Weekend Tribune Vol 3 Issue 22

vol 3 Issue 22 | FRIDAY, sep 18, 2015 Dhaka Tribune

5 HAAt HAcks 17 Geekout 20 tHe BonG

MoMMA

Dear Readers,

While we were busy being distracted by the water-logging and the traffic jams this past month, Eid ul Adha has managed to creep up on us.

This week, our focus is on this holy festival. Everything you need to know about buying cows whether in person or online, we’ve got covered in two neat articles. We also embark on a trip around the world to explore this Eid in other Muslim.

Today being the World Water Conservation Day, we also have a list of ways you can contribute to saving this precious resource. And just in case you need incentives to do so, our eye-opener on climate refugees in Bangladesh ought to convince you. In a city that’s filling up with these refugees, sanitation becomes a pain. Hear it from the mouth of someone who does the cleaning up.

Finally, join the Bong Momma on her “wild” honeymoon

Wishing our readers Eid Mubarak from Weekend Tribune

Sabrina Fatma Ahmad Photo: Mahmud Hossain Opu

Editor’s note

Questions? Comments? Send them to [email protected]

WEEKEN D TRI BU N E | FRI DAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

1CONTENTS

Volume 3 | Issue 22 | Sep 18, 2015

EditorZafar Sobhan

Features EditorSabrina Fatma Ahmad

Asst Magazine EditorFarina Noireet

Weekend Tribune TeamSaudia Afrin

Moumita AhmedFaisal MahmudSakib MridhaSaqib Sarker

Syeda Samira SadequeShuprova Tasneem

ContributorsMinu Ahmed

Naveed Choudhury Nasr DastgirReema Islam

Sabrina MunniSohara Mehroze Sachi

CartoonistsPriyo

Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy

GraphicsMd Mahbub Alam

Tahsin Momin

Colour SpecialistShekhar Mondal

AdvertisementZia Ur Rahman

ProductionMasum Billah

CirculationMasud Kabir Pavel

Websitedhakatribune.com/weekendfacebook.com/WeekendTrib

Email your letters to:[email protected]

ThE BONg MOMMaTales frOM a firsT-TiMe MOM

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News 2 News

3 Meanwhile

FeatuRes 4 Listology

saving water

5 Listology Haat hacks

8 Interview saiful Haque

12 Climate change Climate refugees

14 Focus Urban sanitation

15 Focus international business

16 Rant adult life

17 geekout Movie science

RegulaRs18 Stay In

19 go Out

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ORIgIN STORyQUrbani TradiTiOns

PhOTO STORyHand-lOOM indUsTry

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DIgITaL BaNgLaDESh

Online HaaTs


2 NEwS | This week

Pakistan liberates Taliban ‘no-go zones’ in KarachiOver the past few years, one word has been on everyone’s lips at a certain part of Karachi: “Talibanisation”.

If the remote mountains that straddle the Pakistan and Afghanistan borders have been the militant group’s playground, then Karachi, Pakistan’s economic hub on the Arabian Sea, has been the insurgents’ hideout and cash-cow.

The Taliban dug deep into areas populated by ethnic Pashtuns, creating virtual “no-go zones” and terrorising the local population with extortion and kidnappings for

ransom to provide funding for their Mujahideen.

But, say the Pakistani officials, has all been changed now.

“Talibanisation in Karachi has died down,” says Mahesar, a former soldier turned senior police officer in the most dangerous, western part of the city.

“I can say very confidently that 70 to 80 percent (are purged). There are a few remnants in Karachi, but they are not as capable of coming back with the efficiency that they had been a year or so ago,” he adds.Photo: AP

The world at a glance Weekend Tribune Desk

North Korea says its atomic complex has restarted, vows nuclear attack

This year, tragedy struck at Mecca in ahead of hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage.

At least 107 people were killed and 238 people were wounded when a crane crashed through the ceiling of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, the largest mosque in the world, amid high winds and thunderstorms, last Friday afternoon.

The Grand Mosque, which houses the Ka’bah (the cube-shaped structure towards which Muslims worldwide pray) has been surrounded by a number of cranes. Reconstruction work has been going on to enlarge the mosque by 400,000 sq metres (4.3m sq ft), allowing it to accommodate up to

2.2 million people.According to a report on Al-

Jazeera television, the crane fell on the east side of the mosque after a sandstorm and heavy rainfall. It said that the building’s doors were shut and people were locked inside. Their reporter said that there was a “slight pandemonium” and that one person was killed in the rush to get out.

After the incident, some critics have claimed that the authorities were negligent in allowing a series of cranes to tower over the site, as hundreds of thousands of Muslims converge at the holy site for the annual hajj pilgrimage.Photo: Reuters

North Korea has done it again, this time in a bolder way.

On Tuesday, the Communist state said that it was ready to use nuclear weapons “any time” against the United States, and reaffirmed that its main nuclear complex was in full operation.

“If the US and other hostile forces persistently seek their reckless hostile policy towards the North, the country is fully ready to cope with them with nuclear weapons any time,” the unnamed director of the North’s Atomic Energy Institute was quoted as saying by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The threat was not unusual for North Korea. But it’s bound to heighten concerns that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un is preparing for a nuclear test or long-range ballistic missile launch when the regime commemorates the 70th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party on October 10.

In its announcement on Tuesday, the North said it had improved the “quality and quantity” of its nuclear weapons and resumed all operations at its main nuclear plant in Yongbyon, including the uranium-enrichment plant and a 5-megawatt reactor.

The government has withdrawn 7.5% VAT imposed on tuition fees on private universities, medical and engineering colleges.

