An intimate history of Bangladesh cricket
The information in the book was either in the public domain scattered everywhere, maturing in secret cellars or in somebody's heart never discussed in public. It needed a herculean teamwork of coordination and passion to present the game of cricket.
Bangladesh: A War Like No Other
It’s now the responsibility of the youth to dig through that history and feel proud.
Did you ever ask, why you fear maths?
Why do students fear maths? There's much more to maths than numeracy.
Autumn Festivals and Nobanno
Ancient societies were agrarian. From farmers at the bottom to zamindars and kings at the top, everybody depended on a good harvest. The word harvest derives from the Old English hærfest which means autumn. The autumn harvest was usually the largest harvest of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The weather was neither warm nor cold. Everybody prayed to the heavens for manna (sustenance) to fall. When manna did fall, there would be feast and festivity. When manna didn't fall, it could spell disaster for everybody.
Open Space: A final frontier?
I spent my formative years in Jahangirnagar and Cambridge University where I took space for granted.
Love Me Do: Sixty years ago, the Beatles began to play
Sixty years ago, John, Paul, George, and Ringo released their first single, Love Me Do, on October 5, 1962. It was a Parlophone 7-inch 45rpm with the seal 45-R 4949.
Religious Festivals and Holiday Blues
Sadly, not all religious festivals are accommodated with breathing space.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: A chance encounter, and the rest is history
The memoir provides a good primer to Nusrat's life as a musician and the legacy he left.
Checking exam scripts: One moral side of teaching
I can safely proclaim that one of the hazards of teaching is checking exam scripts.
Two Sides of Dorm Life
Arun and Barun came from two different parts of Bangladesh, and from two different social backgrounds.
‘Bulbuli’: Nazrul’s music for future listeners?
We were at the dinner table. My wife asked if I had seen Bulbuli, the Coke Studio Bangla song. Till then I hadn’t. The upload was only a few days old.
Remembering the heavenly harmonies of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Today marks the 25th death anniversary of the Qawwali legend.
Remembering the honest and natural voice of Amy Winehouse
Once you hear a voice like that, you know there’s a story behind all this.
Ananta Jalil's "Din-The Day": A Bond movie for the family
Din-The Day goes one step ahead of James Bond. The family can enjoy the movie, too.
An ode to Paul McCartney, on his 80th birthday
Paul has written many great songs. Each one of them has a special story for each listener.
Claustrophobia, and the lack of open spaces in Dhaka
Ever since I started living in Dhaka, I feel suffocated.
Adapting students from diverse academic backgrounds
Helping first year students from diverse academic backgrounds adapt is a challenge for universities.
Have you become disenchanted with university?
Only you know what you are good at, and what you can be good at if you try.
Why do prices increase every Ramadan?
According to Macrotrends, the population of Dhaka is more than 22 million. The most common food that sells in Dhaka is eggs. Even if one in two people eats an egg every day, the daily demand for eggs is over 11 million.
How social media shaped my teaching experience
Online classes opened a window none of us knew was possible.
Marriage, through the lens of an economist
The thought of getting married is now more complex than ever.
A Professor Writes About Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation and what you need to know about them.
Do I need to be more like them?
Childhood is fantasised in most cultures. In the West, Mum and Dad read Grimm’s Fairy Tales or Hans Christian Anderson. In Bangladesh, Mum and Dad read Dakshinaranjan Mitra’s Thakurmar Jhuli.
Nazrul, Rabindranath, and Their Admiration for Each Other
Today is the 45th death anniversary of the younger of the two icons.
Charlie Watts: To the Beat of the Rolling Stones
The quiet man of the Rolling Stones passed away August 24, 2021.
My first encounter With Cinema Paradiso
Rafael, my housemate at Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, asked me one day if I had watched Cinema Paradiso. When I said no, Rafael looked at me in silence for a moment. ‘Tomorrow’s the last day, they’re screening Cinema Paradiso at the Arts Theatre. Do watch. You’ll like it’.
Do You Know the Meaning of Friendship?
Muhammad Ali said, “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain”.
The Debut Album of Pink Floyd ft. The Beatles
How did the Beatles influence Pink Floyd's debut studio album?
50 Years of the Concert for Bangladesh: How It Came to Be
The backstory of the concert scripted in the heavens.
Re-reading ‘The Alchemist’: A book of omens
Before I knew it, I developed a personal relationship with the book. I was glued from beginning till end. I read slowly. Sometimes I read the same section twice. I could not focus on anything else till I finished. The experience was psychedelic: an expansion of the mind (imagination). In the end, the second omen worked. I was out of depression. Ricardo was right: “a good book (or film) can pull you out of depression”.
A Subtle Emptiness at Dhaka University
After my HSC, I stood at a crossroads. I reached a fork where only “two roads diverged”. And I had no option but to take one of the two roads and embrace the next phase in my life.
Bob Dylan at 80: Forget about today until tomorrow
The legendary singer-songwriter made songs a part of literature.
An ode to cricket, taken with a pinch of salt
The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind (HarperCollins India, 2020) is Ramachandra Guha’s latest book on cricket. It is his ode to a game his mother introduced him to at the age of four, and his father told him stories of.
April 8, 2021
Why Do We Choke Under Pressure?
The 2016 T20 World Cup Final. West Indies needed 19 runs off the last over. An unknown Carlos Brathwaite stormed his way into the history books with four consecutive sixes. West Indies won the T20 World Cup for the second time. Ben Stokes of England was bowling the last over. How could a dependable person like Stokes choke under pressure?
March 25, 2021
Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra
The legacy of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra is in its songs of freedom.
March 4, 2021
Nobody Taught Us Money Management
Yet, schools don't teach how to manage money.
February 4, 2021
The Illusion of Success
Success truly isn't what it is. Even Superman is very mortal.
January 21, 2021
An Encounter With the Alchemist
My encounter with Santiago, Fatima and the Alchemist changed my life like it did for many others.
December 31, 2020
New Year’s Celebrations
Trying to be happy is the prayer this Echoes makes for you in the coming year and beyond.
December 17, 2020
1971: A story again made fresh
The generation of 1971 instilled that pride for the generation of 2021 to lead Bangladesh forward in the 21st century.
December 3, 2020
Migration: All that glitters may not be gold
Today, young people are going abroad more than any time in our history. What's interesting is: what happens after they go abroad?
November 19, 2020
Auctions: Another Nobel Prize in Game Theory
This year Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Today we talk about auctions, but with no jargon.
November 5, 2020
Pahela Agrahayan and Nobanno
Emperor Akbar may have changed Pahela Agrahayan to Pahela Baishakh centuries ago, but people don't give up traditions easily
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