weekend tribune vol 3 issue 11

4 Alien encounters 7 the Bong

MoMMA 20 Funny Bone

vol 3 issue 11 | FriDAy, July 3 , 2015 Dhaka Tribune

Dear Readers,Two weeks into Ramadan, and the hunger and fatigue can have some strange side-effects, particularly on the psyche of the fasting. So this week, we celebrate the weird and the whacky.

Starting off with World UFO Day, which was actually yesterday, we discuss the possibilities of encountering aliens.

Any discussion of Ramadan would be incomplete without a mention of the horrendous traffic, but this time around, instead of complaining, we’re actually offering a solution to your commute woes.

While we’re talking about jams, people in Bhutan are busy turning their lovely green country even prettier. We’ve got a little green-spiration for you.

Our photo story this week looks at various types of iftar treats around the city, while our musings column contemplates the hardest parts about fasting. This is also a good time to focus on how we treat others, especially domestic help, and so we’ve also got a small feature on an organisation that ensures the rights of the hands that help us.

Finally, we’d like to introduce our brand new columnist Minu Ahmed as she talks about life, love and motherhood in Dhaka.

Here’s wishing you strength in the coming weeks.

Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

Photo: Shahad Raju

Editor’s note

Questions? Comments? Send them to [email protected]

WEEKEN D TRI BU N E | FRI DAY, J U LY 3, 2015

1CONTENTS

Volume 3 | Issue 11 | July 3, 2015

EditorZafar Sobhan

Features EditorSabrina Fatma Ahmad

Asst Magazine EditorFarina Noireet

Weekend Tribune TeamFaisal MahmudSakib Mridha

Lameya Alma AminShaida Prodhan

ContributorsSaudia AfrinMinu Ahmed

Naveed ChoudhuryRad Sharar Bin Kamal

Yamin KhanSabrina Munni

Rubaiya Murshed

GraphicsMd Mahbub AlamAlamgir Hossain

Colour SpecialistShekhar Mondal

AdvertisementZia Ur Rahman

ProductionMasum Billah

CirculationMasud Kabir Pavel

Websitedhakatribune.com/weekendfacebook.com/WeekendTrib

Email your letters to:[email protected]

ENvirONmENTBhutan’S annual tRee planting

8

News 2 News

3 meanwhile

FeatuRes 7 The Bong momma

Slice of life

9 Photo Story iftar treats

14 Feature global teacher prize

16 Focus Domestic help

17 musings Fasting woes

20 Funny Bone

Yamin Khan

RegulaRs18 Stay in

19 Go Out

DiGiTal BaNGlaDEShRoaD app

FEaTurEMateRnitY caRe

4

5

6

aliEN ENCOuNTErSWoRlD uFo DaY


2 NEwS | This week

Putin urges all to fight IS group, backs Syria’s Assad

Hundreds protest against Dalai Lama

In a surprise meeting with Syria’s foreign minister, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged his support Monday for Syrian President Bashar Assad and called on all Middle East nations to join forces to fight Islamic State militants.

The war in Syria, which began with protests in March 2011, has killed more than 220,000 people. Russia, which has traditionally strong ties to Syria, has been seen as a key to a peaceful solution and has previously rebuffed suggestions that Assad’s resignation could help end the war.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday then was whisked to the Kremlin to meet with Putin.

Putin told the Syrian envoy that Russia’s “policy to support Syria, the Syrian leadership and the Syrian people remains unchanged.”

Speaking after the meeting, al-Moallem said he was assured that “Russia will continue to help Syria politically, economically and militarily.”

Putin also urged other Middle East countries to help Syria fight the armed Islamic factions that now

control parts of the Syrian capital and large parts of the city’s suburbs.

Putin said Moscow’s contacts with the countries in the region, including with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, “show that everyone wants to contribute to fight this evil,” he said, referring to Islamic State militants.

He exhorted all nations in the region, whatever their relations with Syria are, to “pool their efforts together” to fight Islamic militants.Photo: AFP

Hundreds of Buddhist protesters demonstrated against the Dalai Lama on Monday as the spiritual leader arrived in the British army town of Aldershot, where many current and former Nepalese Gurkha soldiers live.

The demonstrators were Shugden Buddhists, who revere a deity denounced since 1996 by the Dalai Lama, whom they accuse of religious persecution.

“Dalai Lama, stop lying!” they chanted as he arrived to open Britain’s first Buddhist community centre, while his supporters held a counter-demonstration.

However Damar Ghale, spokesman for the Buddhist Community Centre UK, said: “There is a large Nepalese community in Aldershot and they share the Tibetan

and Himalayan people’s reverence for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

The 2,500-strong Gurkha brigade, soldiers recruited in Nepal, has been part of the British army for 200 years including on the frontlines in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As well as serving soldiers, there are still communities of retired Gurkhas dotted around Britain who often settle near military bases after leaving the army.Photo: AFP

The world at a glance Weekend Tribune Desk

The government has finalised plans to introduce three separate minimum income taxes for people with Taxpayer’s Identification Number, instead of the uniform rate.

People living in the most advanced areas of the country will have to pay Tk5,000 in taxes – which is the highest - while it will be Tk3,000 for people in rural areas, according to amendments made in the Finance Bill 2015.

Besides, taxpayers living in areas under the three city corporations in Dhaka and Chittagong will have to pay the highest tax, which is Tk5,000, while it will be Tk4,000 for people living in other city corporations and Tk3,000 for those residing outside city corporation areas.

On June 4, Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed to introduce Tk4,000 as the minimum income tax irrespective of where someone lives.

At present, the minimum tax for city corporation residents is Tk3,000 while Tk2,000 is for district residents and Tk1,000 for residents of upazila and other areas.Source: Dhaka Tribune

Tk5,000 tax levied on city residents

Canada slaps new sanctions on Russian biker gang over UkraineCanada announced Monday, fresh sanctions on Russia over its support for rebels in Ukraine, targeting youth leaders, the pro-Moscow Night Wolves motorcycle club and several companies.

Ottawa imposed a ban on the import and export of goods from Crimea in this 15th round of penalties in collaboration with allies.

“Until there is real peace, until occupying forces are withdrawn, and until Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty is restored, there must be ongoing

consequences for President Putin’s regime,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement.

Members of the Night Wolves rode down en masse to Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula just after it was annexed by Russia in March 2014 and members have also fought with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The biker group started up in 1989 just before the fall of the Soviet Union and has around 5,000 members across the former USSR.Photo: AP


mEaNwhilE 3

Photo of the week

Say what? Man Buys Wrong Lottery Ticket, Wins $30,000

A man in southwestern Connecticut who mistakenly bought the wrong lottery ticket is $30,000 wealthier.

Bob Sabo, of Easton, says he didn’t want to wait in line to buy a lottery ticket at the Super Stop & Shop in Fairfield, so he decided to buy a ticket from a lottery vending machine — something he had previously never done.

