The people who care

People accomplish great things, with hard work, sheer talent and determination. But in the process, they are helped to numerous obstacles by other people and these are the people they thank. Besides the Almighty, they pour out their thanks on their parents, family members, bosses, friends etc. But then what about the people, we meet on our way to our destination that we at times forget to thank? These people arrive at the timeliest of hours, yet we fail to recognize their participation in our success. These people, may come in the form of strangers, disguised helpers, guides or may even be people we have never met before, but their presence lies in the history of our making. One may wonder how, and one has every right, since wondering about things is a gift that we take for granted, but as with everything written, that too is a different point.

I can think up of a number of occasions when people's tardiness causes them to rush off at the eleventh hour for some appointment. That is when they have to rely on their chauffeurs, taxi drivers and rickshaw-pullers to get them to their destination on time. Due to their rush, they forget to thank the aforementioned people if they get to their destination on time, but once late, we hardly hesitate to curse them. What amazes me is the fact, that when we ask them to hurry, for our convenience, they comply without any sort of hesitation on most occasions. Not once are we reminded that due to our carelessness, we are late and no law binds them to jeopardize their well-being so that we can be punctual. Yet, they are almost happy to do as we say. That too, in the case of rickshaw-pullers who speed off, for a meager sum of money. Such people should be rewarded, not only with a monetary bonus, but rather with a smile and an expression of gratitude. Then we will witness the real delight of these people and once more wonder the magic of kind words.

Then there are our maids and house-help who wake up very early in the morning and make sure that our breakfast is prepared, our clothes sorted out and everything we need is where they should be. Sometimes, things may be disorganized, but instead of verbally assaulting them, take a breather and think about the many more times that things were all in order and thus it was made sure that you suffer not the slightest bit of discomfort. Thank them for that and move on, because that is what should be done.

The strangers we meet in all walks of life, also care and though it may not always be shown, when the time comes, you'll be surprised at how many volunteer to help. It may be the small things, such as giving you the right time when you need it, showing you the directions to a place you want to go to, handing you an umbrella in a fierce down-pour or helping you get much needed change for your money. These are noble acts, though doubt and an ungrateful attitude has diminished the nobility of such acts. Yet, when you think about, such strangers are taking time out of their busy schedule to help you and they should be thanked for it. The world has not lost its glory, because though the presence of evil is alarming, let us not forget that good has always triumphed and even now it is present in this world in much larger numbers, numbers which are kept in the shadow.

Your ambition, your drive and your determination have all been spurned by one time or the other by someone you barely know, have heard of or seen. For the aspiring doctors, it maybe the news that poor people need help and you volunteer and thus you find your life's essence. The causes of which are the poor people you are yet to meet. For a writer, it maybe a piece that you have read and disliked and thus chose to write against it and while in the process, discovered your talent. The critics may shun you and people may put you down, but instead of accepting that, if one learns to take it into his stride and work to show that s/he is better than people think, then it'll teach you determination. The critics do care about you and so do your enemies, so when you show then what you are, don't rub it in their faces, but instead opt to thank them.

Ungratefulness breeds lonely life forms, therefore chose to be grateful on every walk of life. Take a look around you and you'll be surprised to see all the people who care. Even when we vote, specially when we are well-off, we think about our people's plight. The happy ones can very well sit back and not care but they chose to vote and select someone who can keep everyone else happy. When your time comes to help someone, be the first in line, because the satisfaction of being able to help and sharing the warmth of someone's smile, is a wonder in itself, a spectacular wonder. So is the smile or the prayers that you gain when you thank some one and if you chose to, make sure you mean it, for it shows in more ways then one. We are never indebted to someone we help and neither are we to those who help us, for we should be grateful for getting a chance to help and for being helped. A simple word of thanks will suffice and top it off with a genuine smile and you may just have made someone feel great. That's reward enough. Till next time, keep caring and respect the people who care.

By Osama Rahman

What do you think the reply would be if an urban teenager is now asked about his/her pastime? You don't have to be a genius, and nor do you have to scratch your head to answer that. Firstly, they rarely get free time. If they get any, they head straight for their XBOX, PS2, net surfing, pool centres etc. When I was a kid, I was once confronted by such an interrogation from a senior bhaiya. At that time, I didn't have any hobby worth mentioning, so I only regarded him with a blank look. He advised me to keep pets; his logic being that by keeping pets not only was one caring and nurturing a creature but also getting an intangible friend as a bonus. From then on, my fascination for pets began to flourish.

Pets have rocked from ancient times. There were Mughal emperors who housed royal pet pigeons that were used to deliver letters to allies and at terse times, even to arch-enemies. To mention a few more were the assiduous Egyptians, the aboriginal Australians, the Poodle-loving Americans, and so on, who all had their predilection for keeping and showing off with their pampered animals.