The Finance Ministry has issued a press release in this regard on Monday afternoon.

The press release, signed by Senior Information Officer Md Shahedur Rahman, reads: “The government does not want to create any interruption at educational institutions and sufferings in public life. Considering the issue, the government has decided to withdraw the 7.5% VAT imposed on private universities, medical

and engineering colleges.”It stated that the government

hopes the private university students will go back to their universities, calling off their movement.

The development came following the prime minister’s direction in the morning to withdraw the VAT.

Earlier this week, Dhaka was paralysed by private university students who had occupied the streets as part of a demonstration against the 7.5% VAT being slapped on private university tuition fees. Source: Dhaka Tribune

Crane crash killed 107 in Mecca

VAT on private university education withdrawn


. . . MEaNwhILE 3

Catalysing Clean Energy in Bangladesh (CCEB), a USAID project, organised the Third Annual Market Facilitation Platform for Improved Cookstoves (ICS) in Bangladesh at Bangabandu International Conference Centre, Dhaka. This was done in cooperation with The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (Alliance), and hosted by the UN Foundation. With a focus on creating a dynamic and sustainable market for clean cooking solutions, this year’s theme was set as ‘Transitioning Towards a Sustainable Market’.

More than 200 entrepreneurs, donors, government stakeholders, and national and international NGO officials convened to discuss strategies for the transition to a sustainable ICS market, creation of employment opportunities and improve health outcomes for women and children. Md. Tajul Islam, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, was present as the Chief Guest. USAID Mission Director Janina Jaruzelski, Principle Secretary to Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad, and Additional Secretary Power Division Ahmed Kaikaus, also joined as Special Guests.

Janina Jaruzelski emphasised the US Government’s commitment to working with the Government

of Bangladesh and other partners to promote the use of more fuel-efficient cookstoves that produce less harmful emissions, are more energy-efficient, and do not pose health hazards. Mr Md Tajul Islam stated that the government is committed to reducing carbon emissions associated with inefficient cooking practices, and will provide all necessary assistance to encourage families to switch to more efficient cooking technologies and fuels.

USAID’s CCEB project is a five-year, $15 million activity that will help Bangladesh develop markets for clean cookstoves, promote industrial energy efficiency, create a regulatory environment for clean energy development and lend significant support to local ICS manufacturers, distributors, retailers, financiers, NGOs and other stakeholders. The Global Alliance seeks to mobilise high-level national and donor commitments towards the goal of universal adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels. Alliance’s goal is for 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020. USAID is working closely with the Alliance and other US Government partners to collectively achieve this target.

USAID and The Global Alliance

event

Photo of the week

Say what?

Robot journalist writes report in ChinaThe robot named Dreamwriter created by Chinese social and gaming giant Tencent wrote a flawless 916-word article!

It was written in Chinese and completed in just one minute by Dreamwriter. The flawless article was released via the company’s QQ.com portal, an instant messaging service that wields much sway in China, a country now in the throes of an automation revolution.

Chinese media reported that it was well-written enough to send local reporters scurrying to the bathroom as they envisaged the end of their careers.

“The piece is very readable. I can’t even tell it wasn’t written by a person,” said Li Wei, a reporter based in the southern Chinese manufacturing boomtown of Shenzhen.Source: Daily Mirror

Visitors at a garments factory at Hotapara, Gazipur

Photo: Sakib Mridha


Collect rain waterDon’t you just love sipping your hot cup of tea when it

rains? Maybe, next time you could just take a bucket or two or a rain barrel (rain barrels are made from plastic and are positioned below

spouts to collect water that runs off of the roof), and collect the water instead. And no, we’re not asking you to boil that water and drink it. You can simply just reuse the conserved water for watering your indoor plants and gardening.

4 LISTOLOgy | saving waTer

World Water Monitoring Day is an international education and outreach programme

that initiates public awareness on the importance of protecting water resources around the globe. They provide a platform where people can engage to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies.

Using simple water conservation techniques can help cut water usage by amounts unimaginable. If you start today, and devote yourself in giving just a little extra effort each day, you alone can make a difference.

WWMD is officially observed on September 18, and on this day we would like to talk about different ways we can conserve water.

Celebrating World Water Monitoring dayfive ways to conserve Moumita Ahmed

Wash your car using a bucket We often make the mistake

of connecting the hose pipe with the tap, switching it on and giving our cars a good wash. This is done especially by the chauffeurs, who waste gallons of water, and take the whole day to wash cars. But do we realise how much water we are wasting? Next time, just use a bucket and sponge instead. Notice how much water you’ll be saving every month.

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Fix that leakRemember the times when you woke up in the middle

the night to hear a drip-drip-drip sound, and got scared thinking there’s a ghost in your house? Well, don’t be

so dramatic! It’s just that your faucet had a leak, and you had no idea about it. A small drip from a leaky tap can waste twenty gallons of water per day. So could you please go and fix your worn out taps?

Turn off the tapsDid you know that you can save 8 gallons of water, just

by turning off the tap while you brush your teeth in the morning and before bedtime? We all know how valuable water is. So make sure to turn off your taps when you don’t need them.

Don’t throw waste in your toilet Many of us (especially

women) have the habit of regularly throwing our tissue papers and other wastes into the toilet, and flushing it way too many times, unnecessarily. We do have dustbins, don’t we? Throw your wastes in the bin, and flush only as much as is needed. Water is a precious resource, let’s not waste it by flushing everything down the toilet. n

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5Photos: Bigstock


and around local market places. In that case you will probably be able to buy drinking water in the haat. But there is absolutely no guarantee that you will find water. Specially, when you get deep inside the “cowdom” you will have to walk a long way to get water.

