Weekend 143

FRIDAYFEBRUARY 21

2014

vol 1 IssU E 43

MADE-Up lAngUAgEs 5

gEnERAtIon gAps18

stREEt FooD At BoI MElA21

W E E K E N D T R I B U N E FRI DAY, FEBRUARY 21 , 2014

1

ContEnts

EDItoR’s notE

A WEEklY pRoDUCtIon oF

DhakaTribunevolUME 1 , IssU E 43FEBRUARY 21 , 2014

2 ThisWeek3 LeTTersToTheediTor4 sayWhaT?7 inTervieW SyedManzurulIslam8 TheWayBangLadeshWas 1948-195210 PosT-riPosTe Worldlanguage11 ToP10 KnowyourBangla!12 PhoTosTory Feb21children16 ouTandaBouT Code-Love17 ouTandaBouT BoiMelaBeat20 inrevieW Children’sbooksatBoiMela21 FeaTure StreetfoodatBoiMela23 WT|Leisure24 ToughLove25 LegaLeagLe26 CrimeFiLe BodysnatchinginSavar27 oBiTuary28 LasTWord

it’s February 21, or as it’s more commonly known as, International Mother Language Day. It’s one of those days when Bangladesh gets a throwback

to 1952, and we begin to remember how it all started. We feel a sense of unity and nationalism that otherwise evades us in our day-to-day lives, because we can stand tall and claim that the day the world heralds as a day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism, is the starting point of our independence.

So this weekend, flip through our pages, and take a look at The Way Bangladesh Was back then. If that’s way before your time, or too much of a painful look back, come into today’s world and find out from Faisal Mahmud and Shah Nahian what made-up languages are in vogue instead of the national language we fought so hard to keep. Hear what Syed Manzurul Islam has to say about our tendency to mix languages as he interviews with Farhana Urmee. Side with either Tausif Sanzum or Faisal as they debate over whether English deserves to be the global language. Or take Tausif’s advice and make some time to think about your mothers.

If all this gets too overwhelming, take a step back, and check out how the Ekushey Boi Mela’s newly added children’s book section is doing from Adil Sakhawat, or the taste bud tantalising street foods available there from Faisal.

As always, we at Weekend Tribune enjoy your patronage, and hope you all have a very wonderful weekend! n

speakyourmind

EditorZafar Sobhan

Assistant Magazine Editor Sumaiya ShamsRohini Alamgir

Weekend Tribune TeamFaisal MahmudAdil SakhawatShah NahianFarhana UrmeeNatalie Siddique

Art Direction/PhotographySyed Latif Hossain

CartoonSyed Rashad Imam TanmoyRio Shuvo

ContributorsTausif SanzumQuamrul AbedinDina SobhanJennifer AshrafChanchal KamalPriyo

DesignMohammad Mahbub AlamNatalie Siddique

Colour Specialist Shekhar MondalKazi Syras Al Mahmood

ProductionMasum Billah

AdvertisingShahidan Khurshed

CirculationWahid Murad

Email: [email protected]: www.dhakatribune.com

CoverInternational Mother Language Dayby Rio Shuvo

18ThoughTPLoTGenerationgaps

5 FeaTureMade-uplanguages


2

F e b r u a r y 1 4 - 2 0ThisWeekRABarrestedMohammadRussellbinSattarKhan,a21-year-oldstudent,atTangailTextileInstitute.HehasbeenidentifiedasthemainreceiverofanAl-Qaedaaudioclipandtheadminoftheextremistmilitants’pageonFacebook,BasherKellaandothersimilarpages.

DhakaTribune

HailemedhinAberaTegegn,co-pilotofanEthiopianairlinesurrenderedto

thepoliceafterhehijackedhisownaircraft.Heclaimedtohavenolonger

feltsafeinhiscountryandwantedpoliticalasyluminSwitzerland.

Iffoundguiltyhemayfaceuptotwentyyearsinprison,accordingto

Ethiopianlaw.

Reuters

GravitywonthemostBAFTAsincludingbestBritishFilm.ChiwetelEjioforwontheBestActorBAFTAwhileCateBlanchettwonBestActressforhercritically-acclaimedroleinBlueJasmine.12YearsaSlavewonBestFilmwhileFrozenwonBestAnimatedFilm.

BBC

SomayyaJabartihasbeennamedthefirstfemaleeditor-

in-chiefofanEnglishDailyinSaudiArabia,signifyinga

hugeleapforfemaleworkers.Jabartihasbeenpractising

journalismsince2003underherlong-timementorKhaled

AlMaeena.Shefacesthechallengeofbeingafemaleleaderinamaledominated

societyandworkinginahighlycensoredmedia

country.

TheGuardian

Compiledby:TausifSanzum


F e b r u a r y 1 4 - 2 0

amistake!I think you guys published the wrong photo for The Way Dhaka Was. In addition to that, there was no date. You guys should really look out for those.

ZebaHannanGulshan,Dhaka

LeTTeroftheweek

Sendusyourfeedbackat:[email protected]

3lEttERs

totheeditor

goodjobI really like the way you guys have changed the look of your magazine. It looks much more attractive now. Good going, guys.

MerajIslamBaridhara,Dhaka

TimetowakeupI loved the story on sign languages. It is time the government took an initiative to help physically challenged people. They are part of our community and should not be ignored like this.

SabrinaAkondNiketon,Dhaka

outoftheboxI really like what you guys published in your magazine, but the page designs have always been a turn off for me. However, from how your last issue looks, it seems Weekend Tribune has finally broken out of the four walls (layout wise) it was confined in. It was a very good change and I hope you guys stick with these creative layout styles.

ShahJibranUttara,Dhaka

greatphotostory!The photo story by Syed Latif Hossain was incredible. It was perfect for the Valentine’s weekend. Thanks for the amazing photos!

KaushikKhanDhanmondi,Dhaka


114

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee talks about how it is in India’s interest to have a democratic and economically stable Bangladesh.

Dhaka Tribune

Communications Minister Obaidur Quader recently said the main work of the

Padma Bridge project would be completed within

three and a half years.

Dhaka Tribune

Actress Ellen Page comes

out as a gay woman at

the Time to Thrive

conference in Las Vegas.

accordingtoausdareport,

ofamericansconsume

pizzaonanygivenday.

Dhaka Tribune

Fashion Fringe winners Fyodor Golan in association with Kin Design and Nokia creates a dress using Lumia 1520 smart phones for London Fashion Week.

Anna Timoney/wired.co.ukCompiledby:TausifSanzum

TarunTejpal,formereditorofTehelkachargedwiththerapeofafemalecolleague.

BBC

According to a research published in Psychological Science,

if you pretend to be Voldemort, it will make you more devious while pretending to be Superman will make you good natured.

wired.co.uk

SAY WHAT?

“Prosperous Bangladesh in India’s

interest.”

I’m here today because I am gay.“

Bangladeshis return from Iraq after living in sub standardised condition and engaging in unpaid employment for one year.

Rabiul Islam/Dhaka Tribune

13%

“


5FEAtURE

the

world of conlan

gs

FAISAL MAHMUD

& SHAH NAHIAN

Imagine receiving this strange line in a text message on your birthday morning. You’re baffled, because you don’t know what this gibberish even means. Purely, out of curiosity, you look the word up on Google, and bingo! Google says it means “Happy Birthday!”

The word is part of a language that does not exist in the real world. It is Dothraki, a language spoken by the Dothraki people in George R R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, which was adapted into a TV series titled Game of Thrones. The author came up with the words and phrases in the books, which were later developed into a fully-fledged language for the TV series. Fictional language as it is, it now has a grammar and a vocabulary that comprises 4,000 words. There are even Dothraki-English dictionaries out there. What’s more, over 35,000 people can speak in Dothraki at present – in real life! There are more languages like Dothraki, which are typically termed as constructed languages – or conlangs, in short.

“Asshekhqoyivezhvena!”

write about the fictional

languages that have taken

root in the real world

What drives a person to go through the trouble of learning conlangs? The obvious reason would be one’s love for the fiction a particular conlang belongs to. However, others include:

1. An entertaining hobby that makes them feel like being part of that universe and make the artistic work come to life2. It can be used as a type of encryption 3. It is sometimes prestigious to have unusual skills4. Gives a common ground to make like-minded friends 5. Can be used in pranks6. Can be used in music7. Can be used as a reference for a better conlang that might be created 8. To use for movies or novels a person may be planning on creating

And the list goes on. Interesting, isn’t it?

WHY THE OBSESSION?

