Playing the ball, lost love and eerie encounters

Nafiza Mahbub, Photo: Sarzina Islam

The whole of last week was a frenzied one. Technical glitches and guests cancelling at the last moment had to occur at the same time. Last Sunday started off gloomy – making my way through Ramadan traffic, all the way from The Daily Star office at Farmgate to the Radio Foorti office in Gulshan 2, trying to figure out endorsements (I dread these documents!) and trying to sound all happy and chirpy post iftar; a difficult task indeed!
However, as soon as my partner in crime, RJ Sarzina, and I got acquainted with Nafiza Mahbub, a young volleyball player, our exhaustion gave way to exuberance and curiosity. Studying in 11th grade at Scholastica, Nafiza, the current Vice Captain of her school team, represented her school at various inter-school tournaments in and around Dhaka. Not only that, this young talent also represented Bangladesh at handball tournaments in Italy and  the United States of America.
“I am a big football fan!” she quips in between. “I am a huge Barca fan and also support Spain. And like many Bangladeshis, I cheer for Brazil!” Well, for all the football fans out there, look out for Nafiza at the next World Cup to be held in Brazil.
The second hour consisted of the weekly positive story that we try to share with the listeners. Last week I spoke about a low-key brand -- Living Blue -- silently creating brilliance in the fields of Rangpur. Funded by a non-profit-organisation from Dhaka, a group of artisans in Rangpur grow indigo in the organic form, which is later used on fabric. What's special and positive about this story, besides the fact that this empowers the women in the villages? These artisans get more than just wage, in this case. They are brought into profit-sharing with the company -- indeed a large step for the industry in Bangladesh!
The last hour of Foorti Timeout is always fun. Not only did we play our weekly international song, but also tried to sort out the winning answers for the Cream and Fudge Ramadan quiz contest. Cream and Fudge is an ice cream shop, located both in Dhanmondi and Banani, and is very popular with ice cream lovers of all ages and shapes. Every week the winner receives 'slurpy jilapis' and a 1000 taka voucher from Cream and Fudge. The answer to last week's question, 'which country does Dondurma, a type of ice cream, belong to', was Turkey; the winner was Hassan Tawfiq from Kawran Bazar.
This is also the hour when we receive messages from people who have had their hearts broken. “Kaushik, Khulna, dear rj please tell Zulekha that I love her” or “Dukkhe Dukkhito, Chittagong, I am listening to you and crying for my lost love! Oh memories!” -- are just a few examples of what we receive in bulk.
Last week, Anik Khan, the guest RJ at Radio Foorti, came up with the story of how he had a ghostly encounter at the Radio Foorti staircase. Little did he know that he had actually witnessed his own reflection on one of the glass doors. The last link of the show is always a handshake link with the celebrity RJ of the following show, Back Benchers United, Anik Khan. And believe me when I say the last 5 minutes are definitely quite edgy -- fist fights, gun shots, slurs, cold wars and what not! Everything but a handshake!
Tune in to Foorti Timeout with Elita on Radio Foorti 88.0 FM every Sunday at 9 pm and don't forget to check out the highlights in Shout the following Sunday!

Elita Karim is Feature Editor, The Daily Star and the 7th Floor Monster. She is always on a diet.