Point of view

Oh brother!

You know how sometimes you feel like beating the living hell out of a particular person. Or slapping them till all the baby teeth in their nasty little mouths fall out. Or choking them till they finally admit they are the biggest losers on planet earth and you, of course, are the boss. Well, I've been feeling that for the past eight years of my life- ever since that brat entered my picture perfect family. Like a fungus growing on the best pepperoni pizza on earth. Not a great comparison though because everybody seems to love this 'fungus'- Guppy, my younger brother.

Undoubtedly, he is a genius. A true genius. Spoiled to the core, geek head, fat, and fat again, but a genius. An Einstein in the making, according to my parents. It's amazing how some parents treat their kids like royalty only for being a little talented. Okay, so he did win a bunch of talent shows. That doesn't make him Newton 'reborn', right? And no matter what the ideal mothers in the soaps say, with the birth of the second child the pampering of the first does find its way to the gutter real fast!

Before Guppy was born, I was my parents' only child. I was treated like a queen in my family. But with his entry, everything came to an abrupt end. He got all the attention, love and care. I was only asked to change his diapers! My mother started to sing the same song over and over again: "Guppy khao, please beta khao, khao Guppy khao…" (Ugh!). Although I warned her that her song was going to make him eat the plate as well, she went on and on. Talk about torture! On top of everything, he was so disgustingly cute! Everybody adored his fat pink cheeks and those big black eyes. All my friends would do anything to touch his chubby little hands. There was no end to 'the love for Guppy'.

When he started going to school, his teachers told my parents that he was easily the best in class. Out of 40 students, he could draw the best flowers and say his alphabets with the fewest number of mistakes. He could even say the first few lines of "Baa baa black sheep"! That's when my mom started having her life changing realization-- she had given birth to a prodigy.

Guppy was pampered even more, if that's humanly possible. My mom sent him to music and drawing classes. She honestly believed from the bottom of her heart that her son could be the next Picasso or Elton John. The worst part was, to my disbelief, Guppy was actually turning out to be very talented. As he grew up, he seemed to excel in almost everything he did. In school, he was the first boy. In drawing school, he was easily the best. Although what seemed like modern art to my mom looked like a blur of colours to me my opinion really didn't matter. In music school, for a boy his age, he had a really strong vocal. It was amazing and horrific at the same time. Horrific for me, that is.

At the age of six, Guppy won his first talent competition. Regardless to say, everybody was over themselves with joy. From that day on, he was the king of our house. All that anybody could say was "Guppy this" and "Guppy that". How freaking nauseating is that!

Even then, every family has one thing in its corelove. Maybe that's why I love my brother so much, even though he took the spotlight from me. And I have to admit, it is the cutest thing on earth when Guppy comes into my room, his fluffy cheeks flashing red, round Harry Potter glasses almost falling off his nose, and in the most serious tone possible says, "Apu, who was that guy you were talking to?" And then again, what would I do without him? Who would I beat up and make fun of 24/7? To tell you the truth, nobody in our house can be as proud of him as I am. After all, he is my little brother, my own little Einstein.

By Fahmina Rahman

Book review

Botol Bhoot

My sister and I share a belief that most writers pen their best and most famous works in the early years of their careers. My belief applies to the eminent Humayun Ahmed; I am fonder of his earlier works than I am of his current ones (of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I am expressing mine). In fact one of my favourite books, which is one of the earlier works of Mr Ahmed, is 'Botol Bhoot' or 'Bottle Ghost'.

The charm of Humayun Ahmed's books is that the writer captures a sense of reality. When you read the protagonist's narration, it's as if you're reading your own thoughts. The protagonist of 'Botol Bhoot', Humayun, is your average 10 year old. . He is the last boy in his class who firmly believes that the world is unfair towards children, he has no aim in life and prefers hours of playing in the field to an hour of studying in his room. One day, in an attempt to cheer Humayun up, his friend Munir ask him to come along to a distant relative's house to get a ghost in a bottle. When Humayun takes the bottle with him home and discovers that the ghost inside the bottle can grant wishes, a series of mishaps and adventures take place.

As children we've all wished to have a special friend who could grant us some wishes and in this book, a very normal boy gets his guardian ghost.

This book is interesting, even though some character are eccentric, most are down to earth. When you read about Humayun's classmates, you feel as if you are one of them. I can especially relate to one of them, who is the class poet and has composed various poems describing the despair of his classmates whenever the math teacher enters the room.

Humayun's adventures are charming and you will be sure to have a smile on your face when you read about how the bottle ghost saves him from having to attend classes with a scary math teacher or how the bottle ghost manages to make the Principal close the school two weeks before summer vacation or how his football team manages to win a trophy because of the bottle ghost. Humayun Ahmed turns what could have been a potentially dark horror story into a charming and innocent children's book. He cleverly avoids the mistake of making the protagonist too dependent on the bottle ghost as according to him, the ghost grants wishes only when it's necessary. Like any other Humayun Ahmed book, the ending is unique. While some may be saddened by it, others will be pleased by the fact that even though a pleasant era of Humayun's life ends, he will soon be starting a new one and he'll have pleasant memories to look back on as he grows older.

