Internship opportunities at BRAC and Grameen

All of you know that nowadays academics aren't everything that is required to get into good universities, especially in the US. So, for all of you who want to cram in as many ECA's as you can, internships are the thing to do. The bonus is, internships not only help you with your university app, they also help you gain invaluable real life experiences, dealing with real people and real situations. They show you how the actual work is done and then allow you to go and try it. Most importantly internships allow you to meet new people, and make valuable contacts, which can later help you in your life. After all as you grow older you will realize life is a lot about contacts and experiences.

Fortunately in Dhaka there are quite a few internship programs open to both school students and college going students. However, most of them are un-paid. So to all of you planning to make some money to treat your girlfriend… work in your dad's office or something. Here are two very recognized, valued and organized internship programs along with their description and contact info:

1.Grameen Internship Program
Grameen Bank offers internship opportunities for A-level and university students. Their program gives an insight into the workings of Grameen ranging from the operations of Grameen in the field level and their management structure. They have a flexible approach to the internship and you plan your time with them after presentations about the organization, for e.g. you can focus more into Poverty Indicators or into one of their sister companies such as Grameen Phone, Grameen Telecom etc. The timing is also flexible, varying from even just three weeks to over three months. They will however assign you to do some jobs such as interviewing people or doing translations… which are frankly no fun. And you get to also make field trips to the villages seeing the operations first person and are always best if you stay over in one of their branch offices for a day or two… don't worry the night stay is free of cost. Anyways the experience is really valuable and students from all around the world, such as people from Harvard, World Bank all come to the program. In fact foreign students are flooding the place more than Bangladeshi students! For us there is a facilitation fee of 1000 taka and transportation and food costs is to be bear by self. Oh and the internship is unpaid but is, as said, valuable and recognized.
Contact: Mrs. Jannat-E-Quanine, e-mail: [email protected]

2.BRAC Internship Program
BRAC also offers a variety of internship opportunities for both inland A-Level and varsity students and students from abroad much like Grameen. The BRAC internship program is also much flexible and a large number of international students continually work in the program. For those of you university people, writing a paper or doing an analysis you can use your own methodologies and instruments or BRAC can also help you in this field, so don't worry. Oh, and there is no extra facilitation fees but the transport and food cost is to be bear by self. Field visits also add to the fun and are essential to understand the workings of this huge NGO (non-government organization). You can plan visits to their Floriculture, Sericulture, Paper Recycling Plants, Hatcheries, Bakeries and a lot more interesting places, and you will have a lot of fun moving around the villages in motor bikes!!! As you have guessed, the internship is also un-paid, none-the-wise is a great experience.
Contact: Mr. Abdur Rahman, e-mail: [email protected]

By Adnan M. S. Fakir

Glass painting

The technique of glass painting is the answer to all the prayers of those amateur designers and artists out there who seek for a simple method through which to express their innovative ideas. The procedures are simpler than painting on canvas but the end results are much more stunning. With the vacations going on it's really a great hobby to take up.

Basically, what you need are only four major items to paint on glass;
1: Your base. This can be an acrylic sheet, mirror, plastic boxes and containers, even ordinary glass jars and bottles, which we throw out of our homes every week. In fact throwaways are the best things to start with because you are not losing anything should you not be very happy with your first results.

2: Glass paint: Camel/Acron glass paint are the better companies and are available in all good stationery stores (Gyankosh, Boi Bichitra). Set boxes offer you the six basic shades and other colours may be purchased individually. These colours are ready to use and do not need any solvents.

4: Glass paint outliner: they comes in many colours such as black, copper, gold, old gold, silver etc. the of glass paint that you buy will have a black one and the other colours need to be bought separately. Outliners come in tubes with a nozzle at the end through which the paint is squeezed through onto your chosen surface.

The art of glass painting has enough substance to fill up a book but in today's article we will be limiting ourselves only to a few basic types.
1. Painting mirrors
2. Paintings in plain glass
3. Other decorative like jars, wine bottles, small glass containers

Plain Glass
Clean the surface (use vinegar and newspapers if you want t it really clean).
Place the drawing/design underneath the glass and then using a permanent marker trace the drawing over the glass.

Outline the drawing/design using the glass paint outliner. Be careful not to leave any breaks in the outline as it may cause the paint to leak out. Using the outliner is a lot like applying mehendi; it'll be a piece of cake for those who have already had experience in the latter.

