waters in a daring costume with conch shells in her hands and a dagger by her side, the world took notice.

The time when social media was out

The impossible has happened. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp et al — social media, as we know it, was down for some six hours. And, we survived!

Seventeenth anniversary exhibition at Galleri Kaya

Galleri Kaya celebrates its 17th founding anniversary through a soon to be inaugurated exhibit at its Uttara premises beginning Friday, 8 October 2021. The eagerly anticipated annual event is set to exhibit some 72 artworks from 32 modern and contemporary artists. It will be an opportunity for connoisseurs and art lovers alike to experience works by some of the greatest names in the local art scene.

Autumn in Dhaka

The days have turned hot and sultry; the nights and the mornings have cooled down. This year, autumn comes soaked in the dew of renewed optimism, albeit not without its dash of melancholia.

Spending like in the days of the pandemic

If there is one lesson that I can take from the COVID-19 situation, apart from appreciating good health, is my new learnt experience of being thrifty.

Knowing Bangabandhu

On 15 August, we mourn the loss of our founding father and charismatic leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. For most of us, he remains a figure larger than life we were not fortunate enough to have met or seen.

'Desi Delicacies': Tracing South Asian Muslim civilisation through food

Desi Delicacies: Food Writing from Muslim South Asia (Pan Macmillan India, 2020) is a delightful anthology edited by Claire Chambers—no stranger to the lifestyle of Muslims.

Dhaka’s online food business

The lockdown-days of the coronavirus outbreak gave many a second chance to rediscover their inner fortes. While some resorted to taking up the pen or the painting brush, others looked deep into their recipe books and some honed their baking skills. Quite a few took the next, not necessarily the obvious, step!

Dissecting social networks: The truth about our commenting habits

I joined social networking platforms fresh out of university. In the mid-2000s it seemed like the most happening thing to do. Failing to reap the pleasures of poking, or keeping my pet puppy, Whiskey, healthy — I felt I was a miserable virtual socialite.

Fashion brands see slow sale ahead of Victory Day

Over the last two decades, Victory Day became a festivity of sorts for a lot of urban people. To cater to the growing demand, prominent fashion brands have been bringing out collections themed in red and green, and in the last few years, sales surrounding the day have consistently been high, industry insiders said.

A paper trail: Preserving fragments of an epoch

Collecting memorabilia is not a recent phenomenon, but appreciation for such assortments have today garnered much interest among the general populace. Ever since the days of our freedom struggle, there has been individuals who have preserved historical artefacts related to the Liberation War for future generations.

Cloud kitchen: a recipe for growth in food business?

When the coronavirus pandemic hit Bangladesh early in March, most industries got up and on their toes. Fearing bankruptcy, they scratched their heads and looked for a way out.

Finding Dr Reyan Anis

Her mother, the late Colonel Rokaiya Anis, was one of the most renowned gynaecologists in post-independence Bangladesh and a pioneering female gynaecologist in the Bangladesh Armed Forces.

Dr Sayedur Rahman Khan: In the Mission of Mending Hearts

Being a Cardiac Surgeon, or being a doctor for that matter, was not his personal calling, rather much like a typical desi story, decided by the family patriarch. But even from his student life studying MBBS at Dhaka Medical College, he realised being a doctor was, in his capacity, a way to serve people.

The other side of Dr Fatema Begum

Born in Rangpur and raised in a peaceful environment, nature did not touch her that way back then. She grew up in a family surrounded by brothers, and hardly ever enjoyed anything else other than a game of cricket or volleyball.

The man beyond the art

Apart from being one of the most prominent modern painters of Bangladesh, it is common knowledge that Murtaja Baseer wore a hat with many feathers. He was not only an accomplished painter, noted novelist, and all in all, a socially conscious individual, but also a keen collector of coins, stamps, bank notes, and matchboxes.

Le Smoking Tuxedo

Parisian fashion of the 1960s was witness to winds of change. And the world followed suit.

Movies for a rainy day

As cliched as it may sound, rainy-days have a special place in our hearts. For some, it’s the pitter patter of the rainfall, perhaps the picturesque cityscape visible through the open glass windows, or that earthy smell accompanying the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.

Monsoon and memories

The English rain feels obligatory, like paperwork. It dampens already damp days and slicks the stones already smoothened by the ravages of a thousand seasons.