Avoid going or staying late to the haat:This should be common

sense, but a lot of people end up going to the haat very late. In fact, this is fairly a common practice. People do this for many reasons, but none of them good enough to knowingly risk yourself getting mugged. If you can get a deal by going late, it is not worth the potential danger you will put yourself into. Yes, a lot of people have done it and they were just fine. But some get mugged too and who’s to say that you will not be among those people.

Don’t just tag along:If you are not the responsible person for buying or

overseeing the process, then just stay at home (or wherever you want to be). At this point we refer to the first point that it is not some jolly adventure (unless of course you will be sitting outside in the car and will let other people take care of the business). Seriously though, the cow market is a messy place and your bubble will burst the moment you need to enter there.

Finally, if we made it sound like you are bound to have a horrible experience then it is because this is most likely to happen to most of the first timers who will be going to the haat. But if you like a little bit of challenge (and really interested in cows) then, by all means, allow yourself to enjoy the experience. And if you don’t, then don’t say we didn’t warn you. Happy Eid ul Azha. Mooo..... n

If you are planning to go to the cow market for the first time, then you need to know a few things. Before you

misunderstand the purpose of this little “guide” let’s be clear that it is not a guide to help you buy the best cow or goat. The primary intent is to keep you unscathed during your first experience of a cow market during Qurbani.

Whether or not you are surprised by this, going to Qurbani haat requires certain preparations. And no, it’s not just folding your pants. The pants are the least of your worries (the same may not be true for lungi-clad people). So, without further ado, here are the things that you must be aware of or which you need to be prepared for, before your virgin experience of the ‘gorur haat’ (plus our advice – you are welcome).

It is not an adventureDepending on the circumstances and your

luck, the experience can be anywhere between extremely tiresome and traumatic. It is easy to navigate a make

shift ‘haat’ where a few animals are tied by the road side. But the real ‘haat’ is an utterly different place. This is not stating the obvious. If you have never been to a haat, this is what you will most likely encounter: you will have to walk through a narrow alley, created by rows of cows tied up with their rear turned towards the alley. Never mind the things you step on; there will be more dangerous things coming your way. When you walk down the narrow space in between countless cow bottoms, you will see sellers and customers bringing in big cows or taking them out. Suddenly, there is no place for you to hide other than jamming yourself in between two big cows. You will wish that the dung splattered all over your pants was your main problem.

Do not go without sufficient helpSo, you have this

experienced person who claims to know everything about buying cows. Do not rely on his word and go with just one person. You need

enough people to help you along the way and in case any emergency arises. You will be surprised how many types of emergencies can happen. People have been kicked by cows, rammed by angry bulls, or simply just fainted because of the extreme humid atmosphere in the haat. Inexperienced people tend to think that the stench is a problem. But the smell is nearly unnoticeable compared to the heavy, hot and humid air.

Carry as much drinking water as you canSome haats are arranged in

haaT hacks | LISTOLOgy 5

The do’s and don’ts at Qurbani Haatan (almost) practical guide to buying cow from haatsSaqib Sarker

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Photos: Mahmud Hossain Opu


6 DIgITaL BaNgLaDESh | Online haaTs

Asaduzzaman Khan has been living in Canada for the last 34 years. Last year, his relatives in

Bangladesh wanted him to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with them, but with his busy schedule, he couldn’t make the trip.

However, Khan did one thing: using his credit card, he bought three cows online, to be delivered to his home from amardesh.com. The Bangladeshi e-portal is a component

of the Amar Desh Amar Gram (ADAG) e-commerce initiative of the Future Solution for Business (FSB).

The new trendLike Asaduzzaman, many in the country have started buying sacrificial cattle during Eid-ul-Azha through e-commerce initiatives, since it has proven to be hassle free.

Mahbubul Haque, an employee of a private firm also opts for buying sacrificial cattle through e-commerce

website. “Once it was fun to go to the qurbani haat (cattle market for Eid) with parents. But now with the ever increasing traffic, it’s very hard to move in the city, let alone carry an animal with me. So I opted for buying animals through the e-commerce site”, he said.

Haque said that he has already started looking for sacrificial animals on different websites, including amardesh.com, Bikroy.com, ajkerdeal.com, Kaymu.com

and Bengal Meat website. “As soon as I get a good deal, I will buy an animal”, he said.

Nihad Ferdous, a banker by profession said that he has adopted the habit of buying groceries through Chaldal.com. “It didn’t grow easily - the habit of buying groceries through an e-commerce website because I thought if I can’t judge the product first hand, I will be given bad products. But I was impressed with the products and the service. Now I

don’t go to the market, rather I buy all the things from the website”, he said.

This year Ferdous wanted to take it to the new level by ordering a cow through an e-commerce website. “Last year, one of my friends bought a cow through Bikroy.com and he got a very good deal without facing the hassle of going to any haat. This year, I am going to do it”, he said.

How it worksThe idea of selling sacrificial animals through e-commerce websites didn’t come to the mind of entrepreneurs all of sudden. Rather they thought of it as the need arose.

Sadequa Hassan Sejuti, managing director of FSB, said: “We developed the ADAG e-commerce initiative to cater for non-resident Bangladeshis and also the busy city-dwellers who want to avoid the hassle of going to the qurbani haat.”

The trade for qurbani at amardeshshop.com took off in 2012, as an extension of the existing business of ADAG.

“We started selling different agricultural products through the website in 2009. In 2012, we introduced the online cattle market for Qurbani,” Sejuti said.

amardeshshop.com has “centres” in eight districts across the country – Narsingdi, Tangail, Jamalpur, Kushtia, Mongla, Sirajganj, Rangpur, and Jessore.

