Bhalentine's Gaan

So you've looked all over the net, bugged all your friends, but still can't seem to put together that perfect playlist for your beloved. Well, this where the RS is more than happy to help out. Today, we present to you a collection of songs that will make for an unforgettable Valentine's Day. No, really.

Don't Cry Sweety Baby- A classic already, this one helps you express your love in two languages if one is just not enough. Guaranteed to make that special someone stop crying and smile at you. Or laugh at you.

Pagol Hobo- The most energetic way to show someone you labh them, Pagol Hobo is perfect for those who are bursting to tell the person their 'moner kotha.' And if you have a strong heart and a stronger stomach, you might want to check out the video as well.

Chithi Likhlam- *ahem* The contents of this letter are best kept confidential.

Munni Munni Baby- Whether or not this is inspired by the same 'Munni' as in 'Munni Badnaam Hui' is still unclear. It's mellower than the other 'Munni' song, but catchy enough to be a singalong, especially with its soul-rending chorus of “Oh amar Munni! Munni Munni babeh…”

Faitta Jay- This is another classic by the living legend herself, dedicated to all those who've seen their loved ones walk off with someone else. Our poraan calls out you guys, truly. The best thing to do this Valentine's will be to go in front of their house armed with a sound system and blast this song at them on repeat. They'll understand your pain in no time.

Eto Koshto Keno Bhalobashay?- Keno, keno, KENO…!??? We don't know, but we figured that this guy might have some pretty insightful answers. So we listened. But after twenty seconds, our hearts could only take that much of agony, and our ears could only take that much of bad singing. So we shall never find out. But if you think you can't live without knowing, go ahead and give it a try.

Tunir Ma - What do you do after you get rejected by a girl? Go tell her mum, of course! Besides the weird concept of the song, this has got to be the most honest confession a guy has ever made. Try the Noakhailla version for extra kicks. Oh, and that's not all. There's also Tunir Ma Part Two where the infamous Tuni is now a cinema'r nayika. Not as great as the original, but still worth something.

I Love You Jaan!- This is how the real King Khan says it, and this is how you should say it too, if you really want to get anywhere. Newly engaged couples can have a wild time together as they sing this song to let the world know of their beautiful union. Just remember to stay away from crowds.

Ammajan, Abbajan, Chachijan…and the rest- Who says Valentine's is just for couples? You can express your love for your entire chouddo gushti through these songs, each one customised for a different member of the family. Just make sure your Dadi doesn't have a heart attack after all that love.

Hit Flim - And this one sums it all up so beautifully. Who knew there were so many lessons to be learnt from this one song? From how tempo driver Salimullah got rejected by boroloker meye Tina? Wonderful, timeless, much-needed love advice from the all-time great Fuad - “Prem je kathaler atha, lagle pore chare na.”

And in this day and time, those are wise words indeed.

By Scribblebabble

Ars Amor
How to Talk

One fine RS meeting found our team sitting around our bonfire, discussing the upcoming Valentine's Day issue. Some trilled and spat out a bunch of ideas, others - those without any possible dates in the near future scoffed and made a face. Yours truly rolled eyes and kept his head down. Unfortunately in these situations, if you are not in either team [who really gives a rat's behind about special days?], you are the one that's bloody likely to be picked on.

“A dating advice column?! Please, no. What am I supposed to write?” The boss, being adamant and sour faced as always, suggested I write about, “Dating and stuff.” When this stammering reporter protested that this is silly and complicated and unique for most folks and that he didn't even know where to start, he received a very helpful, “Begin at the beginning.” So here we are. Welcome to this travesty of a column. Feel free to rage against it so I may be excused from writing it ever again. But since we are here, we might as well chat.

“The first step to love is friendship”. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a pile of utter bull. The first step to love - as with all things requiring another human being - is striking up a freaking conversation. And that's where “apparently” most of us crash and burn. Talking to people is as natural as flushing the toilet. We're humans. We're designed to communicate. And people are so varied, it is next to impossible to set up a bunch of markers for them to follow. So the most obvious thing to do in any situation is to seek refuge at Google. And my God, did it turn up some gems.

One example of flirting with women suggested you appear charismatic, confident, blah, blah, by putting her down. As in, make fun of her. As in say she has a big mouth and spiders drop into it like commandos when she is asleep. Oh, and that she probably drools when she sleeps and the stink attracts flies. Upon the delivery of such choice comments, she will proceed to playfully punch you and you'll have a merry little laugh and eventually spend your life happily ever after.

I hope you guys have high pain thresholds and the cash to get a nasal reconstructive surgery.

As for talking to men, it also seems quite simple: you let them lead the conversation by choosing the topic, you laugh at their jokes; and if you are talking about sports, act like you know very little. Right. We're all looking for brain-dead girls with no personalities. What do you think of us, really? Sure, most of us like Jessica Alba and if you look like her, we really don't think there's a single topic that you couldn't make us talk about. Even shoes and handbags. But if you don't look like Jessica Alba, you have one thing going for you: personality. Don't throw it out the window.

The trick with talking to someone you find attractive, is not to make a beeline for them. We know most of you will meet the objects of your desires in the classroom. Hang out with your friends, relax and try to find inroads into his/her friend circles as well. Let them see you around, get used to you. Don't stalk, don't be overt, be nothing but casual. And wait. Wait for a likely topic to pop up.

See, the best way to get noticed is if you have something interesting to contribute to a conversation. So please, for the sake of all that is holy, choose wisely. Don't butt your nose into a topic you know very little about. Because first impressions stick. If you screw it up, kiss your chance goodbye for at least a few months. Yeah, you heard us right. Only a few months. Unless of course, you forgot the bit where we said be casual and decided to go right ahead and argue red-faced and dogmatically that Alok Kapali should be included in the World Cup squad because he scored one lucky century. Seriously. Check it out on Youtube. It wasn't as awesome as we wish it to be.

Once you are noticed, it's a short step from there to saying hi-hellos, the occasional group addas, exchange of TV-shows, Facebook additions, etc. etc. But let's leave that discussion for some other day. In the mean time, have fun playing hearts.

By Halcyon

Adroit School Book Fair

Adroit school keeps surprising the students with its new and innovative ideas. This time they arranged a Book Fair for the students. It was one of the most anticipated events of the new year. It was a very good idea, especially for the bookworms. All of us were very excited indeed. This Book Fair interested a lot of the younger and senior students engaging them in the lost world of books. The parents, too, were very happy to accompany their children as it is not everyday that we clamour for books instead of phones and computer games

The final dismissal bells urged us to rush to see the Book Fair. We were all very curious to see the collection. It was well organised and consisted of various kinds of books. Surprisingly the students bought many books. The collection contained story books, religious books, fairy tales, cooking books, etc. It had books of famous authors as well like Charles Dickens, R.L Stevenson, J.K Rowling and Rabindranath Tagore. The fair started on the 23rd of January and continued till the 24th. Parents thought it was a brilliant idea.

The Book Fair started in the morning and ended the next afternoon. The crowd kept getting bigger and bigger. Even when they were clearing up the place and packing up, some students were still buying books. We think what Adroit does every month for it's students is inspiring. All the creative ideas are linked together for an exciting event which is always remembered by the students. In Adroit, education is fun and they make us believe it every time. It was a wonderful event and it felt really nice to see all the students get together and have a grand time. We will eagerly be waiting for Adroit's next Book Fair and hopefully it will be even better than before.

By Ramisa, Naziba, Sanjana, Fareen.