Sabo says he meant to buy two $20 tickets, but says he didn’t have his glasses on and instead bought a $30 ticket. When he got home, he discovered the ticket was a winner.

The store will receive $300 from CT Lottery for selling the top prize winning ticket.Source: Huffington Post

Career burnout is a chronic psychological condition characterised by exhaustion, cynicism and a lack of professional efficacy. The idea of workplace burnout first gained traction in the 1970s, but awareness of the problem has peaked lately.

These are the ways to overcome burnout-1. Seek input from within your organisation.In many cases, professional burnout is not exclusive to one individual within an organisation. Identify other employees who may be experiencing the problem and collaborate with them to start to fix it. r.2. Establish new relationships.If everyone in your office social circle has given up on escaping the burnout rut, it’s time to make a change. Surround yourself with coworkers who want to make positive strides in their work lives and draw support from one another.

3. Find meaning in your work.Identify the most fulfilling elements of your work and dedicate more time to them. If you can, talk to your supervisor about better aligning your responsibilities with your strengths and interests. 4. Make a conscious effort to take breaks.Whether for a few minutes or a few days, take time away to recharge. Set an alarm every 30 minutes as a reminder to get up and move around the office. If appropriate, talk to your employer about switching to a more flexible work schedule. Customising your schedule to your needs can offset burnout by giving you a greater sense of control.5. Change organisations or career paths.Despite your best efforts, sometimes you can’t possibly overcome burnout where you work. In that case, beating burnout may require you to consider a new job or an entirely new field. “Source: Forbes

Overcoming Burnout: Five Ways To Get Back On Track At Work

Two women breaking bricks under the sun in Galachipa,

Patuakhali

Photo: Martin Hannan

Your’e welcome


4 wOrlD uFO DaY | Alien encounTers

...and the odds are not in our favour Naveed Choudhury

Happy World UFO Day everybody. If you’ve ever been into science fiction, you’d know aliens are

a big deal. But why don’t we go off the deep end today, and ditch the childish notion instilled in us by the X-Files – that some advanced alien species have travelled millions of light years to come to our cities, sneak around, and probe us for body fluids.

I want to preface this discussion by saying, that if we as a species come across intelligent alien life while I’m alive, I’ll eat my hat. That’s not to say, the possibility of intelligent life outside of earth doesn’t exist. There are millions of earth-like habitable planets in the Milky Way alone. If a planet is of the right size so that it can sustain an atmosphere with its gravity, and of the right distance from its star so as the surface temperature is not too hot or not too cold, then we can count that planet as roughly habitable. But if there are millions of such planets in our galaxy alone, and if there are trillions of galaxies out there, how come we haven’t come across such life yet? This is known as the Fermi Paradox – that habitable planets are plentiful but we do not see aliens.

But what do we mean by aliens? Do we mean that we can see dinosaurs on some young planet, billions of light years away? Nope, telescopes don’t work like that. Do we mean that we pick up

some strange alien signal on one of our radio telescopes pointed upwards? Sure, but such a thing has not happened. And why radio telescopes? We are assuming that our science is advanced enough to communicate with an alien civilisation. Maybe even our concept of ‘life’ is warped, and ‘life’ on other planets are not constrained by the same cycle of life and death as we are. Arguably, this would be good news since it would mean that their chances of going extinct before talking to us would greatly diminish.

Even our own planet goes through extinction events, ones that modern human beings have not been put through yet. It is quite likely that many advanced civilisations have lived and died out, without our knowledge. So, can you see how this works? IF a life form becomes advanced enough and IF they survive their own planet, and IF they figure out how to escape their star system and IF they figure out faster-than-light travel, and IF they choose to travel to our speck of sand, then maybe yes, we’ll meet them someday, against insurmountable odds.

Why should we encounter life at all? Life is fragile and unpredictable. Human beings have been inching closer and closer to an artificial intelligence for almost a decade now. Can you think of the possibilities when AI becomes a reality? We’d have a singular consciousness without physical boundaries or computational limitations, without a set lifetime after which their tickers give out, capable of being everywhere and nowhere. An alien species that had figured out AI would be able to traverse the galaxy without the tiring notions of ‘sustainable atmosphere’ or ‘hot weather.’ I think if we ever do come across an alien life, it will not be organic, due to the limitation that ‘our’ version of organic life puts on us.

A close encounter with the third kind would involve giant leaps on

two aspects of our technology: Exploration and Colonisation. If we manage to break through the shackles of light speed, which is quite slow by the way, we would still need to colonize our surrounding star systems before moving out further. With our current technology, even a single leap to another single planet outside our solar system would take dozens of generations of humans, all the while our brave astronauts travel through the cold, radioactive and hazardous loneliness of space.

Having surpassed every extinction event, colonisation process, and travel time, when we do meet the Others, will we be able to communicate at all? Will there be ANY cultural overlap? I’d like to think that life always tends towards the ‘perfect’ iteration for their environment. Human beings are the perfect species for THIS

planet, but what if we had sulphur instead of oxygen, diet coke instead of water, and had to slide our way to places? After a certain point, cultural differences are too vast to cross and we would just stand there, facing each other, surprised and unsure.

Encountering alien life would be the turning point of human civilisation, where we find out if we’re alone in the universe, or if some other lucky bugger in a distant galaxy managed to rub stone to make a flame just like we did. But at that point, will you be happy that there’s something else out there that’s superior? Or sad? I for one, would find solace in the fact that life, in the immortal words of Jeff Goldblum, does find a way. (Unless they choose to wipe us out). n

The Fault in our Stars

Photos: Bigstock


a godsend in the form of an appFaisal Mahmud

With Eid-ul-Fitr looming not that far ahead, the long agonizing hours of

being stuck in a traffic clog is right on the plate for Dhakaites. What’s more agonizing than those waiting hours is the ‘darkness’ in which the residents of the capital usually stay about the condition of the traffic.

A recently developed app named ‘Rastarobosta’ can at least save you from that stage of not knowing. With this particular app, you can not only know the condition of the road but also can take part in a collective knowledge sharing process to let other people know about the condition of the road.

How the app works?To use this app in your

smartphone, you need to turn your location on. As soon as you do it,

the GPS satellite will pinpoint your location on the map. There you will see the map; in this case, you will see the map of Dhaka city with all the roads in grid format.

There are several arrow signs along the roads on the map. Also you will see different colours along the road. These are colour codes referencing the conditions of that particular road. The best part is, as a user, you can also provide information about the condition of that particular road.

For that, you just need to touch the arrow button and a new window will pop up with six different colours. The dark green one which says ‘Purai Pinik!’ means the road is clear and good to go, the bottle green which says ‘Chikon Moja’ means little less clearer than the first one. Gradually it goes down to become ‘Motamuti’

(Light green), ‘Hudai Pera’ (Light orange), ‘Jotil Jontrona’ (Dark orange) and finally ‘Polti Mar’ (Red) which means the road is completely jam-packed and you should avoid that.

