Tribute

The man who fearlessly fought for freedom

Today, May 19, 2019, is the 48th anniversary of the passing of my beloved father, Shaheed Abul Kalam Shamsuddin. Abba was one of the leading organisers of Bangladesh’s independence struggle in 1971. He was a born leader who, despite having everything going for him as a privileged CSP officer and the SDO of Sirajganj, chose to engage in active resistance movement against the Pakistani army and led by example.
‘Music has no short cuts’

While reminiscing about his childhood days at Teliapara Tea Estate of Habiganj, Subir Nandi used to say, “I was born in nature and I was taught music by nature.” As a young boy he would often listen to long plays in the peace and quiet of the tea garden which eventually encouraged him to take up music. Dada’s (he was like an older brother to me) father, Sudhangshu Bhusan Nandi, an army man and a music lover who managed the tea garden, owned a large wooden box full of long play records of various genres. Thus there was no dearth of music for the young Subir to draw inspiration from.
Tribute to Professor Abdul Momen

It is hard to believe that Professor Momen sir is no longer with us. He left us on May 10, 2016. Professor Momen was a wonderful human being and an empathetic social worker. He was an upright person all his life and was amiable and affectionate towards the people around him.
Tribute to a soulful voice

To us, he was simply Phool Da, his pet name, because of his love for flowers. The best gift one could give him was a bouquet of flowers, his favourite being a combination of roses and tulips.
An odyssey of self-determination and equality

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected ...
Bangabandhu: Up close and personal

Bangabandhu's 99th birth anniversary was commemorated on March 17, the date with an asterisk mark in our nation's calendar.
An album on the poet of politics

My first impression of Bangabandhu dates back to around the mid-sixties. A helicopter service had been in operation between Dhaka
Tribute to a Quiet Warrior

Warriors for women's rights come in all shapes and sizes—some take to the streets, some write poetry, some fight court cases. Another kind of warrior gleans evidence and strives to uncover women's contribution to society and economy. Of them, Simeen Mahmud was one of a kind for the passion and insight with which she researched women's empowerment, and in particular, women's work and labour force participation in Bangladesh.
Remembering a devoted civil servant

Dr Md Rafiqul Islam, a senior member of BCS (customs) cadre, and a former member, National Board of Revenue, who topped the list of successful BCS examinees (1981 batch), passed away this February 8 due to a cardiac arrest. He was 65.
The Power of Love

Valerie Taylor refuses to accept despair as the final outcome of the ambiguities of life. She proves that nothing makes one incapable of reaching up for the possibilities that confront him or her.
Always Remember, Never To Forget: Farewell, Bulbul Sir

A day after he turned 63 years old, Ahmed Imtiaz Bulbul posted a picture on his social media profile, asking friends and loved ones to remember him, lest they forget. In the photograph, he seemed to be waiting for a flight to his next destination, carrying his passport, all dressed and ready to face challenges as he always had. Little did we know that the photograph depicted his final farewell, with Bangladesh in his heart and music in his smile. That was the last post he had made on the platform.
Standing up for truth and justice

SM Murshed, who was born on January 11, 1911, rose to pre-eminence as a jurist imbued with a deep sense of social justice. His contribution to the field of literature was no less outstanding.
Justice Habibur Rahman: A life of subdued greatness

His would not be an ordinary life. The year was 1952, and the movement demanding Bangla as a state language of erstwhile East
Remembering Mrinal Sen, whose films connote courage and consciousness

Only a handful of Bengali filmmakers are revered in the realm of world cinema whose names are mentioned with legendary directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Luis Bunuel, Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Ousmane Sembene, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Glauber Rocha and others.
A towering figure in child healthcare in Bangladesh

In recent years, a series of studies by the United Nations and World Bank applauded Bangladesh's efforts in curbing child mortality. In Asia, among the least developed and middle-income countries...
The real on reel, without sugarcoating

It was a balmy summer evening in mid-1970s when I first got to see director Mrinal Sen at a get-together in a club set up by my friends in my locality in a south Kolkata suburb. It was at the height of the Naxalite movement and the subjects of discussion with Mrinal-da, as he was popularly called then, were films and politics.
A magician with words

Syed Shamsul Haq's presence in Bangla literature is so all-encompassing and his brilliance so overwhelming in all the branches of creative writing in which he is present that the accolade that he was a literary genius would not in any way overstate his extraordinary talent.
Begum Rokeya: A trailblazer in women's rights

Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, the legendary Bengali writer-activist whose leadership had transformed the lives of thousands of people in this region and beyond, was born on this day in 1880.
Tribute to Anwar Hossain: The end of an era

A pioneer of modern photography in Bangladesh, Anwar Hossain showed forthcoming generations what constituted modern composition.
A fearless woman warrior

The passing away of Bir Protik Taramon Bibi quietly in her home in Rajipur Upazila, at age 61, only 16 days before the commemoration of Victory Day, is truly a tragedy for us.
The man and his vision

Today we all know of Kumudini and its institutions—Kumudini Hospital, Bharateswari Homes, Kumudini Nursing School and College, Kumudini Women's Medical College and Ranada Prasad Shaha University.
The passing of another friend

I wasn't ready for this. Zahin Ahmed, the executive director of Friends in Village Development, Bangladesh, popularly known as FIVDB, breathed his last in a Dhaka hospital on October 27. A cancer survivor, he unfortunately couldn't fend off the virulent infections that kept him in hospital for the previous ten days.
November 3, 1975: A day of infamy

Around midnight of November 3, 1975 a number of army personnel entered the Dhaka Central Jail where the four national leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, M Mansur Ali and AHM Quamruzzaman had been taken only a week after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Weaving the tapestry of folk melodies

In the shade of the mighty Himalayas, the Torsha, Dhorla and Kaljani Rivers flow gently across the village of Balrampur in Cooch Behar. It was in this peaceful place that Abbasuddin Ahmed, the doyen of folk songs, was born on October 27, 1901 to Zafar Ahmad, a lawyer and Hiramon Nesa.
Sher-e-Bangla: A natural leader

Dr TG Percival Spear of Cambridge University divided leadership into five types: (1) natural, (2) charismatic, (3) rational, (4) of consensus, and (5) by force. According to him, the natural leader is selfless; he is, in fact, not interested in leadership.
Adieu, AB

AB is no more. The nation is in his debt, and there's nothing we can do about it. There are murmured demands for some sort of a national tribute or recognition. If you ask me, a man, who has won over hearts, has no use for medals.
Memories with the Legend

The first time I had met Ayub Bachchu was years ago at a recording in a studio called Art of Noise in Shegun Bagicha. The studio belonged to yet another music legend Foad Nasser Babu from the band Feedback.
The body is my temple

It is said that a Baul is a mystic who is guided by his guru to seek divinity in human beings. The guru is like his guardian angel, and music is his way of giving him guidance. It broadens his mind and illuminates his horizon. And as he masters the language of the body, slowly but assuredly,
Uri Avnery: The face of exemplary journalism

Uri Avnery, the Israeli activist-journalist who famously played chess with the Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat, died in Tel Aviv on August 20, at the age of 94.
In memory of Imtiaz Habib

It is with profound sorrow we write this piece about our dear friend Imtiaz Hasan Habib (1949-2018), who died peacefully while asleep in the early morning hours of August 27 at his home in Norfolk, Virginia.