Wara Karim

The joy of sharing during Ramadan and Eid

A joy shared is a joy doubled! Eid-ul-Fitr is around the corner, and there are so many little ways by which we can share the joy of Eid and live up to the true spirit of the festival.

Why you should not waste food during Ramadan

Growing up, we were taught that wasting food was a sin. Every bite of food was valued in our culture, so we always heard our elders say that not even a grain of rice should go to waste. However, various factors have changed the way we once thought and behaved, resulting in a Bangladeshi society where a large number of people struggle to make ends meet while some citizens have access to more food than they can consume.

The power of Zakat during an economic slowdown

Zakat or almsgiving, which is the third pillar of Islam, refers to a Muslim’s annual obligatory donation to charitable causes if they have or own certain types of wealth. One may wonder why one must share their wealth with others. The straightforward answer to that is, Zakat is the right of the poor. As a wealthy Muslim, if you want to ‘purify’ your wealth, paying Zakat is the way.

Benefits of reading Bengali literature

In addition to all the cognitive benefits associated with reading, reading in your first language has plenty of other benefits, including knowing about your country and countrymen in the language of the land.

Make your kid’s winter holiday memorable

Most schools are closed because of the winter vacation, and this is a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with your children. There are plenty of things that you and your family can do within the country, the city, and even in the comfort of your home without breaking the bank!

On a January morning

December, although freezing, is a festive month in this part of the world and there are things to look forward to. Christmas lights and displays, holiday merchandise at shops, and holiday desserts at eateries and grocery shops add joy and warmth to a cold December.

Shailan Probeen Nibash: A home for the twilight years

Shailan Probeen Nibash (SPN), which is located about 45 km from Dhaka off the Dhaka-Aricha highway, in an idyllic village called Shailan in Dhamrai upazila. At first sight, the old age home’s newly built exposed red brick four-storey building with its long balconies and a courtyard garden might make you mistake it for a vacation resort. The home has a capacity to house 80 men and women free of charge.

How to be a good guest

Making a gathering successful-memorable does not fall squarely on the hosts, the guests have an important role to play, too. It is useful to remember a few things when you are visiting someone, whether it is for a few hours or a few days. Being a good guest starts from the time you are given an invitation, so take some time to check your schedule and then give a definitive answer; yes or no. Do not say, maybe.

Her footwear for winter

The weather is changing. The dipping temperature demands a change in what we wear, be it clothes or shoes. If you have been wearing sandals and open-toed shoes during the warmer months, now is the time to wear footwear that cover your feet a little more.

6 most beloved Bengali comfort snacks

In the crowd of burgers, pizza, and fried chicken, are we slowly forgetting our traditional Bengali comfort snacks? Let’s bring them back in our lives, no matter what part of the world you live in. After all, Bengali comfort snacks are the most appetizing, most flavourful hands down! We have drawn up a list of the most beloved Bengali comfort snacks. While these snacks are available on the street and in restaurants, they can be quite easily prepared at home, too.

The trap of instant gratification

We live in a world where instant or immediate gratification is taken for granted. We do not want to wait for anything, even when waiting means more benefits or better products. Online shops and ease of making payments have enabled us to get what we want with just a few clicks. If we like something, we want it right now, especially when it does not cost us much. A result of all this is a world full of cheap and inferior quality products and also, substandard food items containing hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, preservatives, and artificial colours and flavours. Like consumers, producers do not want to wait either. They want to produce, sell, and reap profits right now.

Autumn has arrived!

I smell the fragrance of fall in the air. The morning air is crisp, the leaves are turning, the days are getting shorter, and the temperature is dipping. The quilts are out, the comforters are in. Summer dresses are out, sweaters and light jackets are in. While the aforementioned changes are easier to adjust to, it is my garden and its changing appearance that asks me of my patience, for it is going to be a long wait before my garden dresses up in a myriad of colours afresh.

Destination Niagara Falls

A name given to a group of three waterfalls, the Niagara Falls runs along the international border between the United States and Canada. The largest, most beautiful, most featured, and most visited of the three waterfalls is the Horseshoe Falls. If you want to enjoy a full view of this natural wonder, you need to journey to Canada, which we did. The other two of the waterfalls, the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, lie within the United States.