Suppose you are in Satmasjid road and you find that the traffic there is moderate. Now you want to go to Mirpur Road. When you open the ‘Rastarobosta’ app, you can see the condition of the different roads connecting Mirpur Road and Satmosjid Road. The one which is being rated as the darkest among the green colours (with least traffic) should logically be your option.

Now, you can only find information about that road if users like you rated that previously. So, you also need to add information to the system by giving rating to the roads. That’s the principle of interactive app like this.

The idea behind the appThis app is a joint collaborative

act between makeIThappen and CyberGiant systems. Ahmed Abu Bakr of makeIThappen is the mind behind its development.

He said that he came up with the idea while he was stuck in traffic. “I was thinking if I only could manage some information about the condition of the routes, I could have avoided the ones with heavy traffic. From there came the idea of developing the app.”

He wanted to make it an interactive app so that all can participate to share their knowledge about the condition of the road. “That’s why it is given the name ‘Rastarobosta,’”

When asked whether people will be misguided with false information since this is an interactive app

and there might be chance that someone will rate the roads wrongly as a prank, Bakr said, with enough users, the calculations being used to process the data will get rid of outliers. “I can’t reveal too much about that calculation, it’s a trade secret.”

Sheikh M Irfan, director of research and development of CyberGiant said, when they heard about Ahmed Abu Bakr’s idea, they immediately thought of developing the app. “We all suffer in the unbearable traffic of Dhaka. This app is a great way of at least knowing the condition of the road, basing on which we can at least make an intelligent decision to choose roads for our travel.” n

roAd App | DiGiTal BaNGlaDESh 5

For your‘road guidance’only

Photos: Courtesy


6 FEaTurE | MATerniTy cAre

“My husband didn’t have work, as a result I had

to work a lot. The greater part of my day was invested in completing household chores. Once I even suffered a miscarriage and lost my baby girl because I couldn’t handle all the work pressure. I wish I could have saved her,” says Morjina, a domestic worker.

There are millions of mothers just like Morjina. Mothers who have lost their unborn children, sometimes miscarrying and sometimes losing their children after birth. Ever since Bangladesh’s conception, creating an environment safe for childbirth has been a pressing concern. Especially for women, to carry a life inside them for months without proper health and safety measures, is one of the biggest challenges.

In the case of people from the low-income and low-literacy bracket, there are two main factors that make reaching these health goals even tougher. Over time there have been many organisations, both state-owned and private, that have

Babu Barta is a brand new initiative by Baby Basics Bangladesh programme meant to improve health and safety of pregnant women. their slogan is “growing with one inside”, and they are taking the term “baby-talk” to a whole new, unique level Saudia Afrin

Babu Bartaprovided considerable services for women. However, the rate of miscarriages hasn’t improved as much as it should have. Due to inadequate knowledge and low education levels, both the lives of mothers and children have been under constant threat. Secondly, social stigma, rituals and existing cultural beliefs regarding women has also affected the way pregnant women deal with pregnancy.

Babu Barta is a project undertaken by Dnet, funded by the US Department of State Women’s Health Innovation Programme (WHIP) to help disseminate the basic guideline for pregnant mothers. Although it is true that improvements have been made, these changes are only evident amongst solvent families that live in urban areas. However, when we take a look at rural families the situation is still the same. Dnet is not only aspiring to enlighten expecting mothers by giving them ample information on maternal health, they are also trying to improve literacy rates by educating them. Iffat Nawaz, Baby Basics Bangladesh director, Dnet, said: “Our target group is mothers from low literacy groups. We are hoping, through this book many behavioural changes will be obtained and mother’s will get proper respect and health treatment. Also, through this programme, we want to create a platform for healthy mothers and safe motherhood.”

Alongside the book, they also aim to build a society where families are well aware of ways in which they are meant to support and help new mothers by adopting positive behavioural changes.

Babu Barta is written in a manner that is easy to read and follow, making sure the book is easily accessible to women from all walks of life. However, the main

target audience for the book are women who aren’t able to find such information due to both lack of knowledge and education. Many of these new mothers cannot read. For these mothers in particular, they have launched an audio version of the book to make it even more easily accessible. Not only will the audio version aid in their learning, the book also has several colourful illustrations to appeal to all kinds of readers.

To reach every mother, they have opened up a new platform through a club called “1800 Mom’s club.” 200 women from six divisions from 19 districts have been trained as facilitators who will use the club as a platform to educate and teach young moms about health and safety guidelines. When asked about how well received their initiative has been, Shaheen Akhter Chowdhury (Dolly), executive director, Nari Maitree, said, “Since most mothers are not as educated, the message we are trying to get across is slowly making its way through. Also, the feedback we’re getting through our session discussions is helping us understand whether our target audience is positively evolving or not. It’s also giving us insight into whether we should hold more sessions. Overall, I would say that our efforts have been well-received and we are getting positive response.”

Shaheen Akhter claimed that families were being the biggest obstacles: “Even now, families do not believe in the idea of giving birth at hospitals. They have often asked us why mothers should go to hospitals at all. They don’t even believe in educating themselves further since they think that too much information may work against them, rather than for.” n

Photos: Courtesy


Tales from a first-time motherMinu Ahmed

People say it’s good to start something off with a joke. My funny bone isn’t tickling right now, so I will tell you

some facts. I spent a chunk of my childhood living on an island off the coast of the land down under. The natives were descendants of their African brothers, and the sun shone so strongly, that in the few years that I was there, I resembled a native.

This spurred into racist joke fodder for my well-educated doctor father, who never got tired of it. It didn’t help that the rest of my family were of the fair-complexioned kind, so I was literally, a black sheep.

My dad’s favourite was to call me kalua. I mean, add an ‘h’ and I’d consider myself exotic, but no, it was good old regular kalua for me.

Then there was my mother. If she wasn’t busy practising medicine, she was busy obsessing over me. One of her particular concerns was to get me “settled”. The second I had turned eighteen, it became her life’s sole purpose to get me married off. I mean, I would bother a second look at the bio-datas if I deemed them worthy, but no Ma, thirty-something balding doctors were not my cup of tea.

Scarred for life, I tell you. This, and many other little

jewels, were a routine part of life while growing up. I’ve stowed them away in a box in the corner of my subconscious, to be retrieved later for entertainment purposes.

If you’re still wondering what all this is leading up to, you’re already there. Welcome to my life.

I am the quintessential modern young Bangali woman, daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother of one, and an abomination of awesomeness. My political beliefs

are pro-mess and anti-housework. I am like any of you – just funnier (and modest, apparently).

I bring you excerpts from my life after marriage: The Husband, the in-laws, living in a joint family, having a baby, my fears and hopes and all sorts of things.

