
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).
Media today has transformed into a spectacular performance focused on visibility.
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.
Normally, you and I would not see fairies or hear them singing. They exist in a world where we fear (or do not care) to tread (anymore). Even if we do, we will not admit it in public.
It reads like a Netflix blurb of a horror movie. A young man took a machete from a street coconut seller, uttered his last words: “please forgive me”, and then slit his own throat in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
At a preparatory meeting for ULAB’s planned virtual convocation, I suggested that we use the iconic image of Keanu Reeves dodging many bullets in the Matrix trilogy as our promotional campaign.
During the latest rerun of the biblical David and Goliath narrative in a changed context, the age-old conflict between the Israelites and the Philistines has come alive.
The holiday lethargy has caused me self-loathing. Let me count some of the factors as to why I am beginning to hate myself.
A breath of fresh air: the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to allow public universities to hold online examinations.
Ah! May Day. It’s here. Our newspapers will carry a close-up shot of hardworking men or women in action (e.g., breaking bricks, carrying loads, or manning the machine) to draw our attention to the tears and sweat of a largely overlooked mass whose discomfort ensures the comfort of the rest.
A good story is hard to find. Niaz Zaman, the editor of The Demoness: The Best Bangladeshi Short Stories, 1971-2021 (Aleph Book Company, 2021), has found 27 “best” short stories to create an appetite for Bangladeshi fiction.
There have been changes in the way we live and the way we die. We have learned to live carefully during this time of the pandemic, yet we have been dying carelessly.
The onslaught of Covid-19 shows no signs of relenting. While the infection-death curve has been arrested by some countries, our one is still climbing, as if it wants to put a flag of our collective irresponsibility at a greater summit.