CHINTITO SINCE 1995

#Saree

The most adorable sight that thy eyes can behold is that of a child in her first saree, her small strides burdened by girdles of fabric (quality immaterial) and her vain efforts to keep her anchol in place. She will carry a heavenly smile garnished by shyness, innocence and pride of being Mommy, at last.
Dualism is to everyone’s loss

To be a successful criminal (No! I am not opening a school), besides having 10 SIM cards (legally allowed for each operator), an oily body to slip away if caught, a foul mouth, an arsenal of weapons, and liaison with uniformed ostads and informed murubbis, one must
Make them eat their mangoes

You left a restaurant, content, so much so that you tipped the waiter heavier than your usual. Two days later, a news flash on the TV scroll: “Sona Dana Khana Pina Restora fined Tk 1 lakh for freezing rotten fish and expired chicken.” Nausea overtakes you. To an
Of pink dogs and doggone humans

We have remar-kable similarities: jobless or sleeping on the job when employed, being kicked about or loved like crazy, meaninglessly barking at each other, unkempt body hair or salon spoilt, ready to lick and leak in public; tree or wall is a matter of circumstances.
Camouflage of a different kind

The history of camouflage is as old as animals hiding in their natural habitat. Human beings, perhaps the greatest copycats, took quite a while but never looked back, especially since World War I when military forces massively exploited the craft. Over the years, few of us can deny not having taken refuge in the art of disguise and deception at some time in our life.
Rajuk's 'absolute power corrupts absolutely'

British historian Lord Acton's 130-year-old observation that a person's sense of morality diminishes as his/her power increases is true
From Breivik to Brenton to #HelloBrother

Terrorists kill without discrimination. Their tactics differentiate them from freedom fighters. Terrorists have no religion. They may have names—Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or any other.
Melania Trump for president

America, of US fame, like most countries including Bangladesh, is a nation that thrives on “firsts”. From Benjamin Franklin's discovery in 1747 of the principle of electric charge conservation
Jumping to conclusions in poignant encounters

You never know until they tell you. We humans have been perennially judging each other by appearances mainly, but also by what we say or do or not.
We choose to be unsafe

The chain reaction, which culminated into the Chawkbazar devastation last Wednesday, was reportedly detonated by a car's gas cylinder that burst, leading to the explosion of plastic goods and chemicals stored in an area of mixed occupancies.
Ringtones of Misery

It's three in the afternoon. I have just retired from my routine lunch. As I settle down to relax with the day's newspaper and a bit of a shuteye, my mobile gives me a rude startle. Being someone whose occupation demands connectivity, I need to receive every call, and so I do.
Politics of posters

Level playing field” was the most popular phrase before the 11th national parliamentary elections, and after.
Why will 'they' pay to serve us?

The young man delivered the hot biriyani at our door. I thanked him and paid him his company's due, and a little something extra for his service.
Let architects do their job

Architects, not all, will perhaps offer a convincing reason for choosing the subject and the profession. Dialectics may vary from
My name is Ahmed

My Name Is Khan” is a 2010 Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer Indian hit film. In the cine world, plagiarism is the name of the game, and sure enough Dhallywood followed suit in 2013 with a romantic action movie by the same name with local heartthrobs Shakib Khan and Apu Biswas doing the honours.
The road belongs to us, the public

That does not imply we can do anything with it, on it and besides it. This license of ownership is rather a delegation of responsibility that very few of us understand, and therefore are unable to fulfil.
No apologies, I am not a candidate

To be honest there has not been any clarion call from any quarters, least of all the fallacious source of all power, nor from any of my well-wishers, relatives or "true" friends for me to submit my candidacy for election to the Jatiya Sangsad.
Celebrity slip is a shame for the game

A tennis umpire worldwide commences a game uttering what sounds like “Love all”. To the French, it means “l'oeuf” (pronounced love),
An example to build on

Going overboard for even acquaintances, nationalism for the appropriate cause and at the right time, united in the face of any natural calamity, and indulging in innocent gossiping (read: harmless backbiting) are some of the finer points of a native Bangladeshi.
Traffic education, upwards from kindergarten

Ignorance and defiance in combination with irresponsibility can be disastrous, more so if wrongdoers can get away with murder with a little help from delinquent sections of the state machinery.
A freedom fighter and Liberation War researcher

Our imagin-ation seldom can reach beyond the immediacy of time. We are free to jump on an illusory time-machine to traverse from a million year old cave to an undersea home in Mars, yet we do not venture even within that limited range; either way beyond is dark (or bright), who knows?
Rupa, Rajib, Payel, Dia, Abdul Karim…

Passenger safety or dignity were never the strong points of transport workers starting from the ticket counter till pushing them off a bus.
Our unwarranted fixation with foreign sportsmen

A 40-year-old Argentina supporter wanted to raise the blue and white stripes atop his building in Dhaka. His hand-held flag-mast came in contact with high voltage electricity.
Elbowed out by mind block

The morning was laden with an overcast sky, yet a brazen sunburst rifting through the haze bode a promising day. Despite the overwhelming laze and considerable reluctance, I moved my gaze away from the engaging serenity. With much disinterest I leafed through the pages of a newspaper lying beside me. There she was spread all across the front page, affording me a perchance face-to-face meeting. However virtual, the famed Indian silver screen infatuation of millions was in my hands.
Sports is about more than just participating

It is natural to assume that Australia's Gold Coast is strewn with aurous accolades for the picking. A little exploration would have revealed that close to four and a half thousand athletes from 71 countries and territories were vying for the 275 sets of medals this summer Down Under.
Forgive us, Alvira

I have never met you, my child. But, there are so many of you we all know; cheerfully running around, full of life, the apple of your parents' eyes. And your grandparents? They must love you to bits. Whereas the world should have been your playfield, your workshop to discover anew, your garden to dwell in peace and tranquillity, we have turned it into an ordeal where danger lurks abundantly, and death strikes with cruelty. We beg you an apology.
Farewell to arms

This could be the start of a gory serial. In response to 17 hale and hearty lives lost, and 15 serious injuries from a white shooter (predictably mentally ill) at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, the best the country's beleaguered president could do after seven days was to suggest arming school lunch staff with concealed weapons, and this was during his meeting with angry and emotional friends and relatives of
We are all VIPs in this kingdom of VIPs

Kobi Guru had this figured out more than one hundred years ago.
Old words in new voices

It's a wonderful feeling, ascendency to almost ministerial heights, when you hear your old words in new voices, and more important, manoniyo at that.
A friendship to cherish

Abdul Qayyum was a unique person. While I tap this on my mobile sitting at a hospital in Essex, England, January 15, his Janaza could be taking place in Narayanganj. By the time I finish he would probably be resting in eternal peace.