Tamanna Khan

Learning Bangla made easy: Bangladeshi-Canadian's app gaining popularity among NRBs

An amusing incident unfolded on March 30 at Farhana Rajib’s home in Minneapolis, US. Her mother-in-law Shawkat Ara Begum received a note from her 12-year-old granddaughter Ella Rajib. Handwritten in Bangla, the note read: “Dida darun boka” (Grandma is very silly).

Why does Canada hide its shameful history and its consequences for Indigenous peoples?

Travelling was my hobby before I emigrated to Canada. During my trips both within and outside Bangladesh, I always tried to taste local and regional food to appreciate the culture of the place I visited.

From the archives: Sayeeda Khanam, living through the lens

Mid-twentieth century Pabna: Upon her aunt's insistence, a frightened little girl hesitantly stands in front of the one-eyed box covered in black cloth. The object looks like a square-headed monster on a tripod. Who would have imagined then that the little girl would one day capture the world with this very object? “I never thought that this camera will one day become my life partner,” chuckles Sayeeda Khanam, Bangladesh's first woman photojournalist.

A simple act of kindness

On March 25, The New York Times ran a story about Americans stepping up to face the coronavirus pandemic by sewing masks for their healthcare providers as well as the general public.

Agonising wait for organ transplant act amendment

Still bearing the trauma of her last dialysis, Marjia Rabbani Shoshi was speaking with a smile until the subject of the Organ Transplantation Act 1999 (amended in 2018) came up.

Female artists paving the way

Women have always been a common subject in visual art, but not so much in the role of an artist. For centuries, their thoughts and expressions remained hidden from public view and crushed under the weight of patriarchy.

Blood, sweat, tears

“…Then after dark, a tentative ‘Joy Bangla’ in the back streets. Older men came out and persuaded the lads back into their homes; ‘there is still a curfew’. Then a more determined ‘Joy Bangla’. The Mukti Bahini had taken over the streets.

Kidney Donation: Patients suffer for legal constraints

Fahmida, who has been undergoing dialysis for the last two years, now desperately needs a second kidney transplant. Her mother Fatema Zohra had donated her a kidney in 2015, but it got damaged within a year.

May 25, 2016

Nazrul study in neglect at DU centre

Although many seminars and discussions are going to be held to mark the 117th birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam today, only a handful of research has been done on the poet in the last few decades.

May 20, 2016

All the torchbearers

The excerpt (translated) above is not from 2016. It is from an article written by Hamida Banu, which was published in

May 20, 2016

The becoming of Nurjahan Begum

The colourful and picturesque pages of the National Geographic magazines were what enchanted little “Nuri” and

April 29, 2016

A long, insulting walk to justice for rape victims in Bangladesh

Her dark-circled, deep-set eyes gave her a hollow look. The eyes were full of fear and mistrust. The girl gave sideways glances as she hesitantly walked into the office of the One-stop-Crisis Centre (OCC) at Dhaka Medical College Hospital last month. She looked afraid, and when she noticed a man sitting in the room, she immediately cringed.

April 21, 2016