Abida Rahman Chowdhury

Can we look beyond the seasonal activism against animal cruelty?

But is animal cruelty something we only condemn during this particular time of year? What are the subtle and not-so-subtle acts of cruelty we exhibit as we interact with/rear/raise/consume livestock/pets/wildlife?

1y ago

‘Science has to be for the masses’

Prof Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury  is one of two Bangladeshis who were recently named among the top 100 Asian scientists. In an interview with Abida Rahman Chowdhury of The Daily Star, she talks about her current projects, the scope of Bangladesh's policies and why they do not work, and how to encourage more women to take up STEM.

1y ago

More roads are not the answer to Bangladesh’s traffic problem

The more roads you build, the more cars there will be to fill them up. I am no expert, but the numbers don’t lie.

1y ago

What stops people from evacuating to shelters during cyclones?

Cyclone Mocha was just the first of the season, and Bangladesh will face more in the days to come. We need to focus on a more holistic approach to disaster management, especially the evacuation process and recovery aspect, and not just rely on warnings and people’s willingness to move to shelters.

1y ago

Heatwave: Inside the boiling pot of inequality

Do we all feel this heat similarly? The answer is no. It is no secret that if you are among the well-off in this not-so-well-off nation, you are better equipped to deal with this heatwave. There is a deep running inequality as to how the heat affects people.

1y ago

The role of bystanders during a crisis: An impediment or asset to rescue efforts?

Just one bystander can cause enough distraction to move the focus from the real situation on hand—which is to stabilise the emergency situation and save lives. So, who is responsible?

1y ago

World Wildlife Day: Conversations with conservationists

Bangladesh supports nearly 1.7 percent of the world's wildlife. How is that wildlife doing? Why does the chirping of birds no longer wake us? When was the last time a frog just showed up in our bathrooms?

1y ago

Are Bangladeshis best in the world in naming businesses?

As a traveller or visitor, if you have been to Bangladesh, you are no stranger to the shocking green everywhere, the chaos of Dhaka city, the absolute absence of rules anywhere, and if you have a keen eye then the straightforward, smooth and sometimes borderline funny naming of our businesses will surely intrigue you.

2y ago
January 14, 2020
January 14, 2020

Why count birds?

On a half-wooden, half-iron boat, a team of men and women in heavy winter gear and heavy-duty binoculars set sail on a very, very cold winter morning on January 5. Their destination was the sandbars and shallow water lagoons of the mighty Padma River.

November 29, 2019
November 29, 2019

THE LAST HUSTLE

The soft light of the setting sun illuminates the entire section every time I walk in, mostly because I AM ALWAYS LATE. On one side white balloons hang, on another side a dart board.

November 22, 2019
November 22, 2019

Where it all ended and where it all began

This is the fifth and final (for now) instalment in a fiction series about a family navigating the woes of immigrant life.

October 18, 2019
October 18, 2019

Of stories from tidal villages by a vanishing forest and a fast-rising sea

Maybe it was Anita Desai’s book The Village by the Sea or was it that movie My Japanese Wife—I do not remember so clearly now—that had us all riled up during that short four-day long journey down to the last villages of the Sundarbans.

October 4, 2019
October 4, 2019

Who am I?

The packing began months ahead of time, even before they had officially decided to move, even before tickets were purchased, even before the children could talk to their school and tell their friends that they were leaving home yet again.

September 27, 2019
September 27, 2019

When teens of the world unite for Planet Earth

Just a day after teenagers around the world skipped classes and gathered on the streets of Dhaka, Warwick, Hamburg, London, and

September 20, 2019
September 20, 2019

Was that you Akela?

In Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, a series of short fables published in 1894, Akela and Raksha were the wolf parents of Mowgli,

September 13, 2019
September 13, 2019

REMEMBERING SATHKHIRA, MY ENDLESS SUMMER TORTURE

I had never gotten around to writing about Sathkhira, at least not as a travel destination. Maybe because travelling to this saline land

August 30, 2019
August 30, 2019

On loving childhood reads as an adult

I have been recovering from a very long and arduous block in my reading life, a block that could not be broken by the fattest or

August 9, 2019
August 9, 2019

THE HOUSE OF MAD

The child came just as dawn was about to crack. The earth had almost completed one rotation and was getting ready to light up again and along she came as the darkest hour of the night came to an end.