Kidstars
Nilgiri

Have you ever heard the word 'obsession'? It means 'being preoccupied with a certain thing or feeling'. A few days ago, I discovered what obsession really is...

I have always dreamt of a place. No matter how hard I tried, I could not erase the image of that place from my head. I see it when I am awake. I see it when I am asleep. I see day and night. I don't even know if the place truly exists. I cannot explain how or why. All I know is that the place I see, is wondrous.

It is a place to reach which, one must make a perilous journey to what I think is the top of the world. As far as the dream shows me, there is only one road to the place; a road winding through many mountains and hills which in turn join one road to another making a chain of amazing length through the hills until the desired destination is reached. The breathtaking chain I call it. There are many milestones on the way to mark one's path. The roads are lined with hundreds of different types of trees and flowers and shrubs. There are hibiscus shrubs, banyan trees, mango trees, pineapple plantings, banana trees and many more.

It is dangerous, too. There are many landslides and high cliffs that one must pass. And if there is even one tiny loss of footing, then down the side of the mountain they go to their tragic end. But if one is skilled in the sport, then all is well. But it is when the place is reached that the beauty really starts.

The place is on top of a hill. To me it is the highest hill in the world. There are little cottages there for people to stay in. There is no source of electricity so high in the hills, so everything runs on solar power. There is a lookout point where there is only valley after valley to be seen. There is a long brown river snaking its way through the valleys. Eventually the valleys merge with the sky and the clouds. But in my opinion the movement of the clouds is the most beautiful thing of all.

The sky there is constantly changing. In the morning the wind carries the clouds over the hills so that nothing can be seen except an expansive area of white. Even a person standing five feet in front of you cannot be seen. In the afternoon the clouds clear up and a wonderful view of the hills and valleys can be seen. In the evenings the hills are semi-covered. There is a bit of mist and fog here and there but it is not completely covered. But in the night the skies once again become as white as snow.

I was obsessed with this dream. But I understand now, it is not a dream. It is real. It is real in the form of Nilgiri, a wondrous place in Chittagong.

By Neeor Zaman

The Princes and the Queen Monster

Many years ago, there was a king and queen. The queen gave birth to a child. That child was a girl named Ally. Then the queen died. The king was so sad because of his wife's death. Then he married another queen.

The new queen was a monster which the king did not know. The queen saw Ally and said, "I will destroy her. No one can save her".

The next morning the queen sent her men to buy a banana and put poison in the banana. Then the monster queen transformed herself into a banana man. The king's men saw what the queen was doing. The queen went to the window side and gave the banana to Ally. After eating it, Ally fell into a deep sleep. All of the king's men became sad.

A prince was passing by, and saw the sleeping princess, and that and all of the king's men were crying. The Prince asked, "What is the matter?" Then the king's men told the prince about the story of the monster queen. Then the prince put his hand on the princess. Suddenly, princess woke up.

The prince then destroyed the monster queen. Thereafter the king told the prince to marry his daughter. Then the king, prince and princess lived happily even after.

By Hrittik Azad

"Adda : Unplugged" in WFC, Chittagong

“WAKE me up when September ends..." Yes, after the long break of Ramadan, and with the cheerful spirit of Eid, the concert-goers once again gathered together for the third successful 'Unplugged Show' named "ADDA : UNPLUGGED!" on the 6th of October, in Chittagong.

The successive past events took place at the same venue, Well Food Center, which had bands like Fulbanu's Revenge, Aashor, dNA, Icons, Radioactive, DWF etc. along with ENSEMBLE, Radio Foorti Ctg and U.M.A.C (Underground Musicians Association of Chittagong). ADDA : UNPLUGGED was basically hosted by Radio Foorti 98.4 FM (CTG)'s famous RJ Rumana and RJ Rono!

The show started with a hitch as the sound setup took some extra time [and the drums didn't get up on time]. The show started with 'Igneeous 'on stage. They pretty much kept the crowd grooving with covers like GnR's "November Rain" and some other awesome covers. Then there were Mashnoor (A.o.D) and Shanto (Anarchy/Mynd's Eye) who came up with one of their own tracks called "Diba Shopno".

Next came up 'Framework' from Dhaka [and their drummer was almost wearing the crowd's ears off trying to play a rock pattern drum solo], followed by 'Biborno' [they did more of talking than singing], and 'Nil' with some good covers from Breaking Benjamin and Audioslave, and also one of their own tracks. Then came up Minar from 'Danpite', a talented singer from Chittagong.