Speaking of fear, let me tell you about the first time I met my in-laws. It was at our (The Husband and I) siblings’ high school graduation. I walked up to where they were sitting, gave a salaam and sat next to them.

Most of the graduation ceremony went by quietly and we didn’t speak much. I found out later that my in-laws had already checked me out in the first five minutes. My mother-in-law silently nodded at my height, while my father-in-law approved of my teeth. Yes, teeth. Grandchildren with good smiles were the prerogative here, people!

Towards the end of the graduation ceremony, The Husband had wandered off somewhere, and suddenly his mother turns to me and says, “Where’s my boy?”

I’m still unsure whether it was the fact that she addressed me directly, or because she spoke so frankly in such crisp English, but I was taken aback. In the five seconds that I hummed and hawed, mental cogs turned and things fell into place. I knew it. This was it. Only this woman, chattering away nonchalantly, could be my mother-in-law. She was so…cool.

While we were all saying goodbye later, my father-in-law ushered us all closer for a group photo. It was like I was already a part of them, despite it being the first meeting. The Husband had kept smiling encouragingly throughout the entire rendezvous, content at his conspiratorial plans to make me meet his parents.

And that, ladies and gents, is when I knew that I had won their approval and I was going to marry this man.

A few months later our akth took place, in a small ceremony at home with family and friends. The plan was to move in with his family after the reception took place a few months later, but The Husband, being the man he is, demanded I move in right away. So a week after our wedding, I moved in, looking dowdy in a dishevelled shalwar-kamiz (he didn’t even give me time to dress properly). My in-laws looked at me like I was a piece of the accompanying luggage, but then relented and embraced me with open arms, welcoming me into their home and lives.

For someone who was so used to being independent, it wasn’t easy to try to fit into the role of a new daughter-in-law, no matter how liberal and understanding my in-laws

were. As I was, they too were thrown into a situation they didn’t have time to prepare for. Being the parents of two sons, to suddenly have a girl around was understandably, odd. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, and no one really told me what to do, or what would have been expected of me. A marriage manual would’ve helped at that point, but that’s only wishful thinking!

There were silent expectations, from both my side and theirs, and it took a while for both parties to understand what we wanted. There were times I felt frustrated and refused to listen to anyone. I wanted to simply pack my bags, yell out some emotional ottyachar, slam the door dramatically, and wait silently on the other side of the door until someone came to get me. But alas, none of the cinematic events took place. Call it gut instinct, but I knew that my zealous indignation would not work here, and so I sat tight and buckled my seat belt.

Time flew by and I didn’t realise when I became a wife, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law and a mom. I had no time to be myself. Now just when stuff has settled down, I’ve started to rediscover myself. So here we are, four years later, and I am now… The Bong Momma. n

slice of life | ThE BONG mOmma 7

Oh, hello

Photo: Bigstock

Minu ahmed is your not-so-average homemaker, norm-shirker and abomination of awesomeness, juggling a career in communication, motherhood and a fatter half. Questions? Send to [email protected]


8 ENvirONmENT | BhuTAn’s AnnuAl Tree plAnTing

In Bibhutibhushan’s epic novel Arannak there was a character named Jugolprashad. To his surprise, the narrator of the

novel found Jugolprashad planting different trees inside the forest of Lobotulia Boihar. When he was asked the reason behind that seemingly crazy exercise, Jugolprashad replied, “This forest lacks some flower trees, if I plant those, then the forest will look more beautiful.”

Lobotulia Boihar had only Jugolprashad to enhance the beauty of the forest and he did that for nothing, no material gain. The land locked country of Bhutan, however, has many Jugolprashads, and in June 2, they came out in numbers to plant trees to enhance the beauty of an already very beautiful country.

The unusual sceneAs a tourist in that country, I didn’t know much about their tree plantation programme. On the morning of June 2, my second at Thimpu, it was business as usual for us. Our guide came early in the morning to take us sightseeing in and around Thimpu.

On our way up to Buddha Point (one of highest points of Thimpu valley, offering great view of the city), we saw a good number of people clad in white tea shirts and caps doing something in the hills. I didn’t understand anything at that point.

Right after that, we were going up to another hilly area named Modithang at the northern part of Thimpu, I saw the same scene, a good number of people in white tea shirts doing something in the hills. I then asked our guide Yogesh as to what was happening there. He replied that people were planting trees.

I said why? He replied, “To

enhance the beauty of the hills.”“Also there is a world record at

stake,” he added.

The world recordThe Bhutanese did indeed break the world record.

With a motto of “Let’s begin a greener Bhutan”, the country had entered the Guinness Book of World Records for planting the most number of trees in an hour. The official record says 49,672 trees were planted at Kuenselphodrang, Thimphu, although 50,000 was the number attempted.

The event was organised by Bhutan Eco-Green Initiative Network (BEGIN), an environment conservation project under Peoples Initiative in Celebrating the Sixtieth Anniversary (PICSA), together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests.

PICSA was formed under Her Majesty Gyalyum Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck as the royal patron to supplement the government’s initiatives for the 60th birth anniversary celebrations of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo.

PICSA’s project coordinator, Karma Tshering, said a group of 100 volunteers were specially trained for breaking the world record. Those volunteers underwent rigorous training for about three weeks. The men were divided into ten groups and placed at strategic locations to carry out the plantations.

“We could have planted 50,000 saplings, but some weren’t planted properly in line with the Guinness World Record guidelines,” Karma Tshering said.

An official from Guinness World Records in London, Pravin Patel, was present to assess and verify the plantation. Two Bhutanese

witnesses, police chief Brigadier Kipchu Namgyel and former minister Kinzang Dorji, and ten stewards from various organisations assisted the official in verifying and assessing the plantations.

The happy volunteersOne of the volunteers, a 20-year-old school drop-out Penden Wangchuck, said he was happy that the team’s effort paid off. “I tried planting about ten trees in a minute. It was tiring but we were confident of beating the world record right from the start,” he said, adding that, during their training, some even managed to plant about 30 trees in a minute.

About 160 volunteers registered for the event, of which 111 were selected. Eleven were kept on standby, should anything happen to the 100 volunteers on the finale.

Gyalyum Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck and Princess Sonam Dechan Wangchuck witnessed the event, along with cabinet ministers, parliament members, and other dignitaries.

Namgyen Dorji, another volunteer said, it was a great honour for him

that he was chosen as a volunteer for the attempt to break the world record. “If I was not chosen, I would have still planted some trees in the hill to beautify our country. It’s a practice and tradition in our country. I have seen my father doing it.”

June 2, the World Environment Day is observed as Social Forestry Day in Bhutan. Forest plantation records date back to the late 1940s, when the first plantation was carried out in Gelephu across 3.20 acres of land.

The annual tree planting activity was re-enforced after June 2 and was declared as Social Forestry Day in 1985 to commemorate the coronation of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, a visionary environmentalist.

