Hilarious Hobbies

I would have loved this title to be 'hilarious hubbies'; but I'm afraid I don't have the experience and neither the qualifications to give the readers warranted entertainment by writing on such a sensational topic. But I can, hopefully, take you in for a short ride to the world of the most bizarre and eccentric.

Hobbies have been taken up by humans since the Stone Age. Some of the prehistoric guys back then would most likely collect the sharpest and finest fish bones to keep in their fishbone collection. Others would probably show of their stone arrowhead collection, while other more compassionate one's might have kept pet dinosaurs. Well, times have changed- a lot.

Today, the so-ever materialistic world has become devoid of people who hardly have time left for anything. (It is an abnormal world after all.) In the inadequate time that is left after the hustle and bustle of a busy day/week, the most likely leisure activity is… sleep; this implies to both young and old alike. But the striking fact is; there still are normal people out there who have time for stamp collecting, gardening, fishing, hiking and…. Furthermore, they cherish it. Perhaps it is the only worldly thing that gives them peace of mind and sheer happiness.

I have a friend who loves collecting glass churies (bangles). Infact, her present collection consists 4,878 of them- I helped her count them, so this isn't phony. She used to keep them in a big shoe box on top of her dresser. But once when their bua went to fetch something from top of the dresser her precious box tumbled onto the floor- smashing 1,404 churies into bits and pieces. If that horrible incident hadn't occurred- she would be the owner of 6,282 churies today (maybe a possible world record). Lucky for her friends- we never have to think for hours before buying her a birthday present.

As for the preference of pets, this can come in variety; from the most common dog and cat to the not so common lizard. But have you heard of a pet snake (yikes!)? It's true. One of my friend's friend has one which one of his uncles gave him after returning from Africa. He claims it to be a very rare species and he keeps it in a synthetic tropical forest (a beautiful glass tank). He always keeps his pet on a very healthy diet. Rats are the common menu which he gets easily by giving the slum children 5 taka apiece. He loves to set his slinky black and golden friend out of its coop just to get a kick out of the faces people make at the sight of it- especially his
mother…

One of my dads' colleagues has this obsession with chess boards. He has all kinds of them- glass one's, porcelain one's, ceramic one's, plastic one's and even one made out of clay. They're in a lot of shapes and sizes too- one's a tabletop, the other is a phone set and… the list could go on. But the oddest thing is- he doesn't know how many squares a Knight moves!

Another person I can't help mentioning is my 2nd grade teacher. She was a wonderful lady who taught us not only with her head but also with her heart. She is the gentlest person I have come across yet. She had a hobby that is to me until this day second-to-none. She preserved butterflies. Each and every one of them were so beautiful. She kept them aligned in a glass case in her living room. It was an extraordinary collection. The colors and diversity of the tiny creatures were stunning. She said she would donate her anthology to a museum.

The human mind is of course an amusing ingredient. It can find tranquility in the most trivial of elements. But we should always remember to take up a diversion that opposes destruction. Live and let live in peace.

By Synergie

The small crowd watched in amazement as the man climbed up the stairs to the stage and stood firmly in front of the guillotine. His face bore no signs of anxiety or fear though he knew that these were the very last moments of his life. The man was a murderer .A criminal of the very worst kind and he was to be executed - in the most abominable manner. But at this intermission between life and death he was not afraid, not scared of the consequences he may encounter in the unknown chapter of his life for all his wrong doings. Religion and rituals filled him with disgust and he had as much as belief in God as there is water in the desert. The virtues of compassion and benevolence had long been abandoned from his nature for which his hands did not shake for once when he killed.

The man looked up at the blade, which would put an end to his life. It gave him a vicious and wistful look. The sight of it made him think about all the lives it had claimed and all the people who had stood in front of it pleading for mercy. But nobody was forgiven. Their screams soon became vague and then disappeared, forever. It would be the same for him but he would not beg for compassion. He wanted this despicable story of his life to end and thus wanted to be free from the vile memories of his life that had haunted his mind time and again. But the memories always returned. Even after pushing his head through the guillotine-hole the horrible scenes of his misdeeds came flashing before his eyes. Impatience overtook his senses. He was craving for death but the seconds were ticking like years. The smile on his face had vanished and a look of pale fear overwhelmed it instead. His senses were gradually moving out of his control and the more he tried to overpower them the more helpless he became. There was fear in his eyes and a feeling of emptiness in his heart. He began to realize how he had wasted this priceless life of his. He had spent all his time hurting people and took it as his main source of pleasure. He had never smiled at children and had never treated anybody with love. He wanted to gain people's respect with fear but failed to realize that their true love can be gained only by loving them. And now at the threshold of death, he realized that after his death no one would pass by his desolate grave and shed a few tears for him. Year after year people will think of him with contempt after he dies. His life had been a lonely journey and the moment he will enter his eternal life God himself would be against him and would treat him with painful chastisement....

