Pelé: Unseeing is believing

The world is grieving for Pelé, one of its most gifted sons, who won the universe with his football skills.

When in Qatar, be a Qatari

In the days leading up to the greatest show on earth, miserably apt was the Bangla saying, "Jare dekhte nari, tar cholon banka."

Living on hope, devoid of reality

Many of us believe and widely practise the cliché of, “Hopefully, this shall not happen to me”.

The mirror speaketh the truth

On the sandy desert of Dubai and in the barren stretches of Abu Dhabi, it is ektur jonno difficult to connect bat with ball, to avoid wides and mokkhom good-length deliveries, and to hold on to a multiple loppa catches with both hands or to stop a boundary with your palm or your booted foot if you happen to speak in Bangla.

Guns, but more Roses

In case you have not noticed, climate is not the only manifestation that has changed drastically over the last decade. People have too.

In search of an Olympic medal with ‘athletes without borders’

Now that San Marino, population 34,000, less than Sabrang, the smallest Union in Teknaf Upazila, have won medals at the Tokyo Olympics, the pressure is mounting on us, the eighth largest country, with about 17 crore people. But, how?

Unusual power lust in modern West

After quenching their lurid lust for power and property, funded by slavery and wholesale loot for centuries, leaving behind a trail of torture, murder and injustice, Western colonialists began to spread the word of the holy books,

A nation bogged by pitiful pessimists

You have perhaps heard the tale of these two neighbours.

To dua or not to dua?

You get a surprise phone call, not all have to be pleasant. According to this gentleman, although his voice was unfamiliar, you met him 10 years ago.

The future doesn’t justify the past

In case you have felt the shivers recently, or sweated profusely, know that climate is not the only earthly element that has undergone change.

Can we all play nice, please?

With the third round of Covid surge, educational institutions in Bangladesh are once again subjected to an extended shutdown.

The crisis of wastage

From my flat on the 5th floor, I could hear a beggar beseech anyone who would care to listen for alms.

The mirror speaketh the truth

On the sandy desert of Dubai and in the barren stretches of Abu Dhabi, it is ektur jonno difficult to connect bat with ball, to avoid wides and mokkhom good-length deliveries, and to hold on to a multiple loppa catches with both hands or to stop a boundary with your palm or your booted foot if you happen to speak in Bangla.

Guns, but more Roses

In case you have not noticed, climate is not the only manifestation that has changed drastically over the last decade. People have too.

Elbowed out by an open mind; sequel to ‘mind block’

Our wedding feasts are not the usual places to showcase our best behaviour. Reaching out to fetch a bowl of rezala over the next guy, tossing a shami kebab to a needy friend beyond the reach of your spoon, and trying to cover spilt borhani with only one layer of tissue paper are all part of the gaiety.

Whom do the public servants serve?

Unlike the English language, where the hierarchy of age is muddled in the universality of “you,” Bangla distinguishes age, endearment, and insult with the terms “tui,”“tumi,” and “apni”—not in that order—as do several other dialects of the subcontinent.