“Farmers in those areas can come to our centres and upload information regarding their cows. We have two trained individuals in each centre to help farmers with the process,” Sejuti explained.

Once a prospective customer logs in and has chosen a particular cow, the rest is taken care of by the website – from the moment of purchase till the delivery of the “product.” “The customer only needs to ensure the online financial transaction,” Sejuti said.

The prices are inclusive of service

and bank charges, and range from Tk50,000-100,000. Payment is taken by card, direct bank transfer or bank draft. Sejuti says the company offers home delivery services for the clients at a cost of Tk5,000 on average.

According to Sejuti, the website sold 25 cows last year. “This is not just a mere business that we are doing with the website. We reach the farmers directly and facilitate the process of selling the products without going through middlemen,” she said, adding that five cows have been sold via the website as of October 7.

“Our website now has the pictures and information of 52 cows. Another 70 cows are going to be added to the database,” she said.

Boon for the businessmanThis digital haat on e-commerce websites has proven to be a boon for the entrepreneurs, as well as the seasonal businessmen.

Ishtiaq from Shahjahanpur, Dhaka has put up information on two cows he wants to sell on the website. He said: “I have those cows at my village in Munshiganj, and I’m asking for around Tk70,000 for each cow. With a site like bikroy.com, it has become easier to do business.”

Babul, an electronic goods trader, has posted information about three cows on the website. “I have already received several phone calls from different prospective customers. It’s good business,” he said.

Misha Ali, director of marketing of Bikroy.com said that anyone can register with the website and upload information about their cattle. “In the last few years, we used to cater to the price list of the cattle provided by the users and worked as a marketplace, nothing else. From this year, we have started selling the cattle of our own accord. We will also deliver the cattle to the doorsteps of our customers”, he said.n

Qurbani: e-commerce style

Cartoon: Priyo/Dhaka Tribune

The digital haat has proven to be a boon for entrepreneurs and seasonal businessmenFaisal Mahmud


The sacrificial feast or a re-enactment of Abraham’s promise to God, Eid-ul-Adha arrives in the Muslim

world with its rituals and particular cuisines. From the Bosphorus to the Uighar Muslims of China, tables creak with good food and the feeling of loss, even if momentary, when your animal lays its life to your religious sacrifice. Here’s a peek into some of the customs enjoyed the world over during Eid-ul-Adha.

TurkeyThe two royal camels walked with a certain grace and dignity. A stance befitting the specific task they had been honoured with. A task, that would rank them to the highest legions of camels found anywhere else in the Ottoman Empire. These camels carried the Kisweh or the cloth that covered the Qa’aba Sharif in Mecca and accompanied an entourage from the Sultan’s palace, which were representing their absent monarch at the Hajj. Thus, the Ottoman Empire contributed greatly towards the Muslim pilgrimage annually. Back home swings were set up on every street corner in Istanbul and Qurban Bayrami (the feast of sacrifice) was celebrated with great aplomb all over Anatolia and the capital city. Before the day of Eid-ul-Adha arrived, sheep with their horns covered in gold foil and henna stained fleece were lead to a

square outside the Bayezid Mosque, in Istanbul. They were given unto the care of the children of each household who looked after the animal for slaughter, with love and care. People hastened to each others houses to greet each other while the poor made their rounds collecting meat. And by midday the entire city would be redolent with the wafting aromas from kitchens large and small. From cabbage dolmas, to pilafs (pulao) studded with large chunks of meat, kababs which have been spiced with oregano and a range of salads and a yoghurt soup to wash down the heaviness, made their way to the Bayrami table. To this day, Eid-ul-Adha is celebrated with great fervor in Turkey, a legacy to the past glories of this old culture.

LibyaIn the Bedouin culture of Libya, Eid-ul-Adha is celebrated with the customary morning prayers followed by the men donning on their most run down clothes to slaughter the sacrificial animal. Once the carving starts, a junior member of the family is stationed near the men who takes away the first installment of mat to be cooked: the lungs, liver and kidneys along with the stomach. The four chambered stomach is cleaned out by women, deftly using their henna laden hands while using lime salts to clean the stomach linings. These are then washed and stuffed

The Feast of SacrificeCelebrations across nationsReema Islam

Qurbani TradiTiOns | ORIgIN STORy 7

with fragrant spices and rice that has been mixed with a large assortment of herbs and fresh vegetables, onions, garlic, meat and tomatoes. The food is strategically stuffed into the stomach linings using a syringe or agile fingers and then the skin is sewed up and steamed. The result is Osbaan, one of the most delicious outcomes of this seemingly disgusting body part of the sacrificial animal.

ChinaTen ethnic groups in China, including Hui, Uygur, Dongxiang and Bao’an, celebrate the annual festival of Eid-ul-Adha. The Muslims of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region celebrate the festival a day in advance as the women of a household prepare special Chinese cookies. From peanut cookies to ones with walnuts or almonds, the Muslims give in to the customary sweet tooth culture which is a widespread concept with Muslims worldwide: starting an auspicious day with a bite of something sweet.

UzbekistanThe Uzbekistanis only started celebrating Kurban Hayit (Eid-ul-Adha) as a holiday since 1991 and for both the hayits, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha, the Uzbeks start preparing from the day in advance and prepare kush-tili and bugirsok which are fancy pastry balls, also orama and

chak-chak, fried pastries which are wrapped around an assortment of nuts in sugar. Children get a special treat as toys and roadside snacks only prepared at this time of the year, like wooden and tin rattles, clay whistles and variety of kazinaki (sunflower seeds, peanut and other varieties of seeds and nuts brittles). And then the evening festivities begin with a large dish called kosa that takes over most of the table, serving an aromatic Plov which is much like a pulao, filled with celery stalks, peppercorns, lamb meat and raisins. But the crowning glory of the dish is the whole garlic sitting on top of it. The garlic is roasted for over an hour to make it lose its pungency, leaving it sweet and caramelised, decorating the dish and giving it a regal touch.

