Maisha Syeda

Maisha Syeda is a writer, painter, lecturer, and the Sub editor of Star Books and Literature.

Of homes and the worlds: Women, violence, and the domestic space

November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, marks the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence which goes until December 10, Human Rights Day.

3w ago

A walk through free (?) Dhaka

Bangladesh has gone through a day of historical proportions, and the people on the streets seem to know this.

4m ago

All that I shouldn’t have known

What I wish I didn’t know is that when your dear friends whisper the word “psycho” behind your back, you’ll grow up accepting it.

5m ago

Shrines

Words have crashed onto your shores,

8m ago

TRIGGER WARNING: Agency, autonomy, and female smoking

A month ago, as I waited for a friend in Banani, I decided to grab a packet of cigarettes. I’m not good at calculations for loose change and the vendor, old and seemingly disoriented, was having a hard time too.

9m ago

The sound of Dhaka city

Once on a particularly smothering hot day, on a CNG ride to work, I was stuck in the most heinous traffic for over two hours. Over the yelling drivers, honking cars, and incessant cursing over why the CNGs were trying to overtake the expensive cars, I was listening to my usual cycle of songs. As coincidence would have it, David Gilmour in his seraphic voice posed the question: “So, so you think you can tell/ Heaven from hell?”

1y ago

In the sand dunes

His face was growing warmer, it seemed as though the intangible entity that was stinging his closed eyes was growing stronger.

1y ago

Of ‘BONOBIBI’ and music as a form of storytelling

The verses remind us that a withering, war-torn Earth can still birth new life and hopes of freedom.

1y ago
May 19, 2022
May 19, 2022

What we readers want from Zoya Akhtar’s ‘The Archies’

From the trailer it looks like Zoya Akhtar's Archies has a wider cast of main characters than Riverdale, but what we want to see is the original comics' innocence revisited.

May 17, 2022
May 17, 2022

The Myth Bridge: Goethe Institut Bangladesh and HerStory Foundation revisit women of folklore through Dungeons and Dragons

Going live from May 15 is The Myth Bridge, a live-action simulation game that “[brings] to life” and connects nine women characters from Bengali and German folklore. 

April 25, 2022
April 25, 2022

Shagufta Sharmeen Tania shortlisted for Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2022

“My story concerns the lost souls of a metropolis”, the author tells The Daily Star, “those magnificent beasts that cannot find their places in a growing, sprawling cityscape.” 

April 8, 2022
April 8, 2022

Arshi Mortuza explores mental health and identity crises in ‘One Minute Past Midnight’

Reversal of fairy tale tropes and themes of mental health and alienation run dominantly across One Minute Past Midnight (Nymphea Publications, 2022), a debut collection of poetry and prose by poet and teacher Arshi Mortuza. 

March 31, 2022
March 31, 2022

Shuvashish Roy’s new teen book incorporates SDGs into fiction

Chevening scholar, author, and head of business development at The Daily Star, Shuvashish Roy, has published his first work of fiction, Chamakiya O Biggani Bhajaghata (Gyankosh Prokashoni, 2022), released at the Ekushey Boi Mela this year. 

March 8, 2022
March 8, 2022

Leading a community out of disaster

Hashi Begum, from Uttar Manoshitola village in Barguna, took matters into her own hands when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit. She not only resolved to take care of her own family but her community as well.

February 14, 2022
February 14, 2022

‘Gehraiyaan’ – a serene, understated work of art

Remember the song “Pappu Can’t Dance Sala” from “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”? It might come as a surprise to many people that that bespectacled individual was the genius behind the brilliant romance/drama, “Kapoor & Sons”. This year, Shakun Batra proved again that he is as brilliant as they come in Bollywood. ‘Pappu’ might not know how to dance, but he sure can direct! Released on Amazon Prime Video, under the notable Dharma Productions banner, Batra has co-written and directed yet another romantic drama–but with a few twists.

January 20, 2022
January 20, 2022

UPL launches Samuel Jaffe’s book on US grassroots activism in Bangladesh Liberation War

In a live YouTube broadcast, The University Press Limited (UPL) launched their book, An Internal Matter: The U.S., Grassroots Activism and the Creation of Bangladesh, written by Samuel Jaffe, at 7 PM on Saturday, January 15, 2022.

January 16, 2022
January 16, 2022

UPL launches Samuel Jaffe’s book on grassroots activism in the Liberation War

In a live YouTube broadcast, University Press Limited (UPL) launched their book, An Internal Matter: The U.S., Grassroots Activism and the Creation of Bangladesh, written by Samuel Jaffe, at 7 PM on Saturday, January 15, 2022.

January 13, 2022
January 13, 2022

Exploring friendship as an adult

It’s hard to find a partner. It’s harder to make friends.