Faisalmahmudis good at memorising seemingly unnecessary information and finds that journalism actually appreciates, if not nurtures, that sort of futile flair

shahnahian is a staff writer at Dhaka tribune with a passion for music and art. When he’s not being forced to work, he spends his time daydreaming and hanging out with friends

made-up languages


SyedRashadImamTanmoy/DhakaTribune

250,000 is the number of copies of Klingon-English dictionaries sold so far

900 is the number of conlangs invented in the last two centuries

3,000,000 is the number of speakers of different conlangs across the world

1887 was the year when Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof created Esperanto, one of the most famous conlangs of all time

THE CHALLENGES OF CONSTRUCTING A LANGUAGE

The world of invented languages is a difficult place to succeed in, and those who have the patience to create their own tend to have a hard time gathering followers.

Until recently, expanding the number of speakers was a challenge. Different conventions were the only places where enthusiasts could meet and greet, and sporadic publications are the only other method of sharing their passion.

Now, with the internet, mobile app markets and other possibilities, these languages have easily accessible platforms to grow.

The globally accepted criterion for any language is that it should be generative – that it should produce an infinite number of unique sentences under an infinite number of circumstances. This is the standard that linguists use to determine if conlangs can be considered “real.” Most conlangs involve vocabulary changes, borrow words from a lesser-known language and re-assign their meanings, or simply run dialogue through a computer program to produce ethereal sounds.

Linguistics across the world have opined that, though fictional, these conlangs reveal a great deal about the fundamentals of real human communication and help us understand the essential components of a successful language – extensive vocabulary, consistent grammar rules but peppered with exceptions, and just the right amount of room for messiness and evolution.

AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF CONLANGSKlingon (Star Trek)

Na’vi (Avatar)

Dothraki (Game of Thrones)

Elvish (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, etc)

Perhaps one of the most used conlangs in the world, Klingon was developed in the 1980s by Marc Okrand for the Star Trek film franchise. In the years since, it has considerably expanded and been embraced in the non-Trekkie universe. Dictionaries have been published, Shakespearean plays have been staged, and the language has been referred to in many movies and TV shows (The Big Bang Theory, people!). The fandom goes so far that some fans have even tried to teach their children Klingon beside their mother language.

You must know this one. Na’vi is spoken by the blue-skinned humanoids living on Pandora, the fifth moon of the planet Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri star system, 2009’s sci-fi epic Avatar. James Cameron, director of the movie, concocted several words in the early pre-production stage, inspired by Polynesian languages. Later, linguist Dr Paul Frommer (of the University of Southern California) used those words to come up with the entire language. He also coached the actors on the “proper” pronunciation on set.

Even before Game of Thrones was adapted for a TV show by HBO, the network contacted linguist David J Peterson to expand the Dothraki tongue from a few words that appear in the novels into a grammatically complex, yet easily learnable and pronounceable language. He took inspiration from Turkish, Russian, Estonian, Swahili, Inuktitut and Martin’s initial descriptions in the books.Peterson, who also constructed the Valyrian language for the series, explained: “In designing Dothraki, I wanted to remain as faithful as possible to the extant material in George R R Martin’s series.” Interestingly, the BBC notes that more people are exposed to the fictional languages of Dothraki and Valyrian on a weekly basis than they are to Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic combined.

There are two primary, widely studied Elvish languages created by The Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, who was a fervent philologist by trade. A long-time tenured professor at Oxford University, the British-born polyglot (he was fluent in more than a dozen languages) built the secondary world of Middle-Earth and all of its mythology around a fictional tongue constructed in the LotR series. The two major languages in question are the ancient, Finnish-influenced Quenya (high-elven) and the Welsh-influenced Sindarin (Grey-elven). There are other languages that Tolkien constructed for the elven residents of Middle-Earth, including Nandorin and Telerin, but Quenya and Sindarin, the latter being best known as the native tongue of bow-touting, bilingual Mirkwood resident Legolas, are more prominent.

IN NUMBERS

HOW TO

CREATE

YOUR

OWN

Linguistics suggest five basic steps to creating your own conlang

1. Get a pencil and paper2. Write all the letters of the alphabet and put a line under each letter3. Write a different way to pronounce each letter under the line you drew4. Be creative and try to make the sound for each letter different5. Put the sounds of the letters together to make words (Start with your name and siblings’, then move on to others)

Note: Creating a conlang can be as simple as adding foreign sounds to every syllable for its encryption. This method can be used for English, Bangla or any language you can think of. You’ll be surprised just how different it sounds and can be a fun way of conveying secrets to friends in public without anyone knowing

6


n

Bangla Academy award winner Professor Islam

writes most of his fictions in Bangla, yet he advocates

speaking in any pure language in his columns

and interviews

n

As an academic, writer and critic he takes a stand against speaking

and writing in a distorted and impure Bangla and advocates the use of standard Bangla language

in formal occasions, writing and in media as well

n

He thinks that for the sake of selling,

the media and MNCs and other business,

cannot really let our language be

destroyed

n

He underscores the importance of mass media advocating a standard language

7IntERvIEW syed manzurul Islam

Speaking in tonguesSpeaking in our mother tongue is instinctive. Yet most people today tend to speak in a chaotic blend of Bangla, English and Hindi. Farhana Urmee speaks to Dhaka University English literature professor Syed Manzurool Islam about the hodgepodge that is our language and urges him to give us a solution

When questioned about the unfortunate blending of languages in Bangladesh

today, Syed Manzurul Islam says that he thinks that it is utterly shameful when we take words from other languages while we have a very well structured language of our own.

Since sixth grade, Manzur has been an active writer. To him, a language performs through its verbs. “Bangla is a very rich language. It has words that express abundant expressions. We hardly need to mix it up with other languages while we are fluently speaking in Bangla,” he says.

Language and expressions are evergrowing and ever changing. Isn’t itonly natural that we take on newwords or expressions from otherlanguages that we are constantlyexposedto?Manzur agrees, but thinks this has both a positive and a negative side.

“Language is an ongoing stream; it takes various shapes over time. It will certainly take on new words and expressions, but that should not be done unduly and unnecessarily. The absorption of new things has a positive impact as it indicates the young energy of the language. But it may harm a language very badly if the absorption is not contributing to the

enrichment of the language, but rather destroying the distinctiveness when the language speakers use foreign words pointlessly,” he explains.

In today’s world, we often find ascarcity in our vocabulary whentrying to explain scientific ortechnologicalideas.“As the discoveries and innovations are not ours, so the signifiers of those things must be in the language of origination. But when we speak to things that are common to our culture and society, why should our language be inadequate to express my feelings?

“It has become a trend for us to borrow and beg words from English and Hindi and mix them up with our mother tongue. This is an absolute insult to our mother language and above all to our mothers,” Manzur says, criticising the trend and calling it a “pollution” of our language.

Everygenerationhasadifferentwayof speaking, and different slangsthat enter their vernacular throughpopularculture.“There is nothing wrong with using dialects or having a particular style of speaking among the youth. But we should be concerned with their usage. Slangs may be trendy, but

cannot be used in formal occasions, written form or in any platforms which are taken as a model by the people,” he explains.

Sowho’satfaulthere,really?Manzur blames families, schools and mass media. He says, “The initial responsibility lies with the family. The family is the first school where a child learns how to speak, and that education is extended in schools. If the children are given books instead of video games they will learn to express themselves better and will not be struggling for words when they speak.”

Radio broadcasts, TV shows, andotherformsofvideoandprintmediahave also started using mashed-upformsoflanguage.Manzur is terrified by the predictable impact of this on the new generations. “Speaking Bangla but using English adjectives and verbs and Hindi expressions has been established as a new form of discourse in our language, and mostly by RJs. This has come to be known as FM languages,” he states with a frown of disapproval.

What’sthesolution?Manzur thinks that the government

has to notice this “malpractice” immediately and start eradicating the problem from the root. “Say our public primary education can be improved. Good schools with good environments promoting real learning and complementary meals will attract more students. And well-paid, qualified teachers can also change the whole culture of slacking in primary schools. A good basic education is a must for an individual to learn his/her mother tongue well, and have the respect towards it,” he expounds.

He also feels that the government can arrange open discussions with mass media along with representatives of the leaders in our society. Such a discussion can urge the media to work toward preserving and protecting our mother language rather than propagating a distortion of it and hegemony of foreign languages.

“It has been 62 years since we fought for our language. We have responsibilities. I have personally started using a number of Bangla words from the dictionary that were becoming unfamiliar. If we do not speak in Bangla, the language will be lost. And our struggles will have been in vain,” Manzur urges. n

I am a believer in the use of standard Bangla language, which is truly a pleasure to hear.