The nursery run by the Forestry Department provides saplings free of cost, and this has encouraged people to plant trees. “It may be near their house or school or office, but everyone will share the benefits of a greener community,” said Karma Tshering, the project coordinator of PICSA. n

How green is their valley!a unique annual event that brings everyone together to building a greener futureFaisal Mahmud

Photo: Courtesy


ifTer TreATs | PhOTO STOrY 9

Ramadan, even though the month of abstinence, hardly seems like it when we witness almost every nook and cranny of every street on Dhaka covered with vendors selling all manners of deep-fried goodness, which provide a much sough after indulgence for fasting people.

this weeks photo story features iftar treats in all its glory – from the fancy spread available at top restaurants, to the massive pots of the humble halim boiling away on the streets – emanating the most glorious of aromas, beckoning anyone who passes by.

bon appetitPhotos: Sabrina Munni


10 PhOTO STOrY | ifTer TreATs


11


Imagine the possibility of your country winning a million dollars in educational funding, especially if a number of its

residents are below the poverty line. Although Bangladesh is steadily growing, there’s no denying that a large sum of money could greatly improve standard of living in the long run. Not to mention that winning an international prize would also bring the country much-needed fame, fortune, and sponsors who can assist in furthering our country’s overall development.

To get a better idea, we have gathered a few teachers and students to shed some light on education in Bangladesh, and how they think the money can be used in improving our country’s educational facilities and capital.

Neeta Mannaf has been working as a counsellor at CGS Dhaka for the last three years.

Q: What’s it like, working as a student counsellor?A: I have been working as a student counsellor, informally at first for two years and more formally from last one year. I focus on emotional counselling and their class teachers and academic coordinators are focusing on the academic counselling. I find it enormously rewarding to provide the students with a venue to vent about the emotional problems they face in the school and even at home.

Q: What approaches do you take in helping your students?A: I start with an initial meeting where I let them know that I am

available for them to tell me of their problems. I informally ask them from time to time how things are going. I watch their body language and any behavioural cues to initiate more specific questions. If they exhibit reluctance towards any of my methods, I respect their wishes. In cases of bullying, I usually advice the students on how to handle it. In repeated cases, I first approach the ‘bullies’ and counsel them on not continuing with the teasing or bullying whilst making the ‘bullies’ responsible for the one being bullied and encourage them to watch out and protect that person. I usually try to talk less and have the student talk more as my place is to provide a safe, non-judgemental environment in which to open up.

Q: How do you think one million dollars would benefit our education sector if a teacher from Bangladesh were to receive it as prize money?A: It would greatly benefit the education sector if used properly. A teacher receiving the prize would have more freedom to include more facilities for students, give them more access to resources. In addition to that, financial help for needy students could also be part of the prize money. The teacher winning the prize should be monitored by a team of people including a language teacher, a philanthropist, a doctor and an urban planner. The monitoring team members need to be changed annually to help counteract corruption of funds.

Q: Do you agree that concentrating on introducing and improving educational facilities in rural areas

can help Bangladesh in the long run?A: The majority of our workforce is from the rural areas and any efforts to improve their quality of education and their lives will greatly benefit the nation as a whole.

Ms Munize Khasru is an English teacher at Sunbeams School.

Q: What are some of your favourite pasttimes when you’re not teaching?A: I love to write fiction and am currently working on a book project. I enjoy reading different genres, except horror. During Monsoon season though, my favourite past time is listening to music, watching the rain fall outside my window and daydreaming!

Q: Have you heard of the Global Teacher Prize?A: Yes, in passing. It’s lauded as the “Nobel Prize” for teachers and established by The Varkey Foundation. The idea is to celebrate best teachers around the world and give them the recognition they deserve, and thereby inspire younger people to pursue teaching as a profession.

Q: If you or another teacher were to win 1 million Dollars from the Prize, how would you use the money to benefit your school and/or other schools?A: Difficult to allocate! I’d use the money to set up a girls’ boarding school of international standard that would cater to promising students from all over Bangladesh. Or financially support selected community schools with proper earthquake-proof buildings,

bathrooms and canteen facilities. Or start a teacher-training institute. Endless possibilities actually…it’s hard to choose.

Q: If you could nominate any teacher from Sunbeams for the Global Teacher Prize, who would it be and why?A: I would nominate Ms Khaleda M Sajjad who is our academic advisor in charge and teaches English in Class X. She loves teaching and her enthusiasm is infectious. She’s very thorough in her lesson plans; her delivery successfully reaches every student as is evident by the excellent results, year after year. She’s approachable to all and I really admire how she goes beyond the call of duty to help her students, particularly those who struggle with

the curriculum. She never gives up on her students. Even after her students graduate, she makes the effort to stay in touch with them and encourages them to pursue their dreams. Ms Sajjad is a teacher-for-life.

Q: What makes the ideal teacher?A: First, an ideal teacher has to love the subject he/she is teaching. If the teacher is not excited by the subject, the students will immediately pick up on the apathy and lose interest. Second, an ideal teacher should see the student as an individual and

14 FEaTurE | gloBAl TeAcher prize

Competing On a Global Scale - Bangladesh and the Global Teacher PrizeReceiving feedback on local education from students and teachers alikeShaida Prodhan


15

The quest to discover the best teachers of our generation

“I love the challenges and I love my teaching life. I hope to convey to young people considering teaching - that it is a privilege.”

– Nancie Atwell, Global Teacher Prize 2015 Winner

If students are seedlings then teachers can be considered farmers – the ones who tend

to them and nurture them as they grow. In their own special way, teachers pave the way for future generations to one day take up the reins of our ever-evolving world. Often we find that some teachers in particular, inspire us to work to our fullest, some who possess a sixth sense in allowing us to unlock our true potential with utter disregard to our flaws. Such instructors, in particular, deserve to be recognized for their feats. Not only will this inspire some children to one day take up teaching, but it will allow for the world to understand the significance of quality education in modern society.

About the PrizeThe Global Teacher Prize is an annual award of 1 million dollars that will be bestowed to any brilliant teacher who has made a significant contribution to the profession and the learning community.

The Prize was established by the Varkey Foundation in hopes that it would inspire young children to strive for being named the greatest teacher in the world. The award was also introduced to honour the most outstanding of teachers who see to inspire both their students and the surrounding community.

The Award, carrying the prestige of a Nobel Prize is operated under the full

support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. The Prize illustrates the very importance of teaching, along with the notion that that teachers of the world deserve to be celebrated and remembered for their achievements. The winner will be chosen by the ever-prominent members of the Global Teacher Prize Academy which is comprised of head teachers, educational experts, journalists, commentators, public officials, tech entrepreneurs, company directors and scientists from all corners of the world. Following the submission of applications, the winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, March 2016.