The man looked up at the blade again. This time he got no satisfaction from looking at it but his mind got whacked with the fact that the blade would not free his soul but would lead it to its own peril. His heart stopped beating, his face transformed into a deathly pale and he began trembling with fear. His throat became perched and he gasped for breath. The man wanted freedom. He wanted to be free from this nightmare of his life. But fate was now leading him to another nightmare - one that will never end. The man wept like a child. He begged for mercy. But he knew everything was over now. His life had reached the end of a road from where there was no turning back. He was helpless in the hands of fate but there was something he could do still. Something he had denied doing for so many years but something that could still save him from this horrifying danger.

The man closed his eyes and very vaguely, unclearly but surely said: "I believe in you and I seek for your mercy"

The contemptible criminal had submitted to God before he died.

By Syed Sadaf Sultan

Exam
Tuesday 23rd September 2003

Senior students of SJWS had their exams recently. Do you know they had to study hard to go from class 5 to 6, 6 to 7, and lastly 7 to 8? My question is: are exams really needed to test how much the students know? Well, I'm one of those students who gave exams this year and are happy to pass through the exam. To do well you have to keep your eyes on to the board and listen to whatever the teachers are saying otherwise you are in trouble. A teacher knows if you are not paying attention to her or him, and you could be the sent to Principal. Our teachers are like our parents because most of them have kids like us. For example, Rubina miss, my math teacher has a son and daughter. So they know what is good or bad for you. Anyways, what I am trying to say is, respect your elders.

Traffic Jams
Wednesday 24, September 2003

We, the citizens of Dhaka are mostly responsible for the traffic jams on the streets. It is because we do not follow the traffic rules, or any of the rules of our beloved city, for that matter. I feel that this is very irresponsible and careless. It is partly the fault of the government and it is the police's fault for not paying enough attention to their duties. What we all are doing is very wrong.

Spiderman
Tuesday 25, September 2003

A Spider bit a boy, who was helping his mother with the dishes. He turned to a Spider man and fought with the criminals. The officers were mad because Spider man did their job instead of them doing it. Spider man was really Peter Parker who was a photographer of the New York Times…

Computer
Friday 26, September 2003

Computer is the latest machine and technology. Bill Gates made a name for himself with his Windows software. For example, Windows 95,98,2000,Me, XP and etc. Why do people like all these things? Like for an hour on the Internet you talk with your friends and then you suddenly get disconnected. You know what your problem is? Your problem is the pirated software you bought.

Harry Potter
Saturday 27, September 2003

Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter in the movies made by J.K Rowling. Kids just love to read the Harry Potter books. My friends Anjum Noor Chowdury, Satotya Kafil and Tani Deepavali Nawaz, who was Bangladesh's winner of the Harry Potter contest, are all crazy about Harry Potter. I am thrilled with these kids…wow! Before you ever buy a Harry Potter book check if it is the real copy of the book, because in India they copy everything from the original version, and leave out a few pages. Shopkeepers of the bookstores in Bangladesh don't care… if they cannot find the original version, they copy from the fake ones. Everyone I know in Canada has bought all the five books as a collection. Some are waiting to get the whole collection of the books and tape.

Cow Joke
Sunday 28, September 2003

A poem about a cow. The cow has 2 horns on its head. He sleeps on the grass. It loves a she cow. This is a part of a poem written by an Indian student who got full marks for the poem. One day, I went to see my cousin and Khalu who came from Switzerland. My Khalu told us about this poem. We all were laughing so hard that we nearly started to cry. Can you imagine a student from India writing something like this? I thought it was funny and ok.

Flooding in the city
Monday 29, September 2003

The roads in Dhaka are so defective that they easily get flooded. Like for an example, Banani road 4. The question is, why is this happening? I should tell you because there is no proper draining system. Ok there is drain but clogged up with garbage and the people are not careing about it. Why should this happen in Bangladesh. It is the first country that we fought for our mother tongue, which is Bangla. If it were not for Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman and freedom fighters we would still be East Pakistan. So why can't we build a better drainage system so the floodwater can go way. Just yesterday I was going to a millad and there were floodwater on the whole Gulshan 1 Avenue

MSN Chat Rooms
Tuesday 30, September 2003

MSN chat rooms are serious because young children like me go and chat and then could get in trouble. How? By asking or giving out our personal information. So there is a lesson why we should not go on Internet by ourselves. So, here is my point, Chat with your brother, sister, friend and etc but not strangers on chat line.

Cricket
Wednesday 01, October 2003

People in different parts round the world love cricket.
There are Test matches, One-day matches, and even multi team tournaments in places where there is a stadium. For an example in Bangladesh there is the Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka. The question is why does people of the world like cricket? The answer is because cricket is the second favorite game in the world. So people who do not know about cricket should learn. It is a good sport in the world. We should try to learn and play cricket.

The magic show at Bagha Club
Thursday 06, October 2003

A Magic program was held in Bagha club yesterday, and their were 370 street children who came. My cousin
Tawquir Nawaz who is a magician had held three shows in the Bagha club yesterday. His Assistant was Iraina J. W. He did a wonderful show and all of the 370 street children who saw it were very happy. For some kids on wheel chairs it was their first Magic Show.

By Saber Nawaz