Farhanaurmeeis a forgetful journalist who is very serious about taking her notes, because without those she is of no use

Qua

mru

lAbe

din


March 11, 1948: A procession of students and people behind

the old Dhaka University building (present Dhaka Medical Col-

lege) marching towards the Secretariat. The slogan on the plac-

ards said: “An attack on the roots of education and culture.”

8

The Way BangladeshWas Language Movement

Muhammad Ali Jinnah at the Racecourse, March 21,

1948, where he made the fateful declaration: “Urdu,

only Urdu shall be the state language of Pakistan.”

February 21, 1953: A rally to commemorate the martyrs on the first

anniversary of the language movement, led by Dr Shamsuzzoha

March 11, 1948: Police forces wait to foil student demonstrations


99

Photos:TheMinistryofLiberationWarAffairs

February 21, 1952: Students preparing to defy Section 144

Abdus Salam

Abul Barkat Rafiquddin Ahmed

Abdul Jabbar

Sofiur Rahman

BANGLA

MARTYRS

February 21, 1953: Mowlana Abdul Hamid Khan

Bhashani and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, march-

ing barefoot to pay their tributes to the martyrs

on the first anniversary of the language movement

1948-1952


1010 post-RIpostE world language

Instead of just associating the usage of English as a global language with power politics, one should see it practically. The usage of English is so widespread around the world that having it as a global language is

reasonable. Tracing back to the 17th century, when Britain was the colonial leader of the world, to the rise of the USA as the sole superpower, English has attained a hegemonic status over time. The roots of English are too deep to be uprooted in the near future. With globalisation being the trend of the world, interaction is no more limited to any particular territory. It is impossible to survive without having a global language in such a scenario. English permits diversification and, as such, various dialects have taken birth. Since the base of these dialects is English, people of one community understand dialects from another community. Even from a nationalist point of view, if local artists, writers, etc want the world population to know about their culture, presenting it to the audience in a language, which the majority of them understand, is the best possible solution. n

There is no point Faisal Mahmud

This is the only solution Tausif Sanzum

Languages are tied to the way humans think. English shouldn’t be the world’s lingua franca, just as it shouldn’t be French, German or any other language in this regard. Languages are vectors of culture, and boiling the world’s

culture down to one language is dangerous for humanity. Besides, globally standardising a language is an impossible task given the fact that languages are constantly changing. Any attempt to standardise a language worldwide will fail because languages will diversify to mutually unintelligible dialects over time. This is shown by the fact that many separate varieties of English exist in the world, which over time may drift farther apart in similarity. Also the dominance of language depends upon the dominance of a country. Now, English has more dominance than other languages because the English speaking countries are the major economic powers of the world. But in the future, the situation might change and the dominance of English might end. So there is no point making a language a global one. n

ShOuld EngliSh BE thE

glOBal languagE?

Cartoons:Priyo


11top 10 Know your bangla!

URAlshEtU (FlYovER)

The new addition to our roads, flyovers are a big part of the regular vocabulary of working Bangla-speakers. So it makes sense that its Bangla counterpart will make an appearance in our vocabulary. Uralshetu is frequently used, especially in the media, which is why it has taken second place here.

2 DhoBolDholAI (WhItE WAsh)

Every hot-blooded Bangladeshi, especial-ly of the cricket-loving variety, knows this word. It got quite popular especially after Bangladesh whitewashed New Zealand in two ODI series. No wonder it has the No 3 spot on the list.

3 kothABonDU (RADIo JoCkEY)

Now this is a word that is both spoken and written. Kothabondhu is Bangla for radio jockey, widely popularised by the radio shows over the past few years. The word’s acceptance among the radio listeners make it fourth on the list.

4

BostRo BAlIkA (RMg WoRkER)

Relatively new, bostro balika is the Bangla term for the women workers in the RMG factories. With the recent RMG accidents that claimed hundreds of lives, the substandard work conditions of bostro balikas have come to light in global media, so this term has been frequently used. Hence it has earned a place as the seventh position.

7

khADYAngon (CAFEtERIA)

Quite a fancy word for a place for eating, isn’t it? Well, we Bangalis are food-loving people, so naturally we would come up with such a word for cafeteria. Well, fancy or not, it is well accepted, which justifies its place at the No 9 spot on this list.

9 ChABItEpA (kEY pREss)

Barely making the list, you will find this word mostly on websites that features Bangla to help users read and follow instructions. It is not a widely heard of word, yet has gotten a few votes.

10

khUDEBARtA (sMs)

Another widely used term that relates to the mobile phone lin-go. This one, too, is mostly used in print, but is common in spoken Bangla too, which is why it is sixth on the list.

6 tElEChhoBI (tElEFIlM)

A new genre of TV entertain-ment, this word has been around for a while, used frequently in TV media, which is why it is eighth on the list.

8

MUthoFon (MoBIlE phonE)

The word is used as widely as the object is used, mostly in print. A prominent part of today’s Bangla vernacular, muthofon literally means “phone in your fist.” It has gotten around enough times to make it No 5 on this list.

5

ontoRJAAl (IntERnEt)A nice way to describe the World Wide Web – quite literally. Ontorjaal is not a word that you would hear people say on a regular basis, but in reality it is quite widely used. And it seems quite popular too, hence the No 1 spot on this list.

Everything evolves – languages, too. And our beloved mother tongue is no different. As we celebrate the anniversary of the glorious Language Movement, Farhana Urmee lists 10 best additions to our Bangla vocabulary over the past few years, voted by our readers, of course. To take part in the next poll, please visit the WT page on facebook at www.facebook.com/WeekendTrib, or the Dhaka Tribune page at www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

1Farhanaurmeeis a forgetful journalist who is very serious about taking her notes, because without those she is of no use



Borntobeproud12 photo stoRY Feb 21 ChIldren

by QUAMRUL AbEDIN

shaheedalmamun,psc;WingCommander(retd);Captain,aTr-72acAt a younger age I felt embarrassed celebrating my birthday as this is a day of mourning for the country. However, as time passed, my views started changing. I started embracing this day as the day we stood up to protect our mother tongue which led the world to celebrate International Mother Language Day. Now I feel proud and I thank the Almighty for letting me be born on such a historic day.


1313

ShahrearKabirkheyamezba,graphicdesigner,I came to existence exactly at 2am on February 21. After a child is born, there is a ritual of calling people for prayers in Islam. However, when I was born, I was surrounded by patriotic music all around me.

hriditaafrin,student(eee),misTGrowing up I never really understood the significance of my birth date. However, as I grew older and wiser, I started realizing what this day really meant. Every year I feel more proud and patriotic of being a Bangladeshi and I consider myself a very lucky person for being born on such a day.

Chetonarahmanvasha,actressAs a child, I never really thought about my birthday in terms of its full significance. As I grew up and learned more about my country and our long standing struggles, I started taking pride in the fact that I was born on such a momentous day. I finally feel like I belong and I feel very connected with my country.


14 photo stoRY Feb 21 ChIldren

shakilayasmin,accountexecutive,greyadvertising,

Bangladesh.I should start by

saying my nick name is Falguni like the Bangla

month of Falgun and with the combination of being born on such a historic day, anyone

who knew me never got the scope of

forgetting my name or my birthday. All my friends would

scream out a very loud Happy Birthday to me right after the school

assembly and this continued till I joined

university. In addition, I take great pride in

being born on the International Mother

Language Day and this makes me feel really

special.

niyommahmud,Businessentrepreneur,Ceo-kryptonTerminal

February 21, to me, is not just my birthday

but also a day that inspires me to be free and brave enough to

take on any challenge life might throw at

me. Every year this day drives me to want to

be stronger, wiser and much more patriotic.


15

anindarahman,Journalist,bdnews24.comGrowing up in the 90s, the day was still an occasion of mourning, a serious national thing. Today we celebrate it differently. I remember getting mostly books as birthday gifts because of the book-fair. However, I’m not a great fan of the whole ‘birthday’ ritual.

nilamarma,salesadvisor,hutchison3g,englandEven when living abroad, when people wish me for my birthday, they never forget to mention the International Mother Language Day. Some even want to learn about the history behind this day and it makes me feel proud and patriotic to tell them our story. Our language is our nation’s pride and joy, so that’s why I always celebrate my birthday in style.

Courtesy


16 oUt AnD ABoUt

DHAKAout & aboutCode-love

Celebrating the weekend of love, Code-Love took place at Bengal Art Lounge in the capital’s Gulshan

area, from February 12 to 16. The idea was “to connect with the most passionate and creative

Dhakaites,” according to the event’s description on Facebook. There were 14 different installations

to “explore, flaunt and give love,” trying to depict its various expressions. There were also several

love-themed products like mugs, notebooks, candles etc, available for purchase at the event.