How to become a smart shopper during inflation

Inflation is pinching our wallet. No matter how much you earn every month, the effect of high inflation is squeezing your purchasing power. People around the globe are now saving less than before, because it is becoming difficult for so many of us to just meet the necessary expenses; prices of gasoline, food, and housing are all soaring high. During this time of economic crisis, try becoming a smart shopper to mitigate the negative impact of inflation on your quality of life.

5 sandwiches to relish in hot weather

Between two slices of bread, a great number of ingredients can be mixed and matched to create a class favourite, a food that we know by the name sandwich. Sandwiches are insanely easy to prepare and delicious sandwiches can be prepared from simple and readily available ingredients. If you are a fan of sandwich like me, you can put together different kinds of sandwiches throughout the year to treat yourself, and your friends and family. The days right now are hot and humid, so here are 5 simple but scrumptious sandwich recipes that you can use when you are looking to eat something fresh and light. These sandwiches are also quick, healthy, and budget-friendly.

A case for minimalist jewellery

A lot of us women love to be adorned in jewellery, but wearing too many and too big pieces can make an outfit perplexing. People who love simple and clean style, believe in dainty, versatile, and effortless jewellery, which enhances a woman’s overall look by adding subtle details. In short, you can never go wrong with minimalist jewellery, where the design focus is on the concept of “less is more.”

9 ways to conserve energy at home

When you reduce or limit your energy use, you limit your impact on the environment. Remember, most of the electricity we consume comes from burning fossil fuels like natural gas, petroleum (oil), and coal, all of which are non-renewable resources. The world is in an energy crisis. However, every cloud has a silver lining; perhaps, this is a good time for us to start changing our lifestyles, habits, and energy use for a better, cleaner, and greener future.

Beating your Monday blues

Does a feeling of dread and anxiety drown you the afternoon before a new work week begins? If not, consider yourself lucky, for a lot of people do feel anxious, irritable, fearful, and restless on Saturday/ Sunday evening, depending upon the day work week begins where you live. Here are a few things that you can consider doing to beat this sinking feeling that overwhelms you before your work day starts.

4 tips to help you manage expenses during inflation

Budgeting is perhaps the single most important tool that helps us manage our money wisely during volatile economic times.

Cost Per Wear: An important fashion rule

Have you ever tried to work out the value of your investment in clothing, shoes, and accessories? Do you know if the money you spend on a dress, a pair of shoes, or a piece of costume jewellery is really worth it?

Jamaica, NY: A slice of Bangladesh away from it

It was the summer of 2013, I was strolling along Jamaica’s Hillside Avenue and turning my neck every time I was hearing someone utter

Self-care is not selfish

Self-care often takes a backseat in our lives. However, nurturing our own body, mind, and soul is imperative to living a more satisfied and successful life. Therefore, leave behind all feelings of guilt and take some time to focus on yourself and only yourself, if not every day, then at least a few times a week.

International travel during COVID-19

People have now resumed international travelling, although cautiously. With the emergence of a new, more contagious variant, Omicron, however, countries are placing new restrictions on travellers, making international travelling even more uncertain, more hectic

Durga Puja celebration by Bangladeshi diaspora

Clear azure skies, cotton-like fluffy clouds, fragrant night jasmine, and kans grass swaying to the autumnal breeze symbolise the advent of Durga Puja in Bangladesh.

Conscious consumption is the trend of the future

The day is already here when consumers are increasingly doing research about a product and the company producing it before making the final purchase. Consumers are now more educated than ever, which leads them to buy less, but buy better. ‘Conscious consumption’ is the trend of the future!

Tong, America’s first fuchka cart

In a tin foil container there were seven crispy semolina shells filled with seasoned potato, yellow peas, onion, green chilli, and cilantro; they were topped with grated hardboiled egg.

Back to school after more than a year

Schools are opening across the globe. And with this comes the threat of a new wave of COVID transmission. Wara Karim writes about her experience living in the USA and how authorities are planning to cope with the situation as children start attending educational institutions.

Of plant, plate, and palate

Ask anyone who has grown fruits, vegetables, or even culinary herbs if homegrown produce savour better in comparison with store-bought varieties. A gardener’s answer will be an unequivocal yes. Even simple green chillies or coriander leaves taste so much better and fresher when they are grown at home.