BangladeshAs Muslims in Bangladesh prepare to ring in one of our largest celebrated festivals, let us hope the train services are on time and that everyone reaches their villages and ancestral homes to enjoy the biryanis, bhuna mangshos and teharis that will be making their rounds in all households.

A word out to families of the pilgrims who lost their lives in the recent Hajj accident: May their families find the strength to bear this loss. Here’s wishing all readers of Dhaka Tribune Weekend Magazine, Eid Mubarak! n

Photos: Bigstock


8 INTERvIEw | saiful haQue

This year, the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security took place in Jordan. Drawing around

500 participants from around the world, it focused on the critical role of the youth as peacebuilders in conflict-and insecurity-affected parts of the world. The forum will draw attention to young people’s existing contributions to peace, and establish a common plan for supporting these efforts in the future.

The forum participants will appeal for youth involvement in global peace and security to be adopted as one of the United Nations (UN) resolutions at the upcoming UN Summit. Jordan is the current chair of the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, and thus had the leadership to take this forward.

Saiful Haque, founder of MOVE, was the first and only Bangladeshi to have been selected to participate in the Forum. His organisation MOVE teaches Madrasa students about advocacy, how institutions work, about the constitution, about their rights, their responsibility to state and vice versa.

How did you get involved in the Forum?The United Network Of Youth (UNOY) and Washington DC-based Search For Common Ground are co-hosts of the event. They encouraged me to apply as they were looking for a partner and participant from Bangladesh. I got accepted and was asked to speak in a panel titled “Inclusive Security: Role of Young People in Strengthening the Security System.”

What was your contribution to the Forum?My topic was “Youth Engagement in Community Security: the Bangladeshi perspective”. I discussed the Bangladeshi government’s success in counter-terrorism – in controlling and containing religious extremists, and in community policing.

Community policing is a very interesting success model of the Bangladesh government, and I highlighted their process in the panel – how it has helped us address and improve the law and order situation in many cases, and increase engagement of the local people with the police, and vice versa.

Tell us a bit more about this. The community policing project is an initiative of the Bangladeshi police force and the UN Development Programme, and began in 2004. There is a monthly event where local representatives, the youth, and security personnel, sit together to discuss community issues – anything ranging from crime, to human rights, to security issues, to extremism or violence against women – anything!

How has community policing contributed to our society? With community policing, people finally had a shared platform to discuss crimes, and communal issues. People earlier used to be afraid of the police. But this system brought a change in those dynamics – now police themselves approached people, inviting them for the meetings, which takes place once in a month and is called a “Open House Day.”

For every Open House Day, the police invites every community to bring 10 new members to the meeting – and majority of this would be the youth from the community.

A big outcome of this was that since there was high engagement of the youth, the entire dynamics of the discussions changed. This helped

many stigmatised issues come out – for example, when women were shy or afraid of asking a particular question, the younger members would be helpful by being vocal about these issues.

Another issue I discussed was transforming prisons and corrections system. About 40% of Bangladeshi prisoners are youth who have been arrested either on grounds of being part of extremists parties or for petty crimes. By the time they come out of the prison, they have been part of another radicalisation inside the prison – prison radicalization.

Prison radicalization has been recognised globally as a big challenge, but is not a part of the mainstream discussion yet. So I highlighted that, and discussed how we can bring upon reforms for prisoners here.

The youth are the victim because those going into the jails are mostly youth – so we need to save/rescue them. We can work on counseling them and providing them with proper assistance and access.

What’s the way forward? The plan for the participants of the Forum is to come back to each of our countries and launch a countrywide campaign – it could be a dialogue, a conference, anything, involving other youths.

For the time being, on October 11, there will be a peace film festival at Jagannath University – they will be showing movies there with focus on issues of peace, security, and violence. We selected old Dhaka because that is where the violence meets peace – that’s where the violence is, the prison is, and that’s also where the courts are.

The event will be attended by some 500 participants from around the world, Join the conversation and support the peacebuilding efforts of young people at #youth4peace.

- See more at: http://www.unfpa.org/events/global-forum-youth-peace-and-security#sthash.rumhVHwd.dpuf n

A promise for peaceHarnessing the power of the youthSyeda Samira Sadeque

Photo: Courtesy


hand-lOOm indusTry | PhOTO STORy 9

Weaving dreams

The hand-loom is one of the oldest traditional forms of fabric-making crafts in bangladesh. Once upon a time a large number of peoples’ livelihoods were fully dependant upon this unique profession. There were whole villages that comprised entirely of weavers’ communities. The sari, lungi and gamchha have probably been the singularly most popular items in rural Bangladesh due to affordability and comfort. However, with the onset of the power-loom and lack of patronage and financial assistance, the hand-loom industry has taken a severe hit.

This week’s photo story feature weavers at work the Mirpur bihari Camp, Kuakata tribal polli and from sonargaon.

Photos: Sabrina Munni


10 PhOTO STORy | hand-lOOm indusTry


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12 CLIMaTE ChaNgE | climaTe refugees

Our capital city is bursting at the seamsSohara Mehroze Sachi

To the surprise of very few, Dhaka has been ranked as one of the most unlivable cities in the world. Delving

deeper beneath the apparent reasons – overpopulation, pollution, and congestion – reveals a major underlying cause: unsustainable levels of climate induced displacement and migration.