Application and nomination period open date: end of May 2015`Closing date: 10 October 2015

Judging CriteriaA teacher’s accomplishments, both inside the classroom and beyond:• local/national teaching awards • acknowledgement of local/

national press towards any academic publications

EligibilityThose who are currently working as teachers in institutions that practice compulsory schooling, and who teach children from the ages of five to eighteen. Teachers who are part-time, or educate pupils online are also eligible for registration. Any teacher from any school (with the following above criteria) is allowed to participate, this being in accordance to the local laws of his/her country of practice.For more info, visit: http://www.globalteacherprize.org/

Global Teacher Prize

guide him/her holistically rather than focus on just academics. A good teacher knows how to channel the strengths of an able student but an ideal teacher will try his/her best to help the shy students overcome fears or encourage weak students to address their drawbacks and reach their full potential as human beings. Anyone can teach an ‘ideal’ student. Only an ideal teacher can mentor the naughty ones, the indifferent ones, the ones who would rather not be taught!

Q: Do you support the idea of online education in Bangladesh?A: Yes, it sounds promising.

Zubaida Rahman is currently a student who has just completed her AS Levels at Sunbeams

School. Having one year left in the institution, she plans to go abroad for further studies. Zubaida has been attending Sunbeams since KG II.

Q: Looking back at your past in Sunbeams, what are some of your favourite memories there?

A: Definitely the Sunbeams Super Cup. The excitement and unity amongst the entire student body with preparations and practices and the pumped up atmosphere is something you can just never get enough of.Q: If you could nominate any one

of your teachers for an educational prize that would win them and your institution 1 million Dollars in funding, who would it be and why?A: Definitely Arafat Sir. He’s one of those teachers students can really talk to, about anything - which I feel is really important. Not only that, he’s an amazing teacher because you actually LEARN things from him, not just memorize dry textbook stuff.

Q: Do you think Bangladesh has made some strides in education over the last couple of years?Absolutely. That’s evidenced by the increasing number of outstanding scholars from this country and not only that, women, slum-children, people of ALL ages are being provided with education.

Q: In what ways do you think the skills and teachings you bring back from abroad can help Bangladesh once you return?A: Maybe to ease the rigidity in the teaching methods. Also, to make sure students LEARN and don’t resort to memorizing or pawning off work to their tutors. Learning to be self-sufficient is a prime skill. Also to introduce more opportunities for extra curricular in Bangladesh because life here is all about academics. n


16 FOCuS | doMesTic help

She could barely keep her eyes open. She’d been cleaning the house since dawn; preparing for the

festivities of the following day. She’d washed the utensils alone for hours. She was worn out. But now she had to prepare special dinner for her employer’s extended family as they were coming to celebrate the night before Eid.

The thought of family nostalgically reminded her of her own. She went into a reverie thinking of how her family would be anticipating Eid back in their ‘desher bari’. She imagined her mother busily bustling about planning to make one meal the next day more than ordinary; her sisters practising tying each other’s hair with new red ribbons; her little brother strutting around with a new ‘namaz tupi’.

The smell of chicken burning brought her back to reality. Frightened how her ‘Madam’ would react, she hurriedly tried to recover it. But it was too late. “Beyadop, ekta kaaj o thik moto korte paare na,” came the scream. And then the sudden hard slap across her face.

Asmani gathered herself to concentrate. The unstoppable tears trickling down her face went unnoticed.

The above scene isn’t fictional. It’s symbolic of how helping hands are treated in our society today. It’s the less harsh version of many crueller incidents happening in the lives of these working class people.

Helping hands are a large part of our community- buas, baburchis, driver chachas, darwan chachas. It’s important that we learn to respect them from our childhood. The maid-servants in our homes are struggling the most. There’s no limit to their hours of work each day, most of them don’t get even a day’s leave per week. In many homes, they sleep on the kitchen floors and their only

mode of relaxation of television is also restricted and downcast by employers. Most of them don’t get holidays even on occasions of religion, which they too are entitled to celebrate.

Behind every single mistreatment, injustice, inhumanity lies the core reason of problem in our mentalities. Our mentalities compel us to treat those poorer than us as inferiors in every way and thus, we sometimes forget that they too are humans. We leave our children in the care of these buas all day yet we don’t think them clean to sit on our furniture with our children. While our child sits on the sofa, the bua sits on the floor. They eat on the floor; their rations are measured and often cheaper standards from what the employers eat. In some houses, there are restrictions imposed on helping hands using elevators.

Even more alarmingly, since independence, the number of reported deaths of helping hands through abuse has approximated to be around 79-89; and no doubt there have been countless unreported

incidents that never made it into the statistics.

Sadly, our attitudes have become such that we treat our servants more like slaves. Very few of us realize how important it is that these helping hands are given proper honour. The first outsiders a child sees after birth are these helping hands and it matters how the child sees these employees treated. After all, nothing is truer than the fact that everything begins at home.

Our society is becoming both more violent and perverse as each day passes. The best way to target the society is to target our homes.

How we should treat the less fortunate people working for us is where we can draw example from the western civilization today. Children abroad greet their janitors the same way they greet their teachers. The nannies, cooks are not forbidden to sit on the same furniture as their employers. They have their rights and are treated as members of the family. Development isn’t only in the indicators of GDP and trade balance,

Shomman helping hands support us to keep the household on its feet, its high time they receive the respect they deserveRubaiya Murshed

it’s also sometimes in the more mature mentality of how to not let the difference in wealth demean a person to belittling status.

It’s not that helping hands shouldn’t be given any work, it’s what they’re employed for. But there’s a difference between treating them as help around the house and treating them as ‘Cinderella’. If from a young age we don’t get it into our minds that helping hands are different, despite being human-beings like us, because they are poorer- then when we grow up, maybe just maybe, we won’t differentiate so much amongst ourselves for being of different religions, ethnicities or of opposite genders.

It’s not that there’s no one in our society who doesn’t realize the significance of treating helping hands with the respect they deserve as human-beings. Our sisters at HolyCross College have rules that the helping hands in their facilities will not have to work after 8pm. There are families who support their helping hands children’s education, families who let the maid eat the food first in the Chinese restaurant before leaving the child in her care. These people are the promising examples the rest of us should follow. Humayun Ahmed must have thought about these issues as well, or he wouldn’t in his ‘Bohubrihi’ natok have shown the helping hands eating together at the dining table with the family at lunch.

However negligible to many others it may seem, this is the issue within our easiest capability to confront and one that can lead to a substantial difference for our society. ‘Shomman’, the brainchild of my father, is an organization focusing on this and it took its first footstep on May 1 this year. ‘Shomman’ will be paying tribute to the helping hands who lost their lives to ill-treatment since Bangladesh’s birth. Join ‘Shomman’ in spirit by giving your helping hands the assurance that you care, the certainty that they are safe under your employment and the respect that they too are part of your family. n

Rubaiya Murshedis Co-founder of Shomman

Photo: Bigstock


It is not easy to fast all day long and keep one’s cool. After all, we are the residents of this city, trying to figure out a balance

between the lemons it throws at us and our own spiritual commitment.

