culture
The "original and thrilling": The Booker Prizes announces 2023 longlist
The novels are small revolutions, each seeking to energise and awaken the language. Together, they offer startling portraits of the current.
Growing up surrounded by music
All in all, music is pretty significant in my life nonetheless.
A personal quest to explore the core essence of ‘Bengaliness’
We Bengalis are very much part of a collectivist society, where ‘private’ matters are communal, and everyone can have some opinions about ‘other’s business. We describe that as our own unique way of looking after each other and maintaining ‘social well beings’.
Academics, book reviews commemorate Abul Mansur Ahmad
"Without the practice of literature and study of history, no civilization has progressed much", Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury said in his closing speech.
5 places to visit to see Michelangelo’s paintings and sculptures
Michelangelo’s paintings and sculptures display a unique intensity, physical realism and psychological understanding. As one of the most influential Renaissance artists, his famous works include The Pietà (1499) and David (1501) which were the first to attract attention when the Italian artist was in his 20s. His ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel solidified his fame and immortalised him. Here are some places to visit to see some of his famous work:
What it means to be cultured
The concept of being “cultured” has no objective truth to it, and is completely subjective.
Pahela Falgun, Valentine's Day: A fusion of love, culture, and fashion
For the last few years, we have been celebrating Pahela Falgun and Valentine’s Day on the same date. Hence 14th is all about expressing your love and having a good time.
The deal with our love for bargaining
At this point, it's fair to say bargaining has been ingrained into our culture.
ESSAY / Ghosts in Bangla literature and culture
“Bhoot”, the Bangla word for ghost, derives from the Sanskrit word Bhūta, referring to living beings and the past. Later, it also came to mean ‘disembodied spirit.’ Ghost stories carry a special tradition in Bangla literature and the root lies in folklore and rural culture.
Razia Khan Amin: A Bangladeshi writer in English
As an academic, I often share with students my writings that are related to the courses I teach. That was not the case with our educators when I was a student in the Department of English at Dhaka University. The reason was not because there were no writers among our teachers.
New Year’s celebration across cultures
The one thing we do know for sure about the year 2023 is how the world will welcome it.
The mysteries of muslin
Every culture has its own identity, sometimes through a craft or uniqueness that it is known for. In the late 18th century,
Art vs Development: Should we erase our rich architectural history?
Dhaka's transitions carries the question of whether our historic buildings shall be preserved. From an economic viewpoint, there is financial gain in replacing them with buildings. The question now becomes whether the cultural heritage outweighs this financial gain.
‘A platform for erasing the cancelling of the other’: ULAB’s Inter-University Student Conference
The 2022 Inter-University Student Conference and Cultural Competition explored different facets of conflict and avenues for conflict resolution on topics within literature, language, linguistics, cultural studies, communication studies, translation studies, and digital humanities.
Dancing in the storm
In the wake of a looming political and economic storm in Sri Lanka, I took a train to the country’s cultural Kandy, with the intention to learn its popular traditional dance form called Ves Natum. This quest for the silver lining landed me in Amunugama, an ancient village named after the celebrated family of dancers and drummers who once performed at the courts of the Kandyan kings.
The unnecessary glorification of the tortured artist
At the end of the day, art that spreads joy is not lesser than the one sharing their hardships.
Kazi Nazrul Islam and “World Literature”: Some Questions and Concerns
Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) has been customarily characterized as a rebel poet, particularly, if not exclusively, because of his 1922 poem called “Bidrohi” (the Rebel)—a poem that fiercely stages his political, linguistic, even metrical rebellion all at once.
BD K-Family celebrates cultures at Dhaka K-Meet 6.0
Dhaka K-Meet 6.0 was organised by the BD K-Family on May 20.
How much Bangla should we really know?
In today's English dominated world, does the youth know enough Bangla?