“Climate change acts as a trigger for migration,” says Sheikh Tawhidul Islam, professor of the Environment and Geography Department of Jahangirnagar University. Bangladesh’s low lying coastal areas are highly vulnerable to a rising sea level, storm surges and saltwater logging. At present rates, in just 25 years salt water will ruin farmlands and poison drinking water for over 10 million people.

Cyclones and floods are increasing in intensity and frequency, and so is loss of land due to riverbank erosion. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that 20 million people will be displaced in Bangladesh by 2020 as a result of climate change, which is larger than the cumulative populations of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City. Prolonged droughts are reducing arable land by causing soil erosion and damaging crops dependent on predictable patterns of monsoon. These push factors are forcing many people to seek refuge elsewhere; and with its lure of economic opportunities and an apparent better standard of living, the capital Dhaka seems to be the obvious choice.

However, Dhaka is far from being the Promised Land for climate

refugees. Over 500,000 people migrate to this already overcrowded city each year, which has less than 1% of the country’s land. Given the burgeoning population and land scarcity, Dhaka’s property prices and rent continues to sky rocket and are comparable to New York and London’s real estate prices, as found by a World Bank study. Most climate refugees come from humble financial backgrounds and inevitably resort to affordable but crammed and substandard squatter settlements, known as bosti.

Bosti dwellers, 70 per cent of whom are climate refugees according to the International Orgainsation for Migration, are the most vulnerable to impacts of climate change in this flood prone city. These low lying favelas rarely have electricity, gas,

water and sanitation facilities, and waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and typhoid are widespread. Currently around 40 per cent of Dhaka’s population lives in slums, their flimsy abodes often blown away by storms or washed away by floods. As unearthed by a mapping and census of slums by Dhaka’s Center for Urban Studies, a majority of Dhaka’s bostis are prone to frequent flooding and waterlogging - a cruel Déjà vu for climate refugees.

The plight of these squatter settlers does not end once they step out of slums. Most of these migrants, who used to be farmers, find their skills unusable in the city and end up doing low skill work with little job security. “It’s very hard work for little money,” says Rahmat Ali, a resident of Dhaka’s biggest

Dhaka – a city on the brink of a climate refugee crisis

Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain


13

slum Korail, who moved here after saltwater logged his farmland and currently works as a rickshaw puller, “But there are few options for the likes of us.” His case is representative of many migrants whose low income and poor asset base translates to low resilience to climatic events. “More and more [displaced families] are arriving here every day from villages,” accounts Ali, pointing to the alarming trend.

With ubiquitous bostis and climate refugees dominating the cityscape, better off Dhaka residents are becoming increasingly desensitised and apathetic to the plight of these slum dwellers and accepting it as the norm. Similarly, just as many weary readers are becoming desensitised to dreary statistics, such as a third of Bangladesh will be submerged due to rising sea levels by 2050.

This apathy towards climate refugees is also prevailing in the country’s policy sphere. “People are migrating to cities because the nation is not responding to their risks,” says Dr. Aminul Islam, member of the National Displacement Strategy Working Group under the Ministry of Disaster Management. While the Bangladesh government has taken commendable measures for climate change adaptation, it has not yet prescribed any adaptation programmes

specifically addressing climate induced internal displacement. “The country needs a long term vision for reducing displacement,” Dr. Islam says, stating that the provision for climate resilient habitat, livelihood opportunities and civil facilities for the vulnerable will reduce incentives to migrate.

“We often treat the symptoms rather than the causes,” said Professor Sheikh Tawhidul Islam, adding that the climate change vulnerability drivers need to be addressed. In order to reduce the incidence of climate change induced migration in the first place, the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities needs to be improved. This includes measures such as strengthening coastal embankments to minimise risks of flooding, disbursement of drought and salinity resistant seeds to farmers, rainwater harvesting as well as strengthening farmers’ asset base and improving access to climate related information.

In the long term, adaptation efforts by developing countries such as Bangladesh can only go so far without mitigation efforts by the major carbon emitting nations to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and move towards a green economy. The world’s leaders will congregate in Paris this year with the hope of attaining a universal,

binding agreement for combating climate change. However, as formal negotiations in Bonn ahead of COP 21 indicated, the emission cuts that will be agreed in Paris will not be enough to reach the objective. In this context, the next best alternative is agreement on establishing a five-yearly “review and improve” process with the commitment of scaling up gradually, making climate targets more ambitious over time and catching up with the pace of climate change.

Regardless of what naysayers believe, climate change is not

something that affects only polar bears, nor is it a problem for future generations. As the case of Dhaka illustrates, the threat of climate change and the plight of climate refugees are real. The fate of this megacity on the brink of collapse depends on the Bangladesh government implementing climate adaptive strategies and the international community championing short term mitigation and long term goals of fossil fuel elimination. Failure to act now will make Dhaka’s case a precursor for a global climate catastrophe. n

Photos: Mahmud Hossain Opu


14 FOCuS | urban saniTaTiOn

In the last couple of months, Dhaka city has been plagued by waterlogging after heavy bouts of rainfall. Since the city’s

drainage and sanitation system is overlooked by the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and both the North and South City Corporations, the authorities have gotten involved in a blame game, with each official body handing the responsibility for the mismanagement over to the other. In the mean time, the city has suffered heavily from flooding and traffic congestion.

According to WASA sources, the existing drainage system is not enough to handle the sudden increase in rainwater on the streets, and the system requires at least a 40 per cent expansion. On top of that, the available drainage system is clogged with waste which needs to be cleaned up regularly. But who is responsible for doing this, and what do they think should be done differently?