Flood with paint using the nozzles on the paint bottles. It's wiser to keep it simple the first few time and paint with one colour in each section. Once you get the hang of it you can try out shading with few colours at once.

Now comes the hardest part: waiting while your masterpiece dries and believe me that takes time! Give a painting at least six hours to dry and do not move it about during its drying process.

Mirrors
The exact same procedure that was used for painting on the horizontal glass piece can be used to pain on mirrors as we. However it's better to choose simple designs for mirrors instead of images as they are easier to copy onto the surface with a marker. For more complicated drawings use the following method. Tracing: Place carbon paper face down on the surface lightly taping the corners so that it is not displaced. Place the sheet with the drawing on it on the carbon paper and simply draw over the image applying sufficient pressure on the carbon paper.

Cylindrical glass objects (jars bottles glasses)
Place the jar in between supports so that it does not roll while the painting is done.
Use carbon paper or the tracing method (according to the drawing), to transfer the design onto the object.
Line the entire drawing.

Since it's a curved surface you have to paint only that portion which is right on top so that the paint does not drip along the sides. Leave that particular portion to dry for around half an hour.

Roll the jar slightly and then paint on the next portion. Leave to dry. In this manner carry out the entire drawing

A few ideas…..
For all the above types of glass paintings you can use sequins, stones and beads to add glamour to them. While the paint is semi wet use a pin to pace the sequins on the desired areas and when the paint dries the sequin will set permanently and a painting with well-coordinated sequins look amazing.

If there are any old glass show pieces that your mom is willing to part with then those can be used as candle holders and you can also paint it with colour scheme matched with that of the candle.

Sun-catchers: Paint on a piece of glass cut into a particular shape. Bore a hole to hang it with. Using transparent wire or coloured ribbon, hang in front of a window so that the rays of the sun are reflected in beautiful colours

Wine-bottles can be transformed into trendy vases by painting in some simple designs. Placing some dried flowers and stems will create a better effect rather than the fresh ones

Hope these ideas help to you to pass your time and at the same time enhance your home. Believe me a good glass painting hung on your wall will get you lifetime praises from all visitors to your home!

By Midnight Maiden

Book Review

The Far Pavilions

Romance, adventure, mystery, history, and high drama meet and merge in this unforgettable saga by MM Kaye.

Set in the times of the British Raj, it features one Ashton Hilary Akbar Pelham-Martyn (try saying that with your mouth full). The son of an eccentric British linguist/botanist and his fair wife, also British, the boy loses both parents at an early age, and is adopted by his Hindu nanny Sita, who calls him Ashokh. This being 1857, the year of the Sepoy Mutiny, it's dangerous for little Ash to be an angrez, so Sita flees with him across the country to the Kingdom of Gulkote.

A freak accident and a narrow save lead little Ashokh into Hawa Mahal, the great Palace of Gulkote, where he becomes the Heir Prince Laliji's slave. This is an evil place, filled with spiteful courtiers, a jealous, scheming queen and danger everywhere. Ash finds friends in the horse-master Koda Dad, his son Zarin, and Laliji's half-sister, the princess Anjuli. He also makes a poisonous enemy in a courtier named Biju Ram, and ultimately, it is the danger from this area that forces Ash to flee from Gulkote.

Sita dies on the way, and Ash is finally picked up by the British, and packed off to the UK to be made into a proper English Sahib. So Ashokh is now Ashton Pelham-Martyn, a handsome, wealthy, British gentleman. The people responsible for sending him to Britain had intended for him to join the military, because his keen knowledge of the customs and languages of the Hindustanis were valuable assets. So Ashton finds himself heading back to the home of his youth, only it's not a home anymore, because he's an angrez now.

Ash's path crosses that of Princess Anjuli, his old playmate, who is now grown into a beautiful, graceful woman…and engaged to be married to someone else.

What follows is heart-stopping adventure, and a tale of love, valour, friendship and patriotism.

Kaye, besides weaving a fantastic story, addresses a lot of issues like the question of identity, the conflict between races and religions, social crimes in India, and of course, the colonial mentality of the British.

It's been a while since I read something so wholly satisfying, and I'd definitely recommend it to everyone. My copy was gifted to me by a friend, but I think it should be available at the local bookstores.

By Sabrina F Ahmad