It's a bit odd for me as a healthy 30-something-year-old to be writing about death. But having lived through the protracted agony of my mother's death from kidney failure and complications from dialysis, I feel I have some authority on the subject.

There was nothing extraordinary about that day, except that a sudden impulse to walk had gripped me! A nyctophile, I have always cherished the pleasure of walking in the city after dark, but living in Dhaka now, this desire had to remain unfulfilled.

Even though it was monsoon, I watered my rooftop plants before leaving Dhaka during Eid. While travelling in the night coach, I kept worrying about my plant babies. What would happen to them in the absence of water in this sweltering heat and high humidity? Will they survive my seven-day vacation? My fears were confirmed—when I returned, I found that the smaller plants had almost died, while the leaves of the mature ones had turned yellowish.

Manisha Chakma met Pinky for the first time at a tea stall located right outside her college. Like Manisha, Pinky too had left her hometown and arrived in Dhaka in search of a good job and decent life. After a brief chat, numbers were exchanged and over the next few days, Pinky, in Manisha's words, would go on to become a 'hi-hello' friend.

The number of female workers departing Bangladesh is on an upward trajectory, 1,21, 925 in 2017, according to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) data. The stories of female migrant workers in the Middle East have been well documented as have those of male migrant workers in Europe.

From cartoons to books to movies, there is one recurring theme that catches the eye and engages all sensory experiences, and true to Proust's belief, it is the pure, unadulterated joy of a good meal.

Pakistan goes to polls in less than a week. But the country is stunned by a set of terror attacks that killed more than 160 people in a span of two days. Last Friday, a suicide bomb ripped through an election rally killing at least 149 people including the candidate in Mastung, a district in Balochistan.

Mother, seek mercy for me from the Prime Minister. Tell her that I am a regular student and that I am not involved with any political party.

“Where is your warrant?” is the first question that people ask when the police knocks on the door. That is the question being asked by a daughter in a video that recently went viral on Facebook, when the police came to apprehend her father. The police did not heed her plea and pushed right past in.

There was a time when you only had to worry about receiving spam in your e-mail inbox. Years on, though, that role seems to have been taken over by the messages folder on your phone.

What security has the working man that it may not be his turn [to starve] tomorrow? Who assures him employment, who vouches for it that, if for any reason or no reason his lord and master discharges him tomorrow, he can struggle along with those dependent upon him, until he may find someone else 'to give him bread'?

This refers to a timely piece, “Return to more of the same”, on the secret memorandum of understanding’ (MoU) signed between UN agencies and the Myanmar government. The repatriation process will not be effective as citizenship has not been ensured from the Myanmar government side.

I get asked this question many times. Correction: I got asked this question once when I grabbed a huge, menacing, barking dog and pushed him to the ground. And he whimpered and licked my hands.

Istanbul is easily one of my favourite cities—it's one I have no qualms about visiting time and again, visa permitting. So when I found out that Turkish Airlines provides free Istanbul city tours, with food and transportation for all Turkish airlines passengers transiting through Istanbul for six hours or over...

The Films of Jiří Barta

A skilled storyteller in his own right, Humayun Ahmed's narrative prowess was eminent in his films. During the 90s when rampant commercialisation resulted in over-glammed, action-packed, blockbuster-style cinema led by testosterone-fuelled heroes, Ahmed's films exhibited a knack for well-rounded and socially relevant narratives.

Football fever has reached its peak all over the world over due to the ongoing FIFA World Cup. However, Bangladesh's foray into the global sport was met with deafening criticism, owing to widespread allegations of corruption in the augural Independent Cup of Digital Democracy (ICDD).

Travelling through South America during the World Cup, SAMAI HAIDER succumbs to football fever and finds herself trying to explain to locals Bangladesh's blind obsession with Brazilian and Argentinian football.

Art Battle Dhaka

It's midnight; I hear a distant cry of a stray dog and the sputtering of engines at rhythmic intervals. On the other side of the bed, my mother is napping, holding my newborn close to her. I am wide awake though.