Star Diary

Poverty Is the Mighty Tyrant

	Photo: Star File

When a little baby learns to walk for the first time, it is surely a sight to behold. It is instantly captured in the mother’s mind as a memory which will always be treasured. Everyone else congratulates the little one with elated smiles and happy faces. It is more like an achievement.

One day, while I was stuck in a traffic jam, I witnessed one such incident. There was an infant on the footpath who seemed to muster up all his strength just to sit up and walk. As time elapsed, these trials turned into achievements. He was almost up, taking his first steps. But the sad thing was that there was no mother to capture this event in her mind and no one to congratulate the little lad. It was just me, the only spectator and I clapped at his success. As I drove away, I realised why this child was not noticed, he was poor. His mother was probably begging at car windows a mile away. His father probably abandoned him and his mother.

If you are well off, you will always be noticed, always be applauded for, always be smiled at. If you are poor, you will always be socially looked down upon. You will also be denied of the little happy moments of life. This is how poverty takes over people's lives like a mighty tyrant. It can create such vast differences, make so many lives miserable. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty to live life to the fullest, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult.

Sarah Sayeed Gazi,
Scholastica School, Dhaka

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Stop Promoting Other Cultures

A few days ago I was watching a television drama on a private channel being aired on the occasion of Valentines Day. Watching the drama turned out to be a disturbing experience because I noticed that Hindi songs were used in it. There are thousands of beautiful Bengali songs which could have been used. Why do we have to use Hindi songs in a Bengali drama? I find it insulting to our culture and to our language martyrs to use songs of other countries in a local/national television programme. Television is a media that greatly influences the future generation. If our future generation is exposed to this type of television dramas or programmes then they will be misguided to think that our Bengali culture is redundant. We should respect and promote our culture and avoid aping other cultures.

Nujat Tabassum
Viqarunnisa Noon School
Dhaka

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Too Easy To Manipulate

Two of my friends from Dhaka went to their village during the local government polls to cast their votes and support a friend who was one of the five aspirants in his own ward. Maintaining the rules and regulations ordained by the Election Commission, they joined the election campaign and tried their best to convince the people about the competency of his candidature. Following the expiry date of the campaign when they had nothing but to reckon the possible number of votes cast for their friend, they were quite hopeful about his triumph.

The election process was strictly maintained, the Election Commission and local administration's dedication to hold a fair and credible poll was really laudable. No fake vote was attempted to be cast and no violation of laws was seen. However, the moment of announcement of the winner gave my friends a real thrill, as they were convinced that their friend would win. But to their utter disappointment, he failed to win the race and received a severe defeat. Nothing but words of commiseration could be said to him.

A few days after the election, while my friends were roaming around their village and talking about the unexpected defeat of their friend, a man who was passing by, intervened in their discussion. He informed them that it was the grand feast for the villagers arranged by the winner during the campaign that played a key role in the defeat of their friend. How can we dream of good governance that will work for the welfare of the country and its citizens when the people are easily convinced to trade their votes in exchange of a grand feast?

Ashim Kumar Paul
Government Edward College
Pabna