Along with the exhibition, there were renowned personalities and city socialites who had discussions and

debates sang songs, read letters and recited poetry about love for five evenings at the art lounge premises.

Khaled Mahmud, creative director of Headoffice Communication, a PR firm, said most paintings and creative art are inspired by love. He created most of the installations at Code-Love.

“Love is probably the most common source of inspiration behind anything creative. So it is difficult to come up with something completely original. So we thought of focusing on mixing love with a digital mode of communication,” he said. The funds raised by selling different products, which were developed in line with the themed installation works, will be donated for the welfare of old people.

Code-Love was an initiative taken by the organisation Carefountain. As its founder Kazi Monirul Kabir said, “Code-Love was neither an art project, nor a Valentine’s Day campaign.”

This is the genesis of a Global Social-Good Initiative that engages with the audience taking the most basic human emotion, love, as a platform. We have put up 14 artworks based on 14 famous quotes on love that will invite the audience to think, look and engage with the concept of love and how it can be used collectively to achieve something much greater.”

The idea of forming Carefountain came to Monirul’s mind when he visited Norway in 2011. There, he saw the peril of older people, the lack of love in their lives and he wanted to do something for them.

“I plan to do an exhibition based on the theme of love and raise funds by selling the products, which I plan to merchandise, along with the themed installation artworks. The fund will be spent on the elderly people of old homes who need love the most but are deprived of it,” Monirul said.

As Khaled explained, the installations were done with paper, placards, typewriters, empty bottles, trumpets and diving masks. The artworks were based on 14 famous quotes on love, from 14 famous people, which were care-fully blended with seemingly mundane things. Pink was chosen as theme colour.

“Finally, the quotes were converted into quick response codes and framed,” Khaled said.

Ronni Ahmmed, an artist with global famewhoparticipatedintheletterreadingsession,said:“Thearrangementwasafreshbreathofairamidthemundanecitylife.Itwasoriginalandwonderful.IhopetoseeCode-Lovetakingplaceeveryyear.”Waqeel Ahad, who performed a love songon the second day, said: “Love is somethingthatshouldbecelebrated,andCodeLovedidexactlywhatthedoctorshadordered.”

The art in love

Day 1 Love Letters: A reading on Love Participated by Shehzad Chowdhury, Amitabh Reza, Ronni Ahmed, Reetu Sattar, Shabnaz R Diya

Day 2 Love songs performed by Waqeel Ahad, Protick, Probar Ripon, Shobhyota, Shagota, Shondhi, Mayeesha, Maher and Mou

Day 3 Colors of Love by Gousal A Shaon, Rubaba Doula, Afzal Hossain

Day 4 Love poems by Shimul Mustafa

Day 5 Love Actually? by Anisul Hoque and Kazi Monirul Kabir

What is Code-Love?

How it developed ...

How were the artworks done?Words of appreciation

Love schedule

Faisalmahmudis good at memorising

seemingly unnecessary

information and finds that journalism

actually appreciates, if not nurtures, that sort

of futile flairPh

otos

:Fai

salM

ahm

ud


DHAKAout & about

17

Courtesy

WEEK 3boI mela beat Farhanaurmee

is a forgetful journalist who is very serious about taking her notes, because without those she is of no use

• The book fair this year has had a number of books published by eminent and new writers on the Shahbagh movement such as Shahbag- Rajniti Dhromo O Chetona by Bidhan Riberu, Gono Adalot Theke Gono Jagoron Moncho by Shahriar Kabir, Shahbag 2013 by Shahaduzzaman and the compilation, Shahbag Andolon: Dosh Buddhijibor Chokhey, by Arif Rahman.

• Nature’s unfriendly behaviour was exasperating to book lovers and publishers alike. The constant drizzling spring rain, which started on February 15, made the authorities cut the power at the fair in order to avoid accidents like last year’s. What with the rain, the mud and the power-cuts, the book fair has been less populated this week.

Broadcast journalist, Sadia Mahjabin Imam, got her very first book published that was released at the Boi Mela this year. Unlike other debut writers, she is doubly happy as her father is also having his book released at the book fair. Titled Paa, her book is a compilation of 15 stories that have previously been published in different newspapers and supplements earlier.

“My inspiration for writing is my father. He has always been a reader and critic for all my writing since childhood,” says Sadia. The 30-year-old is a fact finder by profession and a dreamer of fiction stories by passion. She has found that writing stories and novels is a great way to relieve the overwhelming stress of news broadcasting of the miseries of our people: “While covering the news, I couldn’t express my opinions. Writing fiction has given me the opportunity to speak my mind.” Her book was published by Ananya Prokash and is priced at Tk150. n

Kazi Shahid AhmedAn autobiography of a person is the documentation of pleasant or unpleasant incidents that life has experienced over the course of time. Former newsman and army official Kazi Shahid Ahmed has brought out his autobiography at the book fair this year. The biography, titled Jiboner Shilalipi, tells the tale of the author leading from his childhood, to becoming an army officer and finally an editor, publisher and writer.

Readers will not only get a glimpse of the author’s life, but also a complete picture of different political scenarios that Bangladesh went through not only during the British and Pakistani rules, but also post-independence. Ahmed narrates his life in 47 defined chapters with corresponding, momentous pictures.

Jiboner Shilalipi will definitely be a motivational read. Readers will get to know the personal ups and downs of the author inter-mingled with his professional life through different political contexts of Bangladesh. The book is available at the publisher’s stall (Agami) at the book fair for a price of Tk600.

BOI MELA BLOW-BY-BLOW

HOT ON THE SHELVES

1 GolposholpoAbdullah Abu Sayeed

2 Mayorer Bari Selina Hossain

3 Merir Khojey Manilay Muntassir Mamoon

4 Rabindrajibon Abdush Shakur

5 Shobujpondit Dhrubo Esh IN FOCUS

ALMANAC

FU

N F

AIR

FA

CT

S

A lot of books are being released everyday in the book fair. On the 13th day, a total of 110 books were released. On the 14th day, this number spiked to

196, the highest number so far this year. The 15th day saw 126 books being released, though the 16th day saw a drop in that number to 59. A total

of 58 books were released on the 17th day and 109 on the 18th day, while on the 19th day it was 126.

Courtesy

Sadia Mahjabin Imam WHO’S IN?

Ekusheybookfairiswellintoitsthirdweek,andthisbringstomindlastyear’sunexpectedaccident.Forthosewhodon’tremember,therewasafireontheBanglaAcademypremises,causingmassivedamagesofaroundTk500,000.Initiallyitwasassumedthatashort-circuithadcausedthefire,butallegationswerelatermadebypublishersthatthefirewassetbytheopponentsoftheShahbaghmovementsincesomeofthepublishershadexpressedsolidaritywiththecause.Thisyearthough,politicalstrifeornot,thebookfairseemstoberunningfairlywell.

Cour

tesy


18 thoUght plot generatIon gaps

Tausif Sanzum learns that despite living in a society where English reigns in every

sphere of life, a lot of women, especially our mothers, are not adept in the language

THELANGUAGE OF OUR MOTHERS

As toddlers we could not utter words to express our feelings or desires, and yet our mothers understood us. As we grew up, we became capable of expressing on our own. We started claiming that our mothers don't understand us anymore. Some of us claim that the discrepancy comes from their inability to communicate with us in our language of choice. Today, there is a veritable generation gap between them and us and English plays a pivotal role in it.


19

With globalisation, English as a language has become a necessity rather than

just being a marker for social status. The number of English medium schools has increased drastically within a very short span of time. Children of families from various walks of life are now enrolling in these English medium schools. With the advent of MNCs, blue-collar workers are picking up the language and allowing it to be on par with our

Not our mother’s language?

Shamima Karim studied at the Central Women’s College, Dhaka followed by an Honours degree in management from Government Azizul Haque College, Bogra. She was 23 when she got married and by 26 she had a child. She left with her husband for Kuwait in 1996. Despite being educated and qualified enough to do a job there, she hesitated to take one up; her son needed her attention and her English skills were weak. She recalls the fear she felt when she had to accompany her husband to his office parties. As most of his colleagues were foreigners, she felt embarrassed because she was unable to communicate with them efficiently in English. Her husband never encouraged her to learn English. Despite living in a mostly English-speaking environment, she shut herself from it. Now, years later, she regrets waiting for her husband to communicate on her behalf. She feels that, had she not exploited her own talents, she could have been much more than just someone’s wife or mother.