After a short break, the hostess, RJ Rumana, herself performed on stage as well. She sang Topu's (Yaatri) "Nupur". And then came up Act of Defiance (A.o.D) on stage, driving the crowd with an awesome 'acoustic' cover of Iron Maiden's "Fear of the Dark". This time the crowd woke up dazed while A.o.D's young lead guitarist, Tanshi, who ultimately stole the show showing his amazing guitar skills, kept the crowd mesmerized. Then A.o.D featured Wadud (Effigy) on drums and also Nova, a talented female artist, and with her soothing voice she sang "Way back into love" [OST of the popular movie 'Music and Lyrics']. They ended with one of their own tracks 'Ghrinno Jibon'(Acoustic Version), which was released in Obbhudhoy [a mixed album] under MBI Records' Label.

Hemorrhage, one of the most popular bands in Chittagong, with 16 year old guest drummer, Hasan (from MtD and currently one of the best and youngest drummer in the Ctg UG), played two of their own songs ['Shobder Abeg' and 'Notun Shomoy'], followed by a rising new band 'Advent Flair' with a spectacular performance.

Then came one of the most popular bands from Chittagong, or they could be said as the youngest band in Bangladesh, My Thirty-first Demerit (MtD), where they covered tracks from Black and ended up with Creed's "One Last Breath". These kids rocked, but by that time the crowd was minimal as it was almost 8:00 PM. But still the small crowd sang along with the band supporting and cheering for them.

Effigy, another young band, all on their 18s, came up and they were facing some serious trouble with the sound systems but once they started off, with Lifehouse's cover of "Blind" with excellent work on vocals, they bought the ultimate feel in the song, and the crowd this time, was salvaged! While they covered Maroon5's "She Will be Loved" the crowd was literally singing aloud with them.

When asked about it, Samir, one of the audience said "Dude, you guys are awesome! You guys shouldn't have been the epilogue. Filter some of the unwanted bands and I'm definitely coming next time!"

[Event Orgnaized by Shanto & Rumana [Tar Chera] and supported by U.M.A.C. [Underground Musicians Association of Chittagong]
Radio Foorti, amaderGaan.com and Morphstation.net]

Review by Gothic Punk

The reason I Smile

Laughter like yours
Makes the sun shine bright
You've got a voice that I love
To hear every night

I forget about problems
Forget about pain
Everything slips away
When I'm sayin your name

I'm hoping you might
Stay around for a while
Cuz you already know
Your the reason I smile

So as long as your here
Remember that I'm there
And I'll do what it takes
Just to prove that I care

I'll make sure you're happy
Each day and each night
And no matter what happens
I'll still treat you right

For : Nocturnal Sadia
By Raziel

Devil's Triangle

Bermuda Triangle, region of the western Atlantic Ocean that has become associated in the popular imagination with mysterious maritime disasters. This triangle-shaped area covers about 1,140,000 sq km between the island of Bermuda, the coast of southern Florida, and Puerto Rico. The sinister reputation of the Bermuda Triangle may be traceable to reports made in the late 15th century by navigator Christopher Columbus concerning the Sargasso Sea, in which floating masses of gulfweed were regarded as uncanny and perilous by early sailors; others date the notoriety of the area to the mid-19th century, when a number of reports were made of unexplained disappearances and mysteriously abandoned ships. The earliest recorded disappearance of a United States vessel in the area occurred in March 1918, when the USS Cyclops vanished.

The incident that consolidated the reputation of the Bermuda Triangle was the disappearance in December 1945 of Flight 19, a training squadron of five U.S. Navy torpedo bombers. The squadron left Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with 14 crewmen and disappeared after radioing a series of distress messages; a seaplane sent in search of the squadron also disappeared. Aircraft that have disappeared in the area since this incident include a DC-3 carrying 27 passengers in 1948 and a C-124 Globemaster with 53 passengers in 1951. Among the ships that have disappeared was the tankership Marine Sulphur Queen, which vanished with 39 men aboard in 1963. Books, articles, and television broadcasts investigating the Bermuda Triangle emphasize that, in the case of most of the disappearances, the weather was favorable, the disappearances occurred in daylight after a sudden break in radio contact, and the vessels vanished without a trace. However, skeptics point out that many supposed mysteries result from careless or biased consideration of data. Scientific evaluations of the Bermuda Triangle have concluded that the number of disappearances in the region is not abnormal and that most of the disappearances have logical explanations. Paranormal associations with the Bermuda Triangle persist in the public mind, however.

By Nishita Aurnab
(Source: Encarta Encyclopedia, Castle of Spirits)