Though I'm quite sure that 'Botol Bhoot' is a popular work of fiction, I have to say that those of you who haven't read it don't know what they're missing. I recommend it to people of all ages. If you're someone who wants to recapture the innocence and charm of childhood, 'Botol Bhoot' is sure to satisfy your craving.

By Saqiba Aziz

Poems

Story lines…
There are the mystical story lines
In every truth
And once upon a time
They all told their stories
Some in fiction
Few in poetry.
I had a dream once
That I was a part of the nomadic people
A part of them...the hunters
I was not though…a hunter
But a mere drifter on horseback
Speeding up towards the skyline
Where the earth lines ended.
And sometimes I would be the part of the seamen
Dressed up all for fishing;
They all had strange stories to tell
And I had my songs to sing.
The banjo played for long and the stars came for a sneak peek
They were the storytellers
They were the watchers
Cold by day and bright by night.
I stood still to watch
In search of my own story,
My own poetry.
I longed once to go to the desert,
Follow a caravan to my new destiny
A formation of a new journey and
A molding of a new self.
The tall lazy cactus glanced at me from distance
To warn me I was captured
I was in trance of my own end
A walk along the Nile
A moonlit twilight
A single star that held the fantasies
A lion in the wild
Chasing the deer
I went ahead of my time
I went ahead of my story line

By Nid Ameen

The prayer of life
All the days of life,
I have prayed to the one
who had given me a life.
It is God whom,
I am speaking about
and it is him,
whom I pray to.
I pray to lead a good life,
I pray to shine the light
that is within me.

By Ahmed Shfquat Hossain

True Story

Chihuahuas in Vogue
They're small, cute and their name is quite a mouthful. But don't underestimate these cuties because they are the 'in' thing and can cost you up to nearly four thousand dollars. That's a huge sum to pay but Chihuahuas have the Japanese chucking away their hard-earned yen just to make a fashion statement. That's right! These pretty dogs are the latest fad in Japan. After Hello Kitty, Pikachu and Tama-chan, big-eyed Chihuahua Que-chan shot to fame when, dressed in a black suit and tie, it starred in a television commercial. That was two years ago. Since then, the cute canine has been the subject of a best-selling photo collection, a children's picture book and more than two hundred other products.

The booming Chihuahua demand is providing great business for Tokyo pet stores. There is even a special Chihuahua boutique, where dog owners can buy their fashionable pets doggy outfits and accessories as well as special cookies made for the Chihuahua's "delicate" taste buds. With the Internet on fire in Japan thanks to this tiny dog and even television programs, videos, computer animation dedicated to it, the Chihuahua certainly has what we like to call 'Star Power'.
(Source: CNN.com)

Puppy Power
Dogs just love being in the news. That's why today's second true story is also a dog tale. Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, of Pensacola should have watched Disney's 101 Dalmatians a little more closely as a kid. Maybe then he could save himself from being shot by an angry pup. On Monday, Bradford was holding two puppies one in his arms and another in his left hand when the dog in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger of his .38-caliber revolver. Ouch! Bradford said he decided to shoot the three-month-old shepherd-mix dogs in the head because he "couldn't find them a home". Deputies found three of the puppies in a shallow grave outside Bradford's home The other four appeared to be in good health and were taken by Escambia County Animal Control, which planned to make them available for adoption

He was later charged with felony animal cruelty He was being treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound to his wrist.
(Source: Yahoo)

Hippo's Day Out
You thought hippos had the easy life, lazing about doing nothing? Well one determined young fellow is out to prove you wrong. The two-year-old male calf escaped from the Cape Town's Rondevlei reserve apparently in search of female company. He escaped from the reserve "sometime in February" after vandals tore down the fence and competition reached a peak when his herd's dominant male bullied him. But about a week ago, the hippo was spotted in a place the name of which ironically in Dutch means "hippopotamus marsh",

"It's gone walkabout, presumably to look for some female company," said conservationist Clifford Dorse. Officials have warned people not to confront the 800 kilogramme hippo (!), but to call authorities immediately. The animal, which is 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) tall, could weigh up to a tonne.

"Hippos can be extremely dangerous, especially when they are grazing at night and out of the water," said Dorse. Kind of makes one wonder about the animals in Mirpur Zoo…
(Source: Yahoo)

Compiled by Shoaib Alam

Story

Poor Piku

Once, there was a boy called Piku. He lived alone with his mother as he didn't have a father. When he was old enough, his mother sent him to school. The other children at school all had fathers, and they always made fun of him. He had no friends.

One day, Piku's mother wasn't there to pick him up from school. All the other children left, then the teachers went home too, but Piku remained there, alone.

The next morning, when the teachers came to school, they were surprised to find Piku there. "Didn't your mother come to pick you up, Piku?" they asked. When he said no, they called his home. They found out then that Piku's mother had died in a road accident.

Piku was now all alone in the world. So this is the story of poor little Piku.

By Shabab Rezwan
Class 3