Losing her identity

Jesmin Rahman is a homemaker in her late 50s, the wife of a retired government officer and the mother of three young successful men. Though she has never attended university owing to her early marriage, it did not deter her from being the better half of a couple who have successfully raised a family together. She says that she never faced any embarrassing situations within her family for not knowing English since they all are mostly Bangla speakers at home. However, she does feel left out of conversations once in a while when her sons begin speaking in English. Despite her linguistic barrier, when it comes to conversing in English, she has always encouraged her sons to speak English in order to help them become more proficient in the language.

While she never directly felt any embarrassment on the part of her family because of her incapability of conversing in English, she did feel a bit of awkwardness when going to her sons’ schools for PTA meetings. She also soon learned that she could no longer assist her kids with their education. She confesses that despite wishing to know English, she never prioritised it, as she did not require it for work.

Lately, she feels some inconvenience for not knowing English because she is not able to use all the latest technological innovations. During her recent stay with her elder son in Canada, she felt a little lost because she doesn’t speak English. Among the different obstacles that have blocked her path to learning English, she thinks that the main problem has been the lack of practice.

Practice makes perfect

Shahana Nazneen is a gynaecologist who got her degree from Rangpur Medical College and currently works in Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College, Bogra. Despite not having the need to converse in English at her workplace, she tries to acquaint herself with learning the language. She says that it is vital for women to see the bigger picture. She feels that women, particularly housewives, are in a box. There is much more to the world than buying groceries, guiding the house help, taking the kids to school or laying out a perfectly matched outfit for their husband. She asserts that English is the international language and in this age, where most posters, menus, directions, etc are all in English, it is essential for women to acquire basic linguistic skills in English at the very least. Women should not feel that they are doing this to impress someone else, but rather, they should realise that this step is essential to boost their own morale and self-respect.

The bigger picture Bangladesh is predominantly a Bangla-speaking country and, though that scenario is fast chang-ing among the youth, it remains more or less the same among the older generation. It is unsurpris-ing, therefore, that a lot of Bangali women, in their late 30s and older, remain monolingual. They could not foresee how essential English would become in the near future. As such, they did not prioritise learning the language. In addition, 20-30 years back during their youth, the literacy rate for women was not as high any-way. Hence they lacked the drive and

So what’s the problem?

national language. Home makers who are usually the first to wake up in the morning and the last one to sleep somehow got neglected in this transition. While they laboured to get their husbands comfortable and their children ready to face the world, acquiring this international (and now national) language for them sidled to the by-lines. Bangladesh might be “progressing” into English language, but many of our mothers have been lost in this mad rush forward.

Can we ignore our mothers, sisters, aunties and grandmas? Are they a lost generation? Let’s ponder this for a minute: if, without being an expert in English language, they were able to raise us well enough to read, write and converse in English, imagine the potential they had to achieve greatness in life. We might never be able to give them the glorious careers they deserved, but we can do things to make them feel good about themselves. We can make them realise that it is never too late to groom one self and learn something new. All it requires is a bit of patience and time from our busy schedules: we can re-prioritise and spend that time to help them brush

motivation to learn English. The history and culture of

Bangladesh is a complicated one. Traditionally, a lot of women sacrifice their career, education and ambitions after marriage to devote all their time to their family. Though they end up successfully raising a family, their individual identity is lost in their familial one. The family members take her for granted and they do not see her as anything more than a mother or a wife. In the long run, the question repeatedly arises: is their sacrifice worth it?

up on their English skills. Remember the first day of college

or university when you were really nervous in a (seemingly) completely different environment. This is the very feeling these cherished women in your life feel every time they are exposed to an English speaking community. With a smile on their face, they do not let you realise their embarrassment and fear. If they could understand our every toddler-language word, it is now time for us to help and understand them in turn. We need to lend a hand and help them find a space for themselves with no fear or embarrassment, a comfortable, loving space like they have given us since time immemorial. n

A lost generation

Photos:Bigstock


20 In REvIEW ChIldren’s booKs at boI mela

I bel ieve I can readAdil Sakhawat takes a trip to the children’s section of the book fair, and learns that not everything is running fair and square

Book lovers gather at the book fair to collect books. And the children? They come along

with their guardians to enjoy made-up adventures in the milling crowds, or to sit down with some amazing literature written just for them, or to simply enjoy the day with their families and have fun. But this year, the book fair fell short: guardians have been complaining about lack of children’s literature.

The fair organiser, Bangla Academy, has created a children’s corner this year, for the first time in history, exclusively for the children. They declared February 8, 15 and 22, from 10am till 3pm, as Shishu Prahar, or Days for Children, as a special consideration for children and their parents, allowing them to avoid the chaos of regular fair hours.

This corner, located in front of the Nazrul Mancha, was a cacophony

of excited young voices and some admonishing parental ones on the first day of Shisu Prahar. A large number of children arrived, ready to test their reading skills or show off their talents, but on arrival, they unhappily realised that their desired books were either unavailable or could only be procured by ordering.

Disappointed, Prema Ghosh, 13, said: “I have come here to collect new books, but all I see are old publications. The new ones that I did find were far below my expectations.”

Added to that, many guardians found incorrect spellings, poor cover designs, terrible binding work and overall weak stories. While the booksellers did their best to placate angry parents and disheartened children by promising to pass on their critiques to the writers for correction, few left feeling satisfied.

The next issue that was raised was the high prices. For the products that were so poor in quality, the price was simply not justified in the eyes of irate parents. Hasan Mahmud from Mohammadpur, who took his two children to book fair, said: “I have brought my kids so that they can be introduced to a real Bangladeshi tradition, learn our history after reading history related books for children, and leave feeling proud of our cultural heritage and our strong literary legacy.

“The quality and content of the books are not only unsatisfactory when compared to the prices, but the only worthwhile book I found was at the Bangla Shishu Academy stall. It was on Sheikh Mujib, the father of this nation. It was a good publication and the children can now learn about him,” Mahmud added.

Just the facts• Out of the 534 stalls in the book fair, 27

were dedicated to children• There have been fewer publications

this year for children and demand has surpassed supply

• Eti Prokasoni published 13 new juvenile books this year (compare to last year’s 35)

• Aro Prokash published only 2 books • Jhingeyphul published 12 books • Toitumbur published only 5 books• There has been no new publication by

Bangla Academy for children this year

For the kids1 Robot Kore Homework, Shelai and Amar Ekti Posha

Doitto Achhe by Anisul Haque 2 Komando Ovijan and Moru Ovijan by Rakib Hasan 3 Ekhon Tokhon Manik Ratan by Zafar Iqbal 4 Chiriakhana by Amirul Islam Amir 5 Rabindranath O Bhasha Vabna by Hasan Azizul Haque6 Agnijole Kobita Komol by Shamsur Rahman7 Pa by Syed Shamsul Haque8 Reporterer Source by Tushar Abdullah9 E Ek Odbhut Lajja by Nasrin Jahan 10 Batayane Baka Chad by Kamal Pasha

Photos:AdilSakhawat

adilsakhawatwanted to be in the army, but

failing that, fights crime by reporting

on it. Send him information at

[email protected]

Alongside books, many stalls were seen selling CDs and DVDs of animated Bangla and English rhymes. But to the dismay of many, a number of stalls were found selling pirated books like Mr Bean, Doraemon, Pokemon, Barbie, etc, even though the Bangla Academy clearly stated in their protocol guide for the Ekushey Book Fair 2014, under article 13.14 (Section: Kha), that selling pirated books are prohibited inside the fair.

Murshiduddin Anwar, deputy director of Bangla Academy, said the authorities would monitor and take necessary steps against those who are violating the rules, adding: “Publishers should not sell books that can harm the moral growth of our children.”

“But this is a place for books. A man wishes to see books only at the book fair. This should be prohibited,” explained Mahmud further when asked why he felt dissatisfied by the trip.

Mr Alim Seikh, a banker from Mirpur who also brought his daughter to book fair, was equally disgruntled. In an effort to teach his daughter of his country’s traditions, he was left feeling shocked at the number of spelling and printing mistakes, saying: “The writers of our country have no idea about children, it would seem. They have to remember that these children are the future of the country. Writers should write constructively and on well-chosen topics. Publishing children's books is one of the most lucrative

parts of the industry in India. A growing number of publishers in India are exporting activity, story and educational books to countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Middle-Eastern nations, Spain, South Africa, Nigeria and to Southeast Asian countries. But our publishers do not think about the children.”

Novelist Anisul Haque feels that the renowned writers of our country should write books for children. They can thus raise awareness and garner understanding among our children about the glorious history of our country through stories and illustrations. “This will motivate the children to know about own culture rather than foreign cultures,” he said.

