Musings
Of meals that ended up as the pièce de résistance of journeys
Bourdain, the genius both in and out of the kitchen, once famously said, “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.” There
Death is different for a daughter
We think of death as the great equaliser. We come to this world alone—as the saying goes—and so we take part of it alone too. The grief that consumes the deceased’s loved ones also seems like a universal experience, and so we console each other with words of
Down Memory Lane
During a chat with my mother one evening, I asked her, "Which belonging of yours do you cherish the most?” I expected her to name her favourite kitchen utensils (which she guards with her life by the way) or her money pouch or that mobile phone of hers which she uses to video call anyone and everyone at the oddest of hours.
My memory from a time in the past
They say, rereading a beloved childhood book, much later in your life, helps you rediscover yourself. The day afterpoet Al Mahmud's death, I reopened one of his poetry books, Pakhir Kachhe, Phooler Kachhe, the only collection of the poet I have ever read and owned.
Eishob Dinraatri
Every cat is a great teacher. I live with five and I know for a fact that they are.
The journey for a home
Anthropologist James Clifford says that the term travel can be understood as a form of 'global contacts' in a post-colonial word. I realised that a genuine traveller is reflective, moving across a landscape where things are in place.
A little bit of everything makes millennials the most anxious generation
The internet has had a complete ball of a year, thanks to millennials turning older and 'CRAY-zier' and fighting the growing costs of living. If you think that this 'I cannot buy a home because I spent all my money on avocadoes and that is why I am sad' is a problem just in the west, just drag your mouse and zoom in on Dhaka on the map (especially on the tri-state area).
Naiyor: A Tale of Two Passages in Two Eras
Imagine, dear reader, a youthful village belle. Transport yourself back 50 or 60 years ago. She lives with her husband and her in-laws in a farming homestead in rural East Bengal. It's been a few years since she arrived in her new home.
A lift of shame?
Monir Hossain, 35, works as a senior executive in a firm. He used to travel to and from office in private cars.
SNUG AS A GUN
Is the pen mightier than the keyboard? With the increasing use of laptops and smart phones, and in the realm of 'tweeting' and instant messaging, one could think that the world might just rub the pen off its hands. Typing surely has its many advantages. But the pen, too, has a myriad of benefits that a keyboard can't simply provide.
Who's up for a rustic Eid?
I have only heard about on watched on TV the empty roads in Dhaka during Eid; I have never experienced a congestion-free Dhaka myself.
SPREADING THE GOOD WORD
A few days back, a Facebook post shared by Marina Mahathir, the renowned Malaysian socio-political activist and daughter of the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Mahathir Mohammad, was re-posted by many others.