Star Diary

The Old and the New

After being stuck in traffic for over 20 minutes, I was exhausted and looked up to the sky in disgruntlement. The sight of the moon managed to cheer me up a bit, as out of the blue I found the “charka kata chaader buri”, tales of which I heard from my dad when I was a child. Back then, my dad would carry me on his shoulders up the stairs to the terrace, and show me the image of an old lady, working on her handloom on the moon. I couldn't see her then, but could make out various other shapes on the moon. This childhood memory made me realize that things were changing rapidly. A couple of days ago, I saw my cousin teaching his two-year old daughter how to play a game on his tablet. 20 years later, my niece herself might be amazed to find her niece accomplish more technologically advanced tasks. Fathers might not even find the time to talk about anything, imaginary or real, with their daughters. Whatever the future might hold, I know that I would give anything to go back to those simpler times when my dad would carry me to the roof to tell me tales about the old lady in the moon.   
Fabiha Tanzeem
Purana Paltan, Dhaka

Under Thy Umbrella

On one of those unpredictable rainy days, I was on my way to a programme organised by the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre at the EMK Center in Dhanmondi. I was forced to take shelter under the awning of the pavement shop when the drizzle turned to a full blown shower. Some people joined me to wait it out while I looked helplessly at others popping open their umbrellas and going about their way. I was barely a minute away from the venue, but was stranded because of the sudden outpour. Just then, an idea manifested. Instead of beating myself up about not knowing anyone there from whom I could ask to borrow an umbrella, I approached a random passer-by to ask if I could share her umbrella. To my delight, she agreed sportingly and we cooped up under the umbrella which kept the pouring rain at bay. Together we walked, reaching the EMK Center in no time at all. I heaved a huge sigh of relief and waved goodbye to the girl. Be it this unknown girl who escorted me under her umbrella or that shopkeeper who gasped a 'Welcome!' as I thanked him for the free black and white pebbles, I have seen in them a different shade of Dhaka and its humanity. This city breathes. And it accommodates the assorted needs of its residents, despite struggling with the plenitude of constraints, it accommodates with a big heart!
Tasnim Jara
Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre
Dhaka