Famous children’s literature writer, Ali Imam, the winner of the Bangladesh Shishu Academy prize in 2012, concurs: “Writers like Selina Hossain, Azizul Hakim are writing for children. So every renowned writer should write to build our future assets.”

He blames fraudulent publishers and commercial writers, saying: “These people limit our children’s knowledge to things like ninjas, Doraemon, Pokemon, etc, which are simply destroying the childrens abilities to think. This year I have edited the Buddhadeb Basu series and the Aubonindronath Tagore series, in the hopes of getting the children to learn about our golden past.” n


21FEAtURE

BOI MELA

FOR THOUGHTFAISAL MAHMUD

gets lured in to the month-long book fair, not by the books, but by its food

Faisalmahmudis good at memorising seemingly unnecessary information and finds that journalism actually appreciates, if not nurtures, that sort of futile flair

street Food at boI mela


don’t get me wrong. I am an avid reader, previously of books, and now of the contents found

on the internet. But, like everyone else, I am also just a willing slave to my taste buds. And I don’t know whether you have noticed it or not, but the book fair is a veritable carnival of street foods.

Street food is an entirely different genre of a country’s culinary culture. I have been told by my foreign friends that Dhaka doesn't have too much of it and hygiene is pretty much out of the question. This is, in a sense, true. Normally, our choices are limited to phuchka and chotpoti, but during an occasion like the book fair, you see the true street food artists coming out.

I discovered this during my very first visit to the book fair. It was in 1995. I was a fourth grade student then. Ramadan was in February that year, and I used to go for the Tarabih prayers with some of my local friends to the nearby BUET mosque. As far as I can remember, instead of praying, all we did was run around and make a lot of noise inside the mosque until some of the musollis (devotee) lost their patience and threw us out.

It was on one of those days when we were scolded and thrown out, that someone suggested going to the book fair. It was magical. Never before had I seen such a large number of books in once place. The first book that I bought from the fair was Abuder Adventure by Shahariar Kabir.

But more than the books, I was fascinated by the foods. For me, the most memorable thing from that visit was the taste of hawai meethai (candy floss), badam papri (sugary nuts), chatni and ghugny. At that time those were my dream foods, since I was rarely allowed to eat them.

Since then, whenever I visit the book fair, I indulge in the food, whether it is from the canteen of Bangla Academy, or from a street vendor with dirty hands, three-day old stubble and unhygienic offerings.

In the 1998 book fair, I spotted actor Shahiduzzaman Selim eating something strange in front of a van. Curious, I approached. The aroma (of deep fried shrimp head) that was coming from the van instantly tickled my taste buds. Forgetting Selim, I got lost in the moist, delicious golda chingrir matha (prawn head). Now, however, I refuse to eat it, but that first time was delightful.

In 1999, there were two stalls inside the fair premises. One was named Khana Khazana and the other was Khao Khao Khande Rao. They were located opposite to each other. These were immediate hits at the time, not because of their names or the strangely succulent foods, but rather for their rivalry with each other. If one stall cooked a tasty tehari one day, then the other came up with a delicious khichuri the next. Unlike today’s vendors, these guys were in competition to provide good meals at cheap prices. They both also served foods like Marichni (green chilli dipped in flour) and payagni (onion dipped in flour); sadly, I have never seen either again.

In last two or three years, the concept of “meals on wheels” has attained popularity in Dhaka, but it was on February 21, 2000 that Dhaka saw its first few meal trucks.

Amid the huge crowd at the book fair, two beautifully decorated mobile cars came and started selling food inside the fair premises. One of them was Sajna (a restaurant in Banani) and the other was Yan Tun Khai Jan. I remember being pretty fascinated by these large truck-like vans selling food, since, at that time, it was a new and fresh concept.

It became so popular that we had to fight to get food from them. The long lines made it clear that hardly anyone was bothered about buying books that day. We simply stood in line again and again and had some scrumptious raj kachuri from Sajna and unforgettable Thai-style noodles from the other.

The Bangla Academy canteen serves a cutlet that has remained one of my favourites. I still can’t figure out what it is made of, but served with the sauce, it tastes like heaven. Their vegetable roll was also very good, though it has deteriorated in taste recently.

These days, the book fair boasts bhel puri and egg pancakes. I first tried an egg pancake at the book fair in 2008. It was awesome. That vendor also sold chocolate pancakes (or crepes). But it feels like a lost street art, though I believe crepes are available at cutthroat prices in Gulshan.

And obviously, there are the old school usuals: phuchka, chotpoti, jhalmuri, chanachur, chola, murali, nimki, tele bhaja (chop, piaju, beguni and shingara), located both inside and outside the fair premises. Unfortunately, the varieties have depleted these days. The worst thing: I don’t see any new food to indulge in, especially because I don’t consider two-minute maggi soup proper street food.

What happened? Are people getting more health conscious, or don’t they have even a moment to spare for a raw gourmet delight? If it’s the latter case, then it is just sad. As renowned novelist and poet Buddhadeb Basu said:

“Bangalis have an unbelievable appetite for tasty food. It’s an identity that we are proud of.” n

Photos:ChanchalKamal


23Wt | lEIsURE

The word

“Checkmate” in chess comes from the Persian phrase

“Shah Mat,” meaning “the king is helpless” though many think it means

“the king is dead.”

5.52% of the world’s population speaks English. What’s more interesting is

3.05% speak Bengali.

A Dictionary of the English Language was the most commonly used and

imitated dictionary for 150 years until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary.

?DID YOU KNOW?

ACROSS1 Normality is found in France (5)5 Semi-action of negative particle (3) 6 Young soldier acted out (5)8 One second or a longer length beam (5)10 Outrage about being stuck behind one (3)11 Give birth with initial assistance (5)

DOWN1 Lift cap if I count first ocean (7)2 Embarrassed about the last of kind (3)3 Pose Miss Italy displays (3)4 Wept and ran about Belgian city (7)7 Tree from the Spanish mainland initially (3)8 Use needle for all points except North (3)9 Rocks of topless French resort (3) RioShuvo/DhakaTribune


24

i have a really annoyingnewspaper deliveryman.

i’ve recently moved intoa new apartment in gulshan,and for the first month or so,it’s been great. every morning,i’dopenmyfrontdoorandfindmynewspaperonmywelcomemat. recently however, overthe past two weeks or so,i’ve found my welcome mat

covered with pamphletsand advertisements and mynewspaper buried underneaththat mess. i’ve spoken to mynewspaper guy about it, buttheproblemhasonlyincreased.yesterday, the pile of leafletsandadvertisementswasalmostaninchthick.idon’tknowwhyhe’s doing this, but i need tomakehimstop.Whatdoido?

2

i believe i am a kleptoma-niac. i am embarrassed tolet my friends come over

because my apartment is likealaddin’sCave.everywhere igo,i see things that i appreciatebecause of their beauty or theaestheticpleasurethattheypro-vide,andthenextthingiknow,i’mathome,andthatobjecthascomebackwithme.ican’tseemtostop.mymother(whochecksinonmeregularlysinceimovedout) keeps asking to come overbecauseshe’sworriedaboutme,butican’tlethercomeoverandseethis.Whatcanido?

1 Well, for starters, you can stop filching other people’s belongings. Easier said than done, my little magpie, I know. But I’m assuming you do not want to be a social pariah for the remainder of your young life, and actually be able to invite people into your home someday. As for your mother, she should have steam rolled into your apartment ages ago and made you do squats while holding your ears for your wanton, criminal behaviour. Furthermore, I’m curious to know just what kind of excuse would deter a Bangali mother from visiting her child

regularly, if not parking herself on your doorstep permanently. Anyway, the DSM categorises kleptomania as a form of mental illness, but you don’t fit the criteria. I think we both know what your problem is – it’s just plain old greed and the lack of an adequate guilty conscience, otherwise known as shoplifting. However, if there are voices in your head telling you to steal things, that’s an entirely different matter. You should run out, steal a car and get yourself to a psychiatrist pronto. n

I’m not entirely sure that this qualifies as a problem that requires my particular brand of expertise or even a problem at all, but I shall humour you in this one instance. So, let me see if I’m getting this right: you think your newspaperman, in a fit of pique, is littering your front step with fliers? I have a simple solution for that: cancel your newspaper. You can just as easily pick it up from any store, or better yet, get a subscription with a different newspaper delivery service. Done. This is, of course, if you’re a humble man, not given to anger and

a thirst for vengeance. If so, you can intimidate your newspaper man into never darkening your doorstep with anything but a fresh and folded paper by simply reporting it to the head honcho. Or having a stern talk with him. Although more entertaining would be if you made ammunition out of all the rubbish meted out to you, and proceed to chase after him during his morning rounds, pelting them at his head and other body parts. He will write you off as a crazy person and steer clear of you and your doorstep in the future. n


toUgh lovE dIna sobhan

dinasobhan is a freelance writer

and cautions readers not to take her

“advice” here too seriously!