Just Another Day for a WASA Cleaner18 year old, Shakibul Ahmed has been cleaning the drains of Dhaka since he was around 15. He learnt his trade from his father, who was employed by WASA to do this job, and took his place once he retired. He never went to school and never expects to, and only wants the security of a government job to get him through his days.

When asked about the nature of his job, Ahmed said, “I mostly have to dislodge waste from the open drains and clear pipelines. We are given certain tools to do this, such as rakes, shovels, buckets and so on. Sometimes we have to go down into the manholes, when we are given more protective gear and ropes to lower us down.”

Ahmed usually works in a team, and he is satisfied with the sort of support he gets while doing his work. He admits there are certain dangers involved, especially when going down into the sewerage system.

“You have to know what you are up against. I usually just go down and immediately start to clean up all the mud and waste. I know someone who lit a cigarette down there once. There’s a lot of gas in the sewerage system, and he was burnt badly.”

What’s Taking So Long? Ahmed thinks the archaic complaint system at WASA is the reason why the drains are never unclogged in time. According to Ahmed, he and his colleagues are only sent to clean clogged drains when someone in the area has lodged a complaint with the office. Sometimes, this can take weeks to process.

Rajon Ali, who now works as a cleaner in government buildings but spent many years before that cleaning the streets of Dhaka, echoes Ahmed in criticising the complaint system. He also adds, “WASA and the City Corporations are terrible at coordinating their cleaning efforts with each other. Sometimes it takes weeks, even months, to clean up the

sewerage system.”However, the clogged drains

are only a small part of the larger problem. According to Ali, even if it was cleaned on time by WASA, they are mostly responsible for larger open drain canals and pipelines. The City Corporations operate on smaller underground and surface drains, most of which are very poorly maintained and blocked with mud. Most importantly, the ponds and canals of Dhaka are constantly being filled up, and even with a little bit of rainfall, the water has nowhere to drain away to.

Dirty Inhabitants Dreaming of a Clean CityAlthough the officials are to be blamed for their mismanagement of the system, as well as their delay in coming to constructive solutions, Ahmed and Ali both agree that the residents of the city make their work much more difficult.

“Everyone litters, and all the time,” says Ali with exasperation. “Shopkeepers throw out their waste into the drains, people from building blocks dump their kitchen waste, pedestrians are constantly dropping in stuff while they walk by. Every time we clean up one clog, another one appears.”

The trash in the drains mostly consist of food waste, but also plastic, clothes, household items, and even pieces of wood and furnishings are seen every now and then. Although polythene is banned, people use poly bags that end up in drains and create blocks as well.

“I know that we don’t have a proper rubbish disposal system, but that doesn’t mean people have to keep dropping things down drains. When local residents come in with a complaint and we are actually sent in to clean, we tell them to stop littering, but no one listens,” says Ahmed.

“This city has a lot of rubbish, and we do our best to clean it, but we can’t help you if you won’t help yourselves,” adds Ali. n

Keeping our streets cleana day in the life of a Wasa cleanerShuprova Tasneem

Photo: Bigstock


When Dr Jogishwar Singh, the prudent and elegant managing director of the

South Asia and Middle East wing of Edmond de Rothschild Group came on stage to deliver his speech, he brought with him a paper as big as a drawing sheet.

He spread that sheet in front of the audience. There was a family tree, a massive one. Dr Singh pointed to the bottom right corner of the tree and said, “You see the name-Edmond de Rothschild here at the bottom. He is the sixth generation of a family known for their business across the worldwide. I think it’s pretty much said a lot about our reputation as a business group.”

“We value family like nothing else. We believe in family business and relationships”, said Dr Singh.

This is the truth. Anyone who was present at the Grand Ballroom of Le Meridian in the capital on September 10 would tell you that they lost count of the mentions of the word “family”.

It was a plenary session among the Bangladeshi young entrepreneurs and the Edmond de Rothschild Group delegation comprised of two managing directors-Dr Singh and Julien Pitton, managing director of Corporate Finance section of the group.

“Hopefully, Bangladesh’s family-run businessEes and their peers in Europe will be able to connect to each other and benefit. Our aim is to create a sustainable link between them thorough this session”, Dr Singh mentioned about the group’s intention in coming to Bangladesh.

Enriching family businessEdmond De Rothschild group’s visit to Bangladesh was facilitated by Dr Gawher Rizvy, Foreign Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the City Bank Group of Bangladesh.

Dr Rizvi had been participating in the Bangladesh Investment Summit organised by the City Bank Group in Singapore for the last three years. At the summit, he met a delegation of the Edmond De Rothschild group and invited them to come to Bangladesh to see business and investment prospects here.

“Given the stability, given our liberal, secular condition, I told them that you all can come here and make investments,” said Rizvi, adding that Bangladesh now has stability and policy continuity.

Julien Pitton, the corporate finance MD of the Rothschild Group said that the group’s businesses were very Europe centric. “But we believe that Asia is the next emerging

market. So we planned to break our barrier and come here”, he said.

Bangladesh as a potential destinationDr Jogishwar Singh said that the group is very selective about expanding its business. We have our own list and that list has marked 46 countries where we will not expand business even if there are a billion dollar potential, he said.

“Bangladesh has a steady economic growth and all the economic indicators

Edmond de Rothschild’s EmpireTrade secrets of the family businessFaisal Mahmud

inTernaTiOnal business | FOCuS 15

The Rothschild EmpireThe Geneva based Edmond de Rothschild group was established by Baron Edmond De Rothschild of the non-winemaking branch of the French Rothschild family in 1953. Since 1997, the group has been managed by the late Baron’s son Benjamin De Rothschild.