Ocean Bliss

I had not realised how therapeutic the ocean could be until I stood on its soft-wet sand. Atlantic waves broke at my feet and washed away the lockdown fatigue that had been harbouring inside of me.

Post-vaccination getaway: Manhattan

I felt alive the moment we crossed the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River. The 1.5-mile long tunnel connects Weehawken, New Jersey to Midtown Manhattan,

The significance of a shopping list

We all love to shop. Some of us are shopaholics while others are not, but we all, from time-to-time, purchase things we do not need. While it is not always possible to make a shopping list every time we go shopping, it is a good idea to make a grocery list before you step inside a food mart or a kitchen market. Why? You will find out in a while.

Tomorrow, a 3D film by Bangladeshi animators

Ratul Hasan, 6, lives on St. Martin’s Island, the southernmost point of Bangladesh. On a nighttime magical journey with “the Old Man of the Winds,” Ratul sees two kinds of possible future for his country and the world — one bleak and one bright.

Daydreaming about holidays

If you are like me, someone who jumps at the idea of exploring a new place, but have not travelled in the last one year, you will understand my plight. On some days, I so want to catch a flight and visit another state or country, inhale the air of a new place, and try a new cuisine.

Buy Bangladeshi from abroad

The items arrived in DHL’s famous red-yellow mail bag.

Understanding the power of small businesses

I wanted to order some food from a local café, so I Googled to find their phone number. The search result took me by shock, it said that the café was “permanently closed.”

My exploration of Bengali literature — better late than never

If someone asks me what I have achieved in this long stay-at-home situation, I will say that I have relished the rich and exciting works of Bengali wordsmiths! During this time at home,

Pahela Baishakh 2022: Pahela Baishakh is back

Still thankful

The pandemic has brought people closer. Yes, there are times when seeing each other 24/7 is leading to more frequent arguments and disagreements among family members,

Philadelphia’s century-old public market

The Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been serving gastronomes for 127 years. The historic market has survived the Great Depression and two World Wars! On a September Saturday, we decided to explore this public market, which attracts more than 100,000 people every week during ‘normal’ times.

Bangladeshi Americans on US Election 2020

Americans voted with zeal and fervour; they voted in-person and by mail, setting a record voter turnout, even amid a pandemic that is ravaging their nation. Joe Biden bagged more than 75 million popular votes, the highest so far in American political history.

In a quest for freedom

When asked what it means to her, Ranita Ghosh Chakrabarti, an Indian American pursuing higher education, said, “To me, freedom is my ability to make my life’s decisions by myself.

Preparing for the second wave

The lockdown condition of spring and summer seasons was bearable, thanks to long, sunny days and warm weather. However, as I look to the future and think of the cool-cold days ahead, I feel that spending the next six months within four walls could become challenging. I almost want to beg to these sunshine days, “Please stay a bit longer.”

A life measured in numbers

We count everything — from the size of the paycheque deposited to our bank accounts to the number of ‘likes’ on our last Facebook posts.

The eternal juggle of work and family during pandemic

“For a working mother to be able to successfully blend and balance work and family lives, the key ingredients are planning, planning, and planning.

Marital life during pandemic

On a countless number of couples worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on unprecedented marital challenges. China, where the outbreak first occurred, experienced a spike in divorce after the country began to lift the lockdown.

Faithful to the Oath

While so many of us are at home to ‘flatten the curve,’ or in other words, to reduce the spread of COVID-19, our healthcare professionals are fighting long, gruelling hours on the front lines.

A small step to self-sufficiency

This COVID-19 lockdown has seen so many firsts. It has seen the birth of many gardeners, chefs, bakers, painters, singers, dancers, comedians, and even, hairdressers.

Childhood unplugged

She collects all sorts of things for her crafts. These things range anywhere from bottle caps, egg cartons, cereal boxes, Styrofoam to ribbons, empty cans and cosmetic containers, old T-shirts and paper towel rolls. My 7-year-old daughter has taught me that you can make a new “something” out of (almost) anything.

Zakat leading to Helper’s High

Have you ever experienced an intense feeling of happiness washing over you after performing an act of kindness? If yes, then you are one of those who have felt what psychologists call the Helper’s High, an uplifting feeling that helps the mind, body, and spirit.