Got a problem? Write to Dina at weekend@

dhakatribune.com


25

DearReader,Oh me, oh my. This is always a downer. Obviously, from what you have just described above, Mr B will have to be stopped before he successfully manages to sell off the plot to a third party. Also, since a loan was taken from the bank prior to purchase of the land, I am presuming that there is a mortgage on it and the bank’s permission will also have to be obtained before sale of the aforementioned property, provided that the loan has not yet been discharged.

Now, looking at the fraudulent shareholder Mr B’s actions, let’s look at the few aspects which are of help to Mr

i am a muslim man and i marrieda hindu girl about five years back.she converted for the sake of our

marriage,butneverchangedhernameor anything in her personal and officiallife. We now have a one-year-old son.unfortunately, our relationship is on therocks,andi’mthinkingofgettingadivorce.my wife says she cannot find any of thepaperwork relating to her conversion,and since nothing else has been changedin her life, i’m not sure how to proceed,since i cannot prove that she’s muslim.i’m obviously ready to take custody ofour son and/or provide her with financialassistance, but i still don’t know how tobegin the divorce process. Please help meout.

DearReader,Oh dear, this is a nightmare. Different religion marriages are always a nightmare – not in the actual sense, but from a legal perspective. You men-tioned that your wife con-verted for the “sake” of your marriage, but didn’t mention under which law your mar-riage was registered. Was your marriage registered as per Is-lamic law? If so, differing pro-visions will apply than if the marriage was registered under

civil law. Since your wife did not

change her name, I am presum-ing that your marriage was registered as per the Special Marriage Act, which permits inter-religion marriages. If this is the case then divorce is an option, provided that certain grounds exist. You mentioned that your marriage is “on the rocks” but didn’t mention why. Was adultery an issue? If it was, then divorce is certainly

possible and applicable here. However, if not, then you can file for “judicial separation” by way of petition with the Court. In practical effect, this would have pretty much the same consequences as a divorce. In conclusion, I’ll just say that the current context has made it very easy for divorces, judicial separations and the like, and this makes me quite sad. If it’s salvageable, I’d suggest work-ing on repairing it. Take care! n

lEgAl EAglE

Jenniferashrafis a barrister and solicitor of England and Wales. She is currently Senior Partner at Legacy Legal Corporate.When she is not solving complicated legal problems, Jennifer is usually found travelling to exotic locations sampling the indigenous cuisine

Got a problem? Write to Jennifer at [email protected]

1 inourcompany,whichisaprivatelimitedcompany,therearetwodirector/shareholders:mraandmrB.Thecompany’sfocusistobuy,sell,anddeveloplandandproperties.in2012,wepurchasedaplotof

landinordertoconstructamulti-storeyedbuilding.Wetookaloanfromthebankforthispurpose.Bothourdirectorsstoodasguarantorsforsaidloan.andthereinliestheproblem.Forpersonalreasons,mrahasbeenoutofthecountryforaroundsixmonthsnow,andduringhisabsence,mrBhasfraudulentlytransferredallthesharesofthecompanytohisownname.nowmrBistryingtosellofftheplottoathirdparty.howcanhebestopped?What’sthewayforward?

A. The first issue to look at is whether Mr B actually had authority to transfer Mr A’s share in his own name. Since Mr A was out of the country for around six months, the question arises as to who has acting authority on those shares during that timeframe. Did Mr A give a power of attorney to Mr B for that time? I surely hope not. But even if such a power of attorney was given, it’s too early to lose heart. A thorough inspection may reveal loopholes. Also, if a power of attorney was not given and Mr B fraudulently transferred the shares into his own name, then such a transaction would be void and invalid,

and Mr B would be looking at prison time.

In conclusion, the primary objective here is to stop Mr B from successfully selling off the land to a third party and making this entire situation much more complicated. My advice would be for Mr A to immediately apply to the court and get an injunction to prevent Mr B from selling off the property. In all likelihood, he will also be able to obtain the support of the bank in this instance. n

JennIFer ashraF

RioShuvo/DhakaTribune

2


What’s being doneKamrul Hasan Mollah, the upazila nirbahi officer of Savar, said they had been informed about the bodysnatching. “The police are already looking into the matter,” he said.

Mostafa Kamal, officer in charge of Savar model police station, said: “No case has yet been filed regarding this incident. But we are investigating it. We are assuming the thieves stole the skeletons either to sell them to the medical students, or to prove that those were bodies of the missing Rana Plaza workers. We are investigating this case keeping those possibilities in mind.”

The familiesFamily members of the missing bodies claimed that the bodysnatchers tried to cover it up by filling up the empty graves with soil. “We buried my mother in this graveyard two years ago. When I went to see if her grave was all right, I found it empty,” said Anwar Hossain, a Rajaghat resident.

Kutum Akhter, whose father Abu Bakar Siddique was also buried in the same graveyard, was lucky to find her father’s grave intact. “My father died six months ago. They did not take my father’s body, as his body still had flesh. But they dug up the grave. My family buried him again, following all the rituals again,” she said.

CRIME FIlE 26

No bones left unturned

Saiful Islam, an inhabitant of Rajaghat area, is sure the bodysnatching took place the night before. “We discovered it after our Fazr prayer. Those thieves took the bodies last night. As I had visited the graveyard yesterday, attending a villager’s burial, and everything was as it should be then.”

Hazi Mohiuddin, another Rajaghat resident, thought lack of security caused the theft. “This graveyard is 100 years old, and covers a huge area. It has no boundary walls and there are no guards to look after the graves.

“The police should investigate this incident and arrest the miscreants who could not leave people at peace even in death.”

Idris Ali, member of Tetuljhara union parisad, said: “At first, we thought the graves were dug up by dogs, or foxes, but we could not find any animal footprints around those graves. That’s how we knew that it was bodysnatching.”

AdilSakhawatinvestigatesthedisappearanceofskeletonsfromaSavargraveyard

bodysnatChIng In savar

Human skeletons – 18 of them – were stolen from a graveyard in Rajaghat area in Tetuljhara, a union in Savar, on the night of January 31. The local people found out about the missing bones when a few of them went to investigate the source of stench coming from the nearest graveyard. They found the body of Hasan Pagla, a local who had died a month ago, outside his grave, and discovered that there were 20 other graves dug out, and 18 of them empty. This created a huge commotion later as people in the locality came to the graveyard to find out whether their loved ones were among the missing bodies.

First police on siteThe police were notified about the stolen skeletons over phone right away. As they went in to investigate, they found that the thieves had only dug graves that were two or three years old. “They did not take bodies from the new graves. That’s why they left Hasan Pagla’s body. We think this was an organised crime,” said Khalid Hossain, sub-inspector at Savar model police station.

Witnesses

adilsakhawatwanted to be in the army, but

failing that, fights crime by reporting

on it. Send him information at

[email protected]


27oBItUARY

From this world to the other

On January 7, Leanne Hecht Bearden, 33, left her in-law’s house (in Texas) for a

morning jog. That was the last they saw of her. According to the missing person’s post that her family put out, Leanne had left wearing jeans, hiking boots and had $60 in cash, some credit cards and energy bars carried in a red backpack.

After travelling the world for two years with her husband, Leanne, a marketing graduate, was left

1. Jonny Byrne, 19, Ireland2. Ross Cummins, 22, Ireland,3. Matthew Loveday, 19, UK4. Bradley Eames, 20, UK

Death from sheer stupidity has always drawn less sympathy and more irritation. It

has now entered a new phase of absurdity due to an online drinking game called Neknomination.

Neknomination is an online drinking game where people post videos of themselves performing

ridiculous stunts while chugging alcohol, then nominate friends to do the same within 24 hours.

How? Here are some scenarios: A woman rides a horse into a supermarket while chugging from a pop can; A 19-year-old strips down to her lingerie in a department store and downs a beer; A man soaks naked in a bathtub full of canned beans while downing a cocktail of apple juice, cognac, gin and Icelandic vodka.

Seemingly harmless fun, and yet a total of four people died in the last week in Ireland and the UK. All of them in their 20s. The last victim, Bradley Eames, drank two pints of gin mixed with tea bags, the equivalent of 30 shots, in two minutes. He complained of feeling sick and was found dead the next day.

anxious and stressed when it was finally time to return back to her normal life. The couple had intended to stay briefly in Texas before flying to their home in Denver to begin searching for work.

