Mehrul Bari

Mehrul Bari S Chowdhury is a writer, poet, and artist. His work has appeared in Blood Orange Review, Kitaab, and Sortes Magazine, among others. He is currently the intern at Daily Star Books.

Boats against the current: Reconciling the Dhaka of old with the new

Nadeem Zaman’s The Inheritors retells and recontextualizes one of the most famous stories there ever was—F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925).

1y ago

Matsyanayam

Luna strode then to the river’s bank, her loose-fitting blouse and petticoat flapping in the breeze that had speedily arrived. Her nupur, fashioned from mollusk shells, sounded in the wind like wind chimes, and more so when she moved.

1y ago

Matsyanayam - A story of ancient Bengal, and the queen who lived a hundred years

And in the streets of Shonarga, Luna went about on foot, her nupur clinking against her ankles, notifying all passers-by of the good queen’s proximity.

1y ago

Loneliness, and what I gained from a Creative Writing degree

The workshops were the sessions I’d look forward to. Someone actually reading your work, studying it, telling you what you do well, telling you what you can improve on, all phrased constructively (“I like this!” was a banned phrase). If you’re pursuing writing, workshopping—on some level or another—is what you’ll need.

2y ago

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’—One series to fail them all?

What point is Lord of the Rings making in 2022? That people are racist and wage wars? The original trilogy, from two decades ago, was making that same point.

2y ago

Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ re-creates Neil Gaiman’s world in its own image

If you didn’t read The Sandman, watch The Sandman. If you read The Sandman, don’t expect the same magic as in the pages.

2y ago

Of noodles and nostalgia

“Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart”, reads the stark opening line in Michelle Zauner’s 2021 memoir, Crying in H Mart (Knopf), starting the

2y ago

Killing the false woman: ‘The Harpy’ dissects parenthood, femininity, and domestic abuse

A book’s epigraph usually either leaves you droplets of hints of what’s to come or purposefully perplexes, with abstract quotes that leave you feeling rather than knowing.

3y ago
April 27, 2023
April 27, 2023

Boats against the current: Reconciling the Dhaka of old with the new

Nadeem Zaman’s The Inheritors retells and recontextualizes one of the most famous stories there ever was—F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925).

December 17, 2022
December 17, 2022

Matsyanayam

Luna strode then to the river’s bank, her loose-fitting blouse and petticoat flapping in the breeze that had speedily arrived. Her nupur, fashioned from mollusk shells, sounded in the wind like wind chimes, and more so when she moved.

December 17, 2022
December 17, 2022

Matsyanayam - A story of ancient Bengal, and the queen who lived a hundred years

And in the streets of Shonarga, Luna went about on foot, her nupur clinking against her ankles, notifying all passers-by of the good queen’s proximity.

November 4, 2022
November 4, 2022

Loneliness, and what I gained from a Creative Writing degree

The workshops were the sessions I’d look forward to. Someone actually reading your work, studying it, telling you what you do well, telling you what you can improve on, all phrased constructively (“I like this!” was a banned phrase). If you’re pursuing writing, workshopping—on some level or another—is what you’ll need.

September 4, 2022
September 4, 2022

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’—One series to fail them all?

What point is Lord of the Rings making in 2022? That people are racist and wage wars? The original trilogy, from two decades ago, was making that same point.

August 7, 2022
August 7, 2022

Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ re-creates Neil Gaiman’s world in its own image

If you didn’t read The Sandman, watch The Sandman. If you read The Sandman, don’t expect the same magic as in the pages.

January 6, 2022
January 6, 2022

Of noodles and nostalgia

“Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart”, reads the stark opening line in Michelle Zauner’s 2021 memoir, Crying in H Mart (Knopf), starting the

November 11, 2021
November 11, 2021

Killing the false woman: ‘The Harpy’ dissects parenthood, femininity, and domestic abuse

A book’s epigraph usually either leaves you droplets of hints of what’s to come or purposefully perplexes, with abstract quotes that leave you feeling rather than knowing.

September 23, 2021
September 23, 2021

Cosy comedy-drama ‘The Chair’ does right and wrong by English departments

Netflix’s new comedy-drama, The Chair (2021), should fit right up the alley of any and possibly every lit major or graduate.

August 19, 2021
August 19, 2021

Mahmudul Haque and Mahmud Rahman's 'Black Ice': A portrait of a time and a man

The novel tracks the childhood of Abdul Khaleq, which comes back to the man every sleepless, teary-eyed night. The chapters alternate between these recollections—taking residence in rural 1940s Kolkata—and the now, where schoolteacher Khaleq repeats a daily Sisyphean routine in newly christened-Bangladesh.