Sylhet’s Dhamail: an ode to joy and community music

The singing troupes are, more often than not, amateurs. In wealthy households, professional musicians, or geedal as they are

Posters of 1971 A guide to freedom

At every refugee camp in the neighbouring country; at every training camp where valiant youth of the nation, farmers, day labourers, and able men and women learned warfare in the spirit to free their native land; at every liberated zone of Bangladesh — there were travelling musical troupes singing songs of freedom and victory.

Recognition, as equals

Decem-ber 6, 1971. Three days into Pakistani pre-emptive strikes on Indian bases, the escalation of tensions in the subcontinent led Bhutan to accord diplomatic recognition to Bangladesh, followed by India only hours later.

Serenity of St. Martin’s

Whenever one hears that I had spent eight straight days at St. Martin Island in the Bay of Bengal, most quizzically ask, “What did you do for so many days?”

The unforgettable jalshas

The events were attended by my uncle and luminaries living in our neighbourhood at that time. I was only a child and they never let me pass by a chance of dancing before the audience wearing keys and anklets for ghungroos.

Timeless

For the past few years, brides have chosen bejewelled pieces as their style statements. While they still reign supreme, there is a slow trend moving back to good old gold, in their myriad forms and hues even.

The Second Act

While it is possible to buy four to five different saris, just for the sake of it, there are reasons to put some good thought into your purchases. Remember, the post weddings’ Second Act is where you once again emerge as a couple, and there needs to be coordination between you two.

That’s television

My TV time is somewhat restricted to snippets I get to see while getting out of the bedroom, only to reach the dinner table, and back.

The Rebel Bride

As much as we want to avoid, we are now faced with weddings that have layer upon layer of hullabaloo before the big day, to the extent that one often gets exhausted. More so for the bride, but not so much for the rebellious kind.

Nawabs, Maharajas Valiant men

Weddings are a celebration of life, and a chance for the bride and the groom to share the flair on stage, as they embark on a journey together, hand in hand.

Thee Gouri Narayani — Who art three-eyed

If you are thinking this is yet another piece on our fantasy regarding the quintessential Bengali belle and their mesmerising eyes, then pause. This is exactly that…and perhaps, a little more.

“Eat, pray, love” — not necessarily in that order

I Googled “Sharing food,” and the results were as bizarre as the search itself. But it proved a point.

Tempering life with some spice

The TV channels are already airing trailers; celebrities promoting their shows on Social Media, and control freaks jotting ‘to-dos’ on notes and pasting them all over the monitor. Setting aside the fact that a downpour on Eid day is highly probable, we are all set for a picture perfect Eid — and isn’t it just as always?

Meat of the matter

Eid day; the men, the women, and the children have all returned from Eid prayers. The butcher — amateur in all aspects — gets busy with his new found profession; he is the ubiquitous ‘butcher for a day’ on active service!

Nature’s rhapsody a story in six seasons

“How do seasons change?” And on philosophical lines — “Why?”

Making art mainstream

Galleri Kaya is set to celebrate their 15th anniversary through an exhibition featuring a selection of art works done between 1957 and 2019 by 43 modern and contemporary artists from Bangladesh and India, from 15 to 20 July, 2019.

All that swag

Eid, beyond doubt, is the best time for fashion peeps — you, I and everyone else in this part of the globe we call home. While one may flirt with the idea to throw out everything ‘ethnic’ and choose to tilt otherwise and rock, we suggest otherwise. You may have never bothered to check the fashion lexicon

A simple equation

A Jamdani is exquisite. A Jamdani is timeless. And it has the love of a woman, and her man! All our lives we try to stand out in a crowd, while the real struggle often is to blend in. Eons have passed; styles have become passé. Nonetheless, from that moment on — hundreds of years in our past —till today, no Bengali

Mado

She turns heads and makes eyes go blind, only if for a second. She needles her way, and stitches the guise on fiery yellow; and that chunky golden chandelier for an earring! Why carry one style when you can don two?

P!NK

“Less is more” said the smart ones. Heritage looms to ‘post-modern’ prints — one can simply drown in a pool of this soothing hue of pink, never having to think twice about going wrong. Oh! Did we say, ‘women only’? Certainly not! As the song goes, “Pink is the colour of passion

Grapevine

Took six yards of glory and like twiners that grip by tendrils, draped like they owned it. The sari is more than just feminine yards and they went wild with flora splattered, and the shades smeared all over. A rumour was doing the rounds — “faux pas!” They laughed over because when it comes to gossip

September 19, 2022