Yet the pressure of transitioning back to a normal life proved to be a burden too great for Leanne.

It came as a shock to her family after she went missing, though her relatives later suggested that she might have left on her own accord, based on an earlier post on her Facebook page.

After three weeks of searching, her body was found hanging from a tree in the woodland close to where Leanne and her husband, Joshua, had been staying.

Leanne and Joshua published their travelogues on their blog, and had an avid readership. With Leanne gone today, leaving barely any clue as to why she felt compelled to take her life, her vicarious readers can only echo the words of her family in mourning: “Leanne was a lovely and remarkable young woman, and we will all miss her greatly.” n

Remembering Leanne Hecht BeardenShah Nahian

Death goes viral

NeknominationFaisal Mahmud

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are already being blamed for the spread of this new drinking craze. In response, Facebook has issued the following statement: “We do not tolerate content that is directly harmful, for example bullying. Yet behavior, which some people may find offensive or controversial, is not always necessarily against our rules. We encourage people to report things to us that they feel breaks our rules, so we can review and take action on a case by case basis.”

Created in Australia earlier this year and since going viral, the game has reached high schools and universities around the world with the stakes getting higher and the stunts more dangerous. Even the administrator for the Neknomination Facebook page has backed off, stating: “Neknomination was fun while it lasted but even I admit it has gotten out of control. This will be Neknomination’s last post.”

Last post or not, the trend has taken on a life of its own, and stopping it may prove to be difficult. They’ll just keep upping the ante, fear analysts across the globe. n

The unfortunate victims

Ralph Waite, the American actor heralded by the New York Times as the “craggy-faced, big-hearted patriarch of a rustic Depression-era clan” (in reference to his most famous role in the 70s drama series The Waltons), passed away on February 13 in his Palm Desert, California home at the age of 85 from age-related illnesses.

Born in White Plains, NY, as the oldest of five, Waite served in the US Marine Corps from 1946 till 1948 and then graduated from Bucknell University, Pennsylvania. Armed with a Master’s degree from Yale University, Waite became an ordained Presbyterian minister and religious editor at Harper & Row. He also had a brief stint in politics, though rather unsuccessfully. He ran for Congress in California as a Democrat on three occasions (once in 1990 and twice in 1998), but failed to win in elections each time.

Having shuttled around looking for his calling, Waite finally found

his niche in the Peninsula Players summer theatre program in 1963. As an actor, Waite was diverse, ranging from Shakespeare to Broadway soap operas like Days of Our Lives. He was nominated for two Emmy awards for playing Slater in the 1977 mini-series, Roots, and another for his role as John Walton in The Waltons. Though he had a long, successful film career, he is most noted for his TV roles, most recently those in The Practice (2004), CSI (2008), NCIS (2008-13), Grey’s Anatomy (2009), and Bones (2009-11).

In 2010, Waite returned to organised religion as an active member of the Spirit of the Desert Presbyterian Fellowship in California.

As we remember Waite, his own words (said in an interview to People Magazine) sum him up best: “I was never taken to a play or concert or church … yet I was a show-off, a dreamer, a storyteller.” n

Just a dreamerRemembering Ralph Waite

Rohini Alamgir


28

allittakesisone

as the sun came up, the valley’s misty slopes looked golden in the morning light. There was

a man on the hilltop, coming down through a trail that appeared like a moving snake from a distance.

He stopped at the end of the trail, lifted up his worn out bag over his head and carefully started to cross a narrow jhiri (hill river) that had strong currents and sharp boulders. Crossing that gracefully, he climbed atop another little hill on the other side to reach a pleasant plateau covered with green grass.

A small one-storey bamboo cottage with red rooftop was there, on the raised ground. He stood in front of the house, drew a key out from his threadbare trouser pocket and opened its door.

I watched the whole incident from a little distance. It was very early in the morning and the para (hill village) named Shiplampi, where I had stayed the previous night (on my way to Tajindong) along with my trekking group, was still asleep. I had a restless night, so I went out at the daybreak to get some fresh air.

I had yet to realise that the little red-roof house was a school, and the man was its lone teacher – Maijesh Tripura.

Utterly curious, I went to that house. Inside, I saw 10-12 wooden benches, a blackboard, a map of Bangladesh, a picture of Jesus Christ and a medium-sized cross hanging on a wall.

Maijesh Tripura was kneeling in front of the cross, offering a silent prayer. I waited.

After a while, he stood up and looked at me. His clothes looked more tattered up close than it had

from the distance. He had thin grey hair, a lean muscular body and a monk-like smile.

“Good morning,” he greeted me.From a bird’s eye view, that

school would look tiny amid the vast greenery of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The nearest place with mobile phone reception and electricity is about 10 hours of trekking away. The nearest village (Shiplampi) is inhabited by Mros, the most primitive, and matriarchal, tribe in the country.

Yet I was greeted with a “good morning!”

maijesh Tripura was, indeed, a unique person. He originally

hailed from Sherkorpara, a village inhabited by the Tripura tribe. Unlike other hill people, he wanted to do something different than jhum (slash and burn cultivation), or hunting.

“Early in my childhood, I went to Saikotpara (a village of Bom tribe) with my uncle. There, I saw that a Christian NGO had opened a school in the village. I wanted to study there, but my parents did not allow me then, as we had no relatives living in that village,” Maijesh told me in fairly good Bangla, quite unlike most hill people.

“But by seeing the Bom people, I realised one thing: if we, the Tripura tribe, did not learn to speak and write in Bangla like them, we would never achieve prosperity. That is because the hill people need to communicate with the Bangalis in Bangla at the bazar for business,” he said.

“So I persuaded my parents and went to the school in Saikotpara. I was taught Bangla, a little English and mathematics there. A father (priest) at the school was pleased with my performance and enrolled me at the school in Thanchi Bazar (one of the six upazilas of Bandarban). I passed the Matriculation (now SSC) exam from there.”

After passing the Matriculation exam, Maijesh decided to go back at Sherkorpara to establish a school. “The karbari (head of a tribal village) gave me the land, and the villagers built a school house and sent their children to the school. However, the main problem that I encountered

was the lack of study materials. Most of the villagers were very poor and they could not afford books, pencils or notebooks for their children. Also, the study books were very rare even in Thanchi Bazar,” he said.

So Maijesh went back to Saikotpara and asked the Christian NGO to provide funding for his school. His prayers were heard, as he received fund from them a few days later. “It helped us purchase the benches, blackboard and other study materials,” he said. Now, the school at Sherkorpara is a government-registered primary school. It has six teachers who receive monthly pay orders (MPO) from the government. “The Tripura tribe is also prosperous, as a number of people from our village have various businesses at Thanchi Bazar,” Maijesh added.

It would have been easy for Maijesh to stay with the school in his own village and receive MPO, but he had something different in his mind. “I wanted to spread the light of education among other tribes. More importantly, I wanted them to learn Bangla. So I moved here, to Shiplampi. Mros have the highest rate of illiteracy among all the tribes. I persuaded the karbari of Shiplampi to grant me a piece of land. The Christian NGO built the house and bought us the study materials, and I started the school.”

however, Maijesh does not teach Bangla only. He also teaches

basic English and Math right after the students have learned to read and write in Bangla. After graduating from his school, many students go to the primary schools in Thanchi Bazar and the other large villages.

Maijesh’s efforts to spread light has not stopped at one school. He has established another school in Kunchingpara, where the Khumi tribe lives.

“I don’t take donations from anyone. I come here (Shiplampi) from Sherkorpara three times a week to run my school,” Maijesh told me, a slight hint of pride in his voice.

It was about 8 in the morning. Maijesh excused himself from the conversation, took out a bell and rang it for a while. “The lesson will

begin in 10 minutes,” he explained.By then, my friends had woken

up. We also needed to start our trekking for the day. But we waited for a few more minutes to see what happened next.

In a short while, a number of little children came in, and the lessons began. “Au te auzogor ti ashlo terey,” “Aa’ te aam ti ami khabo perey” – those familiar sounds of learning the alphabet of our beloved language – which our forefathers had fought and died for 62 years ago – had filled the air by the time we left the hilly terrain. n

Faisalmahmudis good at memorising

seemingly unnecessary

information and finds that journalism

actually appreciates, if not nurtures, that sort

of futile flair

A touch of familiarity in an unknown world

Finding a local in the hills who was

fluent in Bangla was a treat, and

Maijesh’s passion for my mother

tongue reminded me of its history

In the bigger picture, Maijesh’s efforts may not be noteworthy, but his passion to bridge the gap between his people and the outside world certainly demands respect

LasTWord

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