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    Volume 10 |Issue 27 | July 15, 2011 |


   Inside

 Letters
 Voicebox
 Cover Story
 Neighbours
 Food for Thought
 Obituary
 Impressions
 Fiction
 Venture
 Travel
 Musings
 Art
 Lifestyle
 Health
 Star Diary
 Human Rights
 Perceptions
 Postscript

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Star Diary

Breathtaking Act

The other day when I was returning from my friend's house I got stuck in a jam. The traffic was moving very slowly and I was feeling very drowsy. Suddenly, I noticed, a young rickshaw puller, making a weird sound overtake us and come beside a cargo truck. The rickshaw puller got hold of a thick metal chain which was hanging on the side of the cargo truck so that his rickshaw would move with the truck and he did not have to paddle. At first, everything was going fine and smooth and I was enjoying the rickshaw puller's move. All of a sudden the traffic police showed the green signal for a longer time than usual and the cargo truck accelerated at full speed. As a result, the rickshaw puller could not balance the rickshaw and as he released the chain, his rickshaw crashed directly on to the traffic island and he fell on the traffic police who was standing there. Although the whole scene was hilarious the poor rickshaw puller not only lost his rickshaw but also was fined and beaten up by the police.

Rahim A Sajwani
North South University, Dhaka


Astonishing for what?

Nowadays, we become astonished when people show honesty, follow the law, rules and regulations instead of doing the opposite. A few days ago, I had taken a journey by train. At the railway station, I was waiting with all the other passengers to start our journey. Surprisingly, the train arrived on time. All the passengers of my compartment were surprised and started to talk to each other about the train's arrival on time, even though it should have been viewed as a normal phenomenon. In the previous issue of the Star magazine, one of the writers had become surprised by getting his lost wallet back. We are forgetting what should be considered normal. All injustice, lawlessness have now become rules and we are getting accustomed to these anomalies.

Porimol Deb Nath
Jonmejoy, Amberkhana, Sylhet


5 o'Clock Club

Few disciplines like the habit of getting up early can transform your life so worthily. The first few hours of the early morning have something very special about them, when time seems to slow down and a deep sense of peace fills the air. Joining the 5 o'clock Club shall allow you to start controlling your day rather than letting your day control you. Winning the 'battle of the bed' and putting 'mind over mattress' will offer you with one quiet hour for yourself during the most crucial part of your day : the beginning. If spent wisely, the rest of your day will unfold in a wonderful way. This is one principle that is really worth integrating into your life. In doing so, you will join the ranks of powerful people like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and a few more. To cultivate the habit of rising early one has to remember that it is the quality rather than the quantity of sleep that is most important. Six hours of uninterrupted sleep than ten hours of restless, broken sleep is far better. To get a sound sleep, here are some tips :dine before 8pm (which should be light preceded with soup), mind should not be preoccupied with day's doings, habit of reading lying in bed should be given up and avoid watching TV news before going to bed. The golden rule: 'Early to bed and early to rise' is enduring as ever. Give yourself a few weeks time for this new habit to take hold. It is a gift you give to yourself.

In my exercise regime, I took a walk to the bridge at Road 7, Dhanmondi. The flowers, trees and the horizon were still in the veil of secrecy. A transient misty haze hung in the day-night interlude. The air was balmy, refreshing, – and the eyes were in respite from the glare that come pouring from the summer sky. Overhead birds could be heard chirping with joy across the lake.

The view of the lake was healing, – a sigh of relief in the non-stop urban conversation. I got a nostalgic flashback of my village river that I visited last time.

The podium that sits on the edge of the lake water had a small crowd of health-seekers. Some boys and girls were lost in their musical outpourings of life and nature, a profusion that was precious beyond measure — an unforgettable piece of time. Tagore is divine.

Syed Badrul Haque
Lalmatia, Dhaka

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