⁠⁠Features

⁠⁠Features

INTERVIEW / An evening at Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay and Dhaka Sessions

In one of their most recent episodes, Dhaka Sessions featured three young artists from Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay to perform in the intimate and literary, lush space of Bookworm Bangladesh

3d ago

ESSAY / Panic, puke and Palahniuk

Now, two decades later, the question lingers: Did "Guts" really cause waves of fainting spells, or did the legend grow legs of its own?

2w ago

REFLECTION / Ammu reads

Throughout my school years, Ammu would assign a different writer for me to read during each vacation

3w ago

ESSAY / Philosophical fraternity of Rabindranath Tagore and Anwar Ibrahim

In a lecture, Rabindranath proclaimed, “I hope that some dreamer will spring from among you and preach a message of love and therewith, overcoming all differences..."

3w ago

LITERARY CURTAINS / ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’: Reverberating despair and dread through a theatrical production

All Quiet on the Western Front (Little, Brown and Company, 1929), a semi-autobiographical novel authored by a German World War I veteran, Erich Maria Remarque, is one of the greatest anti-war works of literature—one that was published nearly a century back and still holds relevance today

1m ago

TRIBUTE / The poet who declared birth was his eternal sin

Remembering the stateless poet Daud Haider

1m ago

WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY / A tribute to the written word

'A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies'

1m ago

ESSAY / Aparna Sanyal and the burden of representation in South Asian literature

Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal’s 'Instruments of Torture' is a powerful literary collection that delves into the psychological and societal torments individuals endure, particularly focusing on themes of beauty standards and the representation of women. Each story in the collection is named after a medieval torture device, serving as a metaphor for the emotional and societal pressures faced by the characters.

1m ago

The power of Qasidas and devotional poetry in deepening Ramadan reflections

While core acts of devotion take center stage, qasidas (Islamic odes) and devotional poetry serve as powerful complements, enriching the experience of Ramadan and deepening one’s spiritual reflections

2m ago

‘Bengal Photography’s Reality Quest’: A discourse with Naeem Mohaiemen

Throughout the session, Mohaiemen’s passionate, spontaneous, and engaging demeanour captivated the audience, fostering a deeper understanding of storytelling through images.

2m ago

‘Pakhider Bidhanshabha’: A mesmerising theatrical odyssey

On the evening of February 10 the curtain fell for the last time on a performance that, over the preceding days, had cast an enchanting spell upon its audience.

2m ago

'A terrible beauty is born' in Gaza and West Bank

Pre-occupation Palestine had, to use Anglo-American poet WH Auden's words, "marble well-governed cities" full of "vines and olive trees." But Israel and its allies have turned it into "an artificial wilderness"

2m ago

Finding Obayed Haque: A contemporary writer who lives in his words

If you pick up an Obayed Haque novel, you won’t find an author’s photo, a detailed biography, or even a note about his life.

3m ago

Desire, Identity, and the boundaries of silence

Saikat Majumdar, a professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University, is a writer whose works delve deep into the intricacies of identity, desire, and the tensions between personal yearnings and institutional expectations.

3m ago

Michael Madhusudan Dutt: A pioneer of modern Bangla literature

January 25, 2025 marks the 201st birth anniversary of Michael Madhushudan Dutt

4m ago

The Doppelgänger

It was actually a bit of a relief to sit on the terrace of the Gezira Pension and have a quiet breakfast before plunging back once more into the traffic of Cairo in search of a carriage to the museum.

4m ago

Spectacularised rape

In the psyche and schema of the average transnational Bangladeshi, rape is visible and legitimate only when it takes spectacular forms—violent, brutal, deadly.

5m ago

On invisibilised violence

In classic Bengali fiction, the kitchen is a central site for conflict and community bonding.

5m ago