Dhanmondi Shahi Eidgah: A Mughal relic that has withstood time
People have been offering Eid prayers at the Eidgah for almost 400 years
Art & Design
Nature Quest / Apes of the East
These Hoolock gibbons, locally known as "Ulluk", were spotted brachiating through the trees of Lawachhara National Park in Sylhet. Native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar and Southwest China, these lesser apes are diurnal, arboreal, and their method of locomotion is known as brachiation -- meaning they use their arms to swing from tree to tree
Snapshots of history—Golam Mustafa meets Manzoor Alam Beg
Modhurimay Alap (Swapno ‘71, 2023) transcribes two days of conversations with the late Golam Mustafa, first Director of Photography of Bangladesh Television.
15 years of iPhone: Evolution in photography
This week marks 15 years since the iPhone first went on sale and ushered in a new era: the age of the smartphone.
Culture Multimedia
United by the love of Bangla
Today's Star Special takes a look at the story of the Bangla lovers on wheels
Books
BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / A peripatetic poet’s pleasing musings
The title of this book suggests that it is based in Bengal but it really meanders deftly across time and space, more often than not in “mazy motion”.
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / A mesmerising journey of life’s twists and turn
The Covenant of Water by physician and author Abraham Verghese tells the story of three generations of an Orthodox Saint Thomas Christian family in Kerala. Through suffering and loss, triumphs and victories, the importance of familial ties is examined and supported. In the Kerala of the 1940s, blood ties were sacred, but “family” also meant helpers who worked for you. Members of the three-generational family seem to be under a curse which causes its members to drown in water. The mystical power of water in our lives is explored with precision and sensitivity in the novel.
New Garcia Marquez novel launched 10 years after his death
Gabriel Garcia Marquez died a decade ago, but a previously unpublished book by the author who popularised the Latin American "magical realism" narrative genre will hit the stores on Wednesday, somewhat despite his wishes
