Star Literature
Essay / The vampires of Bangla literature
Pale, aristocratic, seductive forces lurking in the dark—when we think of vampires, we often perceive them through a western lens
My heart is a gilded oligarch
My heart is an oligarch: A staunch, pot-bellied, knuckle-cracking middle-aged man lounging carelessly, lazily in his sitting room with his limbs spread out on a settee
FICTION / An interview with Shakchunni
Behind the bangles that jingle ominously in the dark, there is a voice—a voice that has long been silenced
Fiction / Leave of absence
“Residents usually get 30 days of observation period,” said the man at the reception, “but since it’s a leap year, you get an extra day.
FICTION / The hawk and the mice
Bolstered, the six little mice lead their army up–up–up the trunk of the poor, ravaged oak they were so desperate to save.
Interview / The old and new Bangladesh from the eyes of a historical fiction writer
When I first came across a review of Rahad Abir’s novel Bengal Hound in The Daily Star, I was intrigued by the storyline: A Dhaka University student in 1960s East Pakistan eloping with his love amidst political upheaval and protests that pave the way for independence.
POETRY / The ghost of Arun Das
Raise no alarm, if on a night dimly lit,
On the national anthem of Bangladesh: An apologetic discourse (part two)
The question here should be: Why does the nationality of the poet matter if the sentiment and emotional dimensions are the central focus that keeps the dynamic of a national anthem active?
Utpal Dutt and the new dawn
The audience for the jatra was all any Marxist theatre director in Kolkata could have wished for.
Durga and the Bangali identity crisis
I am compelled to ask what being a Bangali even means today: What shapes our ethnic identity?
On the national anthem of Bangladesh: An apologetic discourse
The recent attack on “Amar Shonar Bangla” stems from this type of attempt to categorise the national anthem, leading to further allegations against it
Unconventional realities and intense friendships
Saikat Majumdar writes with a sharp poignancy that arrows straight to the core of the heart.
Sertraline is killing my poetry
At some point, it started turning into hyper-productivity, because more task completion meant more serotonin. My writing, on the other hand, shifted from my internal world to the problems of the external world.