Ramadan is the month to be patient, content and grateful for what life has given us. Muslims around the world believe this notion wholeheartedly and give their two-hundred percent to fulfill it. But alas, we are the citizens of our beloved country, moreover the inhabitants of the capital city, which comes with its own sweet deals.

Our country is known greatly for its six seasons, and the amount of pride we Bangladeshis take in front of foreigners about the beautiful seasonal change we get to feel and witness. But nobody really talks about the effects this change in nature takes on our life.

This Ramadan started about a week ago, and at the beginning, the weather was pretty warm. And by

Bangladeshi standards, this accounts to being super hot. Most Muslims around the nation fast, and this humidity takes a great toll on them. Especially on the ones without the luxury of air conditioned cars or bedrooms. The humid weather, the incessant sweating, sitting in traffic jams makes matter worse, while waiting for Iftar time gets harder.

People with cars are still lucky. What about the ones who have to take public transport, and walk to their destination because of scarcity of the former? They struggle beyond our imagination. While waiting for the sun to set, no drinking, these people do give the real test of patience.

The city’s narrow roads, traffic moving around without a care about the traffic rules, and the horrendous jams are altogether a different topic of concern. It simply adds to the fasting people’s misery, making them struggle harder. On June 25, it took me around three and a half hours to reach Banani from Panthapath,

starting at 3:30 in the afternoon. The roads ‘under construction’, with ditches dug out, blocked by piles of mud and bricks and other materials makes matters worse. On top of it all, it started raining!

The recent torrential rains have somewhat gotten our minds off the thirst and heat, and made the waiting for Maghrib a little easier. But it has also brought along its own sour deals. The already under-construction roads and drains are now muddy, messy and blocked, are flooded over, making the situation all the more horrible. Pictures in various national dailies and Facebook posts show the flooded roads in Banshundhara residential area in the city, among others.

Speaking of Bashundhara, it houses two private universities, where students are finding it difficult to reach their campus amidst the clogged roads and the constant rain. With little sleep after the Sehri, catching classes on time is tough.

The ones travelling by bus and other means of public transport really needs strong self-restraint to keep their mind cool.

It is the month to refrain ourselves from bad behaviour, show tolerance and restraint. These troubles in daily life really test a fasting person’s forbearance, because sometimes people get worked up amidst all this chaos. It is common scenario to be stuck in traffic congestion, and natural to feel irritated and angry. After all, if it takes three hours to cross a distance usually meant for forty minutes, a person cannot be blamed for losing his temper.

People cannot stop the rain, nor the sun. No option is there other than to cope with what the season throws at us. But it is completely in everyone’s hands to make an efficient way of following the traffic rules and fixing the holes and road infrastructure, in the hope travelling stops being a pain for people who fasting. n

fAsTing woes | SliCE OF liFE 17

lemonade at iftarDear observers, try and make lemonade out of the lemons that woes throw at youLameya Alma Amin

Photo: Bigstock


18 STaY iN

S u d o k uuse the numbers 1-9 to complete each of the 3x3 square grids such that each horizontal and vertical line also contains all of the digits from 1-9

Last week’s sudoku solutions

ACROSS1 In favour of healthy return (6)6 No comeback after cancellation of President (5)7 Machine for dragging tall structure (5) 8 Wild dog shy to return east (6)

DOWN2 Where plane lands holding a fugitive (7)3 Run after 8’s relative and dance (7)4 Twist the first point of view (6)5 Country-style corrosion is caught first (6)

Last

wee

k’s

solu

tion

s

aCROss1 Covet a medley of musical notes (6)6 Placed vertically and knocked over (5)7 Thanks after short month of military cabal (5) 8 Past ends of every 007 outside (6)

DOwN2 Hunt around in half of Ceylon for pickle (7)3 Go without first of apple brandy mark (7)4 Catch parent in confusion (6)5 Joke and inoculation for asian region (6)

Clues

Solved it? Email answers to [email protected] and win one free month of the Dhaka Tribune.

Mini cryptics

One tends to hear much misleading stories and misconceptions about the moon during the

Holy Ramadan, for it is a topic of vast interest but widely misunderstood. Many comment and provide their ancestral insights based on their observations on the timing, shape and visibility of it. As much as our great grands care to give out their wisdom through experience and we heed our duty to believe them, here are the common myths of moon-sighting, and how much of it are actually true.

Thin on the 29th, thick on the 30th You see the moon as thick or thin depending on where you are from where it first appears. The farther west you go, the thinner it will appear. From that, it may also be safe

to assume that it is believed that the moon will be “thick” on the 30th day of the month. That too, is hearsay. Considering you’re watching the moon from the exact same position on both nights, it will be of nearly the same thickness.

At times, a full moon is even considered to be “old” and the second day moon. This is believed because a “young” moon, considering it to be 18 years old, is so below the horizon that it isn’t visible because of the sun’s glare. But we assure you, it’s there.

Quick on the 29th, slow on the 30th The viewing time it takes for the moon to set also depends on the positioning of the viewer in question. It is commonly said that

the moon sets faster when it is on the 29th day and hence vital to spot it quickly. Not at all. Neither is the saying of it to take its time in setting when it is thick on 30th.

3 x 30 isn’t happening Sorry folks, but unfortunately, three consecutive months of 30 days are very much possible. As much as we wish to get the fasting over fast and predict a minus one in days from the last one, it might even stretch to even four months, but that is actually uncommon. It takes the moon either 29 days and three hours or 29 days and 20 hours to run a hoop around the earth. On the longer cycle, it can be very much possible for the moon to have three to four back-to-back monthly madness with a consistent 29 or 30 days exactly. n

Moon-conceptionsRad Sharar Bin Kamal


GO OuT 19

When 9:30am-03:30pmWhere ICMAB Bhaban, Kataban, NilkhetWhat This is a lecture event where the key speaker will enlighten the participants about how to be a good public speaker, how to overcome fear and speak in front of people.

Guest speakers are: Solaiman Shukhon, standup comedian who studied at Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka and is currently the Head of Marketing at Elite Technologies; TT Shagufta Hussein, isEx Head In -Charge of training, HR Division Bank Asia Ltd; Ex -Faculty of Daffodil

International University, State University Of Bangladesh & South -East University; Ex presenter NTV and feature writer Kaler Kantho; Member and producer of Recitation group: Meghdut; and Masud Rayhan is Manager of Organization Development & HR Strategy, HRD in The City Bank Ltd.

