A Villager’s Guide to Feeding Foreigners
If you’re a straightforward villager like me, you’ll be curious to entertain the foreigner. Before you do there are things to consider. Foreigners have foreign ways; allowances are required. Yet, despite the inherent challenge it’s good to feed one. Even foreigners need to eat.
5y ago
Corporate training needs a Bangladeshi spin
Importing corporate training modules is fraught with danger. It’s time to recognise the uniqueness and strengths of Bangladeshi corporate culture, and for training providers to tailor sessions accordingly.
5y ago
Life lesson in Sylhet
Away from the news. Away from the enormity of a planet on the brink. Away from inner restlessness there is yet life. It’s what I learnt in Sylhet.
5y ago
At home in the saddle
She's determined and courageous: at the tender age of twelve, Tasmina Aktar from Chak Subolpur village in Naogaon's Dhamoirhat upazila has quite a reputation in horse racing circles. The seventh-grade student is accustomed to placing first or second in any race. As a jockey she's participated in around fifty events. Tasmina is a girl undeterred, happy to compete in a sport usually reserved for men.
6y ago
Natore's princess poet
For seven generations from the early-eighteenth century, the zamindars of Dighapatia near Natore were landlords of a vast estate,
6y ago
When darkness falls
Morzina Begum from Daktarpara in Rangpur town works in a bidi factory, rolling cheap cigarettes. Aged 75, it's not an ideal
6y ago
Bloom and grow, forever
In and around Mathorpara village, in Gaibandha's Shaghata upazila, it's become usual for every newborn child to be welcomed into the world with the planting of a tree. The tradition began three years ago by 28-year-old visual artist Gopal Chandra Barmon, as an extension of a tree-planting hobby carried from boyhood.
6y ago
Cost of floating farms on the rise
In wetland areas of Pirojpur, farming on floating seedbeds called “dhap” is a tradition that spans centuries. Primarily constructed from water hyacinth, the seedbeds that are up to 180 feet long, four feet wide and two feet thick, allow farming in areas otherwise unavailable for regular crops. But this year, the rising cost of floating cultivation has farmers worried.
6y ago
July 31, 2017
Breaking the barrier
A first-year student of philosophy at Chapainawabganj Government College, Farida Khatun believes that in Bangladeshi culture, females are too readily thought of as representatives of the moral values held by their family. “If I do anything contrary to social norms,” says the
July 30, 2017
Fish traps lifeline for haor people
After the devastating April floods caused the extensive destruction of rice crops across the Sunamganj haor-lands, many village families were left without a livelihood.
July 27, 2017
Good days for Chalan Beel boat makers
When monsoon rains rejuvenate the Chalan Beel wetland that covers parts of Pabna, Sirajganj and Natore districts each year, boats
July 26, 2017
Physical challenge no bar to his success
Masum Parvez, 38, from BDR Hat Road area of Lalmonirhat town is a successful businessman. In his diversified fertiliser, pesticide,
July 25, 2017
Boat-only transport a reality of monsoon life
In around 100 villages across three Moulvibazar upazilas the monsoon months leave small 'nouka' boats as the only practical means of
July 23, 2017
Erratic rainfall a curse for tea gardens
Consider a cup of tea: too much water and it's barely delectable; not enough and no amount of sugar can mask the bitterness. Sylhet's
July 22, 2017
Date palm shows hope
Cultivated in the Bengal region since time immemorial, the native sugar date palm, locally called 'khejurer gachh', is well-appreciated,
July 21, 2017
Tidal surge takes toll on Kuakata seafront
Seasonal king tides over the past two months have caused extensive damage to the Kuakata foreshore. Around ten feet of the lone link
July 21, 2017
Natural carp breeding in Kaptai Lake
Rangamati's 700-square-metre Kaptai Lake once teemed with fish but for many years naturally occurring fish stocks have been in
July 21, 2017
Faridpur's 'food minister'
Duty starts at 9:00am Every weekday, through scorching summer heat, drenching rain or bitter cold, Lal Mia, 55, from Munshi Bazar in
X