MAILBOX
Photo: Andrew Eagle
Destination Feni
By publishing this fascinating cover story on Feni, the Star has reminded us that there is so much yet to be learned about our own country. I hope that the Star will continue to publish stories about the history, culture and future potential of other districts of Bangladesh.
Khairul Karim Khokon
Bashabo, Dhaka
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It once was said that there is no port in the world where people of Feni have not been. It means that people of Feni are adventurous in nature and many of them took jobs as crew members of ships going to foreign countries. When I lived in many parts of Europe and North America during the last three decades, I had the opportunity to meet many a people from Feni. They are a hardworking people who send home a lot of remittance that ultimately contribute toward the development of Bangladesh.
Moinul Islam
Savar, Dhaka
We Are Listening
The beauty of Shunte ki pao! lies in the fact that the film chooses to examine how a family tries to live “normally” in the absurd situation of constantly moving due to flood and storms. Kamar Ahmad Simon draws a nuanced portrait of a middle class family adapting to near breaking point. But it is also a story of hope. It shows how people start from zero after losing everything to the wrath of nature. Simon's film has earned international acclaim and boosted the morale of many young film makers of the country. I hope that film makers like Simon will get more cooperation and assistance from the government and other stakeholders.
Bahauddin Farid
Baridhara, Dhaka
Social Media for Good Policing
Assistant Commissioner of Police Tahseen Mashroof Hossain is a shining example of what innovation and thinking out of the box can do to stop crimes and bring criminals to justice. ACP Hossain is young, honest and patriotic. He reminds me of Kiran Bedi, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who became a legend for her ability to discharge her official duty without being influenced by outside pressure. She once ordered to tow away a car that belonged to Rajib Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, The car was parked illegally by a busy shopping complex in Delhi.
Faheem Hasan Babu
Mohakhali, Dhaka
Remembering the Leaders
The four leaders killed in jail on November 3, 1975 were the main architects of our liberation war. Thirty eight years have passed since then. None of the eleven accused killers has been punished. That tells us what kind of a country we have built after the liberation. One after another progressive people have been assassi-nated even in the post-independence area. The nation has watched in silence. What's worrisome is that the groups and parties that believe in killings and all sorts of acts of violence enjoy significant popularity among the people of Bangladesh. In order for the nation to move on in the spirit of the liberation war, the killers of the four national leaders must be punished.
Mohammad Farid
Lalbag, Dhaka
Delhi Days . . .
Syed Badrul Ahsan's essay made me nostalgic. As a PhD student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, I spent five years in New Delhi and had the opportunity to frequent the amazing bookshops of the city. My favourite was a little bookshop opposite the Priya cinema hall in Vasant Bihar. The store had a wide collection of books from all over the world and the owner was the sweetest guy in the world. He always had a smile on his face. Even sweeter was his beautiful, little daughter who occasionally came to shop with her father. Whenever I went to buy books there, the owner would always talk to me about literature, art and politics. I wish there were book stores like these in Dhaka.
Milli Rahman
Banani, Dhaka
Becoming a Writer
Food for thought in November 8th’s issue was both entertaining as well as enlightening. I think for our writing to be great, it must be useful to the world. And for that to happen we must form an opinion of the world. We need to observe the world closely and steadily, with a mind open to change. And we have to live in the world, and not pretend that it is someone else's world we are writing about. Because the world, for all its madness, is worth loving.
A writer cannot allow himself to be directed by what people like. When a writer wonders, “Will it sell?” he is lost, not because he is looking to make an extra buck or two, but rather because, by dint of asking the question in the first place, he has oriented himself toward the expectations of others. A writer has to create what the world needs.
Tanzima Khan
Department of English,
University of Central Oklahoma, USA, Via Email