For more information, contact: 01680000113 or email to <[email protected]>

When 10:30am-4:30pmWhere Counter Foto; 14, East Shewrapara (Next to HATIL), MirpurWhat TTL and Counter Foto is jointly organising a workshop on Introduction to Portrait Photography by Din Muhammad

Shibly. Participants will learn how to take portraits with good framing, use of light, perspective. There are only 25 seats and course fee is Tk1500.Please call for details: 01711507894, 01713426518, 01677068735, 01672503850

Weekly Planner Jul 1-10

Fashion | Jamdani FairWhen 10am- 8pmWhere National Museum yard, ShahbaghWhat Jamdani is a very delicate fabric, that is exclusively made in Dhaka and admired worldwide. Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation(BSCIC) is arranging a ten day Jamdani Fair at the premises of the National Museum. Amir Hossain Amu, Minister of Ministry of Indusrties, will be inaugurating the event.

Jul 3-4

Culture | Jatra Biroti Live Performances

When 7-11pmWhere Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal Ataturk Ave, Banani What An”Open Mic” is a favourite event for almost everyone. The microphone is open to anyone to sing, dance, juggle, recite poetry, do a powerpoint presentation;

whatever one wishes.Entry is Tk300 only, with free phuchka and tea.

On July 4, an evening of “Electro/Acoustic” will feature Don Donadoni and The Speakeasy crew. This week’s special guest will join us to create an atmosphere of improvisation and creativity. Entry is only 500tk with Free Puchka and Tea.

Jul 3

Fashion | DHAKA - Grand Indian Eid exhibition

When 11am-8pmWhere The Olives, Plot-3, Road-126, Gulshan Circle-1What Bay Chic is organising an exhibition with a whole new collection of Indian fashionwear. The exhibition will also showcase designer lehengas, jewellery and bags. Call 01797262029 for any inquiries.

Jul 4

Education | UK Education Open day

When 10am- 4pmWhere British Council, 5 Fuller RoadWhat British Council Bangladesh is organising UK Education Open day. BSB Global Network, Center for Foreign Studies, Cubic Education, Education Excellence, Falcon Education & Consultancy Services, H&S Education Services, MIM Study Abroad, N & N International Education Consultancy Ltd, Pinnacle Counselling Centre, RSL Education Counselling will be representing a diverse range of academic institutions in the UK as well as provide information on studying and living in the UK. The event is free for all. Those interested are to register here: bit.ly/opendaydhakajuly15

Jul 29

Education | Spot admission Manipal Int University, Malaysia

When 10am-4pmWhere Antioch-Education Center, House 295, Road 9, Block D, Basundhara

What Manipal University has over 28,000 students from 57 different nations. It also has nearly 2500 faculty and almost 10000 other support and service staff, who cater to the various professional institutions in health sciences, engineering, management, communication and humanities. The University has campuses in Mangalore and Bangalore, and off-shore campuses in Dubai(UAE) and Melaka (Malaysia). The Mangalore campus offers medical, dental, and nursing programs. The Bangalore Campus offers programs in Regenerative Medicine. The Dubai campus offers programmes in engineering, management and architecture, and the Melaka campus offers programs in medicine and dentistry.

Interested students are to go to the event with academic transcripts and other important papers.

Jun 4Lecture | Speaking with Passion-The Art of Public Speaking

Jul 4Photography | Introduction to Portrait Photography Workshop


20 FuNNY BONE | yAMin khAn

Where do we draw the line?Yamin Khan

Everyday fundamentalism

There is a fine line between passion, obsession and fundamentalism. A lot of us at times can get

it confused so let me help you understand the difference with an example.

Say Bangladesh beats India in an ODI series and you decide to take out an impromptu celebratory procession. Now that is passion. But when you continue doing that for the next 60 nights? That’s obsession. And when you force your grandmother to join you every single time? That’s fundamentalism.

And today we are going to talk about fundamentalism, which exists in many spheres of our society, but unfortunately, only the religious ones bear the label.

ElitistsTo be fair, not all wealthy people are snobs. I know a lot of rich people who are honest, hardworking individuals, generating livelihood for countless families and are contributing towards the society in many ways.

But I also know a lot of aunties who won’t let any fabric touch their body unless it’s from ‘Jara’ (Zara). And the not-so-soft-spoken uncles who are always busy sharing their plans for leasing the next big island.

For example: “You know Mr Huda, the best island in the world…is the Republic of Island (Ireland).”

And my favourites are the regulars of one of those locality based clubs where only the rich boys get to hang out. You know the sort of club where you need to pay a ridiculous amount of money for membership. And in return you are allowed complete anonymity when booking the guest houses for your ‘foreign guest’. And the one thing that I observed there is that you could be anyone, even the president of USA, but they will not let you walk in wearing sandals. However, trainers with shalwar kameez are perfectly fine.

RabindriksYou know that uncle of yours who wears payjama-panjabi to the shower? And terms Beethoven as

‘poshchima aggrashon’? Well he is a true Rabindrik in every sense of the word. And by Rabindrik I mean the sort of people who are more obsessed with defending Rabindronath’s creations instead of trying to enjoy them. And by defending his creations I mean:a) You cannot sing Robindro Shongit

if you choose to fill out forms in English when there is a Bangla option available.

b) A boy cannot sing Robindro Shongit if he has long hair.

c) A girl cannot sing Robindro Shongit if she doesn’t have long hair.

d) You cannot sing Robindro Shongit in the bathroom.

e) You cannot sing Robindro Shongit if you ever had a crush on someone who likes Nazrul Geeti.

f) You cannot sing Robindro Shongit if you are reading this article.

.

.

.To Be Continued.

FeministsThere is no doubt that men and women are equal in all aspects. And in some instances women are

actually superior to men.(According to the PR agent, I need

to improve my popularity among the female readers).

However, having said that, you’ll always find a group of women who use feminism as a tool to get things done in life. And allows convenience to lead the way while they are at it. For example:a) I am all in for equal treatment,

but it’s the man’s responsibility to take care of the bill during a date.

b) I cheated because I am an independent woman…but how could you?

c) A secretary never sleeps with her boss. It’s always an ambitious person sleeping with an adulterer.

d) Most commercial movies objectify women, except for the ones were Channing Tatum is flaunting his rock hard abs.

e) I am pissed at you for pointing out

my mistake. So apologise.

Football SnobsBefore 1997, football used to be the sport of the masses and cricket was limited to the rich kids only. And in the course of time as cricket got acceptance from the masses, the rich kids did not waste a single second and switched all their attention to football. And that too only European football because supporting teams like Argentina or Brazil is considered to be a low yield in the coolness meter.

Now what scares me the most is what if the masses pick up on European football as well? Then what? It’s going to bring disastrous consequences for the Gulshan kids. And even more so for the Gulshan Club management, because then they’ll have to organize Ha-Du-Du competitions for their members. Who in turn will gladly accept it because Ha-Du-Du is one such sport which was abandoned by the masses a long time ago, and hence will ensure the much sought after exclusivity. n

Yamin Khan is a comedian and CEO of Bangladesh Struggling Artist Survivors Foundation

Photos: Bigstock

weekend tribune vol 3 issue 11

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