
Shamsad Mortuza
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Dr Shamsad Mortuza is a professor of English at Dhaka University, and former pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Dr Shamsad Mortuza is a professor of English at Dhaka University, and former pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).
What is perhaps more insidious than the acts themselves is the language that now surrounds them. The lexicon of liberation has deliberately opted for expletives.
We need to change our mindset and up our game to improve our universities’ standing.
The collective numbness contradicts the spirit with which the masses stormed the streets in July last year.
Central to the formation of the panel is the objective of minimising political interference in the selection of top university managers.
Central to the JnU crisis is a list of broken promises.
It’s easy to dismiss Dhaka as an unliveable city. The challenge is to replace that tantrum with the determination to make the city better.
It will be a crime to miss the post-uprising zeitgeist and not to overhaul our educational sector.
“Money can open every DoE door”—I read out the news heading in this daily only to trip over the last two words. The stuttering tongue-twister made me chuckle.
Will the Covid-19 masks finally come off in 2022? The ever-evolving nature of our little big enemy makes it difficult to say if the mask mandates will remain effective in this new year.
In October 2019, The Guardian featured an article titled “The rise and rise of Bangladesh” with a string attached in its title, asking, “But is life getting any better?”
Covid-19 deserves a trophy for virtually connecting many of us during these atrophy-ridden times.
The recent announce-ment and endorsement of the resignation of two high-profile figures have rocked the political boat. A mayor and a state minister have given up their offices—or should I say, they have fallen out of grace to fall on their own swords.
There was a 10mm glass wall at ULAB that separated Prof Rafiqul Islam’s office room from mine for more than three years.
Every time I pass by the Banani flyover area, I look at the worms that have come out of the deep to rear their heads to announce the underpass underneath, and ask myself why the much-hyped pedestrian tunnel has not been opened to the public yet.
“Do you know that you cannot die without being born first?”
The planning minister recently used an onomatope—a word that imitates the things signified. He referred to the economic growth of the country with the sound image of “shonoi, shonoi,” which can be literally translated to “by and by.”
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.