Well if you happen to be a teenager like me and ever had the glorious opportunity of staying with your grandparents in their rural abode; then you are bound to come across the white angel-like doves that your uncle fancied or the boldly waddling geese that was the apple of your granny’s eye. As I reminisce, I can well recall the zeal I had for those prized parrots and mynah's in my aunt's stock. My God, would you believe that those birds could mimic anything; ranging from human laughter to swear words! In modern days, we have digital voice recorders serving for that purpose but I bet that you couldn’t help being entranced if you could really get to listen to one of those birds voicing up.

Coming back to recent times; cats, dogs and goldfish are quite orthodox among pet-lovers these days. So you guys know pretty much everything regarding them. However, once I had the rare pleasure of visiting a person who used to tame a mongoose! Now before you go skeptic and get lost in an oblivion about what a mongoose is, let me assure you that it is what we call 'Bezi' in Bengali(remember the 'shap-bezi' stories!). Well mongoose is an animal which is neither faithful to its master, nor does it like to be tamed. So he took this as a challenge when he found the cheeky little creature lying injured beside a dwindling tree. He brought it home and took the burden of creating a miniature house for it. The rest is history, and a wonderful display of loyalty by an animal which generally avoids human companionship.

Talking about urban cities, I came across the collection of pets of one of my relatives, which included: 4 terrapins(small turtles), 2 white, cute and furry mice('bilati idur' as termed in Bengali), a crab and a poison-less(!) snake. I was quite mesmerized at her bizarre set of reptiles, crustaceans and rodents but could not help but appreciate her choice as a move for "Saving Wildlife".

The readers of my article might ask I did not mention any of my own pets. To be frank, I could never keep one for long since my mother is acrimonious to them due to a phobia that they will "spread disease". To her dismay, it only increased my enthusiasm towards pets. Maybe when I am fully grown-up and independent, I will have a house full of pets! Anyway, I would like to sign off but before that, I have a message to all of you folks out there: Keeping pets does NOT mean their imprisonment to them(specially birds); they are your intangible friends, so treat them according wise.

By Navid

The wireless sessions 2.4

The fourth wireless session of the month started poorly, with a very low turn-out and even the people that did turn up were distracted away from the starting band, Aftermath. With a cover of Outside by Staind, amongst others, they were amateurish at best.

The Mob didn't manage to excite the bored crowd either. Their performance seemed more like a practice session than anything else. They covered To Be With You by Mr. Big, In My Place by Coldplay and Stuck in A Moment by U2. The drums were often too loud, drowning the rest of the band out. But both the guitarists of the band, Babuy and Faisal, were commendable, Babuy even being demanded for a solo encore.

The only thing to make the show any worse was the band that came next, 9 Point Circle. Their guitar work just sounded like a lot of noise, leading people to bat their hand to their ears. Nafis Khalid's poor rendition of the classic, Knockin' On Heaven's Door sounded only half-hearted and soulless. After their first song, Khalid switched with Farazi, and his over-worked vocals often gave away, as they covered Pieces by Sum 41.

After this, however, the show took a really sharp turn as Jasper and Shanto came along. They were out to prove their versatility, and they did. Jasper on vocals had amazing range, masterfully covering songs by artists as unlike as Craig David, James Brown and a classical ghazal skit. On guitars were Shanto, and Rezwan from Xoroastrian, their rhythm blending in with the song ideally.

The audience had rapt attention to the show by the time Rafa, Saadi and Samir gathered on stage for a jamming session. The intricacy of their combined guitar work was a refreshing break for the crowd.

By the time they left, their stint on stage had reached the flawlessness of a very well rehearsed number, rather than just a random jam.

Rafa and Nahiyan from Severe Dementia followed. It took only two people to remarkably cover songs by Manowar (Master of the Wind), Iced Earth (When The Eagle Cries), followed by the much demanded Death Whispered A Lullaby and Harvest by Opeth.

Kral followed Severe Dementia on stage, quipping about not being able to afford a bassist. They performed two songs from their upcoming album: Chayashorir Ondhokar and Ghune Dhora Shohor to tremendous applause. They ended with their song Opekkhay, which obliged a sing-along from the audience. They did a superb jam session a while and after this Saadi switched with Hythum (the band reassuring the audience that it was no longer Kral), to perform a folk number, Har Kala Korlamre, that frenzied the audience.

Following Kral came… Sumon (bassbaba) from Aurthohin! It's a wonder he could be heard above the din of the crowd by the time he started with Amar Proticchobi. He continued with Guti, and an unreleased track, Aushomapto. After this he performed Adbhut Shei Cheleti, and couldn't leave before performing four more songs for encores. Tumi Bhorecho E Mon, Chaite Paro, Nirbodh and Tumi Ashle Abar followed in succession. The show ended with everyone high off good music and singing along.

Today, 29th November, Thursday, will be the last day of the second season of the Wireless Sessions. Arbovirus, All-stars, Synopsis, Soothsayer, Overture and Departed will perform. It will be at Decagon Café.

The event was partnered and supported by amadergaan.com, Radio Foorti 88.0FM, Incursion Music, Decagon Café and Sound Machine Ltd, and organized by Live-Square Event Management.

Special Thanks to Nafis Tahsin Ahmed Shubho

By Ahsan Sajid