Edmond De Rothschild was the sixth generation of the famous Rothschild banking family descending from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, a court Jew to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel, in the Free City of Frankfurt, who established his banking business in the 1760s.

During the 19th century, when

it was at its height, the Rothschild family is believed by some to have possessed the largest private fortune in the world, as well as the largest private fortune in modern world history.

The family’s wealth is believed to have subsequently declined, as it was divided amongst hundreds of descendants. Still, the businesses of the descendents encompass a diverse range of fields, including financial services, real estate, mining, energy, mixed farming, wine and charities.

Edmond De Rothschild now has activities in the private banking sector, real estate sector, consultancy service, brokering and insurance.

tell us that this is a good country to expand our business. So we have come here”, he said.

As a high ranking official of the family-owned European banking group, he has expressed willingness to help Bangladesh’s family-run businesses to connect with enterprises abroad to expand their footprint internationally as well as attract investors.

He, however, mentioned that instead of direct investments, they will work in collaboration with reputed family-oriented business corporations of Bangladesh.

What’s in it for us?“Our group is run by the sixth generation of a family. We value family business and we maintain very good relationships with our clientele,” Dr Singh said, adding that the quality of network that the group possesses could be used by the business organisations in Bangladesh.

He said that by collaborating with them, the business houses in Bangladesh will be able to avail diversified international opportunities.

“If you are looking to acquire, merge or sell your companies, we can provide you a wide avenue to meet a large pool of able clientele with whom we have maintained very personal relationships,” he said.

“Hopefully, Bangladesh’s family-run businesses and their peers in Europe will be able to connect to each other and benefit. Our aim is to create a sustainable link between them,”, he added. n

Photo: Courtesy


16 RaNT | adulT life

It was an uneventful Friday night and I was making my way back home. I decided I’d ask my friend Saef to come over. I got

him on the phone and he sounded nervous. “I don’t know man. By the time I finish dinner it’ll be around 10, and my Mom will get worried and ask me a million questions.”

I replied in what I can only describe as heartbroken stuttering, “But…but Saef…….you’re 32!”

On a similar note, I was recently having post-dinner coffee with a guy called Jorge at the Westin snack bar.

He said, “It’s 11 pm. Your parents must be wondering where you are.”

“Oh. I don’t live with them. I live with my housemate Anya in Baridhara.”

He looked genuinely astounded. “Why do you live separately?”

I looked at him, probably visibly irritated, and answered, “Because I’m 32.”

“Wow!” he replied. “That’s so amazing!” The way he was talking, you would have thought I’d told him I discovered a vaccine for cancer.

I moved back to Dhaka in 2007 after finishing university and briefly working in Canada. Initially I did live with my mother and sister, and of

course it was immensely luxurious. Everything was taken care of for me. I was having three meals a day, none of which I had any hand in preparing. Any clothes I wore were washed, ironed and put in my closet the next day. The only financial contribution I was making was paying the apartment’s service charge.

The thing was, having everything done for me made me feel like I was “dumbing down”. I didn’t feel like the same person who had found a job in a different province in Canada and moved there all by himself. Even at the age of 25, I had to answer and explain everything – starting from staying out late or using the car, to more important things such as career choices. The sentence “This is my place and I say how things go and if you don’t like it you can leave” was shouted many times. So one day I snapped and I did leave.

Moving out was something I was considering once I was making enough money for it to be a possibility. I found a room on a roof, or what’s adorably called a chilekotha in Bengali, in DOHS Baridhara. The landlord was very kind and didn’t have a problem with me painting the walls red. It may not

have been much, but this was my place and I was excited!

I, however, seem to be a minority in this. There are so many bachelors in their late twenties, thirties – hell, even in their forties – who still live with Ammu and Abbu. They try to make it sound ultra cool by saying they have their “own wing” or live on a “separate level” of the house, but come dinner time the bua appears without fail with the evening’s chapatis and aloo dum. That doesn’t exactly sound like the cool, swinging bachelor life they’re trying to portray. In fact, it’s more akin to dinner being sent to the teenage son’s bedroom.

One can argue that landlords are unwilling to rent out apartments to single men. That’s true – if you’re looking for a fancy place in an upmarket neighbourhood. I had colleagues, young professionals like myself, who lived in Suvastu Tower in Badda. It’s a far cry from the Ritz Carlton, but everyone has to start somewhere. If the Suvastu Towers just won’t do, one can always go down the roommate route. With Facebook groups and other social media outlets at our disposal, it’s now easier than ever for both

32 is the new 15Making it on your ownNasr Dastgir

sexes to get the word out and find a roommate, even in the Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara golden triangle.

It’s not just single young adults who are hesitant; married couples don’t seem to want to strike out on their own either. It’s still alarmingly common for newlyweds to move in with the groom’s family, if not the same apartment, then into an apartment in the same building. In both scenarios, the codependent set-up between child and parent is still in place and the former’s teenage-like proclivities are likely to persist. I for one was a bad-tempered terror when I lived with my family. It was only when I moved out and had to deal with electrical problems and disrespectful neighbours that I realised I couldn’t lose my cool over every little thing.

If I’m not mistaken, marriage is the ideal time to leave the nest and take steps to establish your own set-up - with the idea that eventually you’ll have junior versions of yourselves running around the place. I know it’s traditional for couples to live with the groom’s family after marriage, but when we’re so quick to embrace Western fashion, technology and entertainment, why not adopt some of their practices?

The way I see it, it’s beneficial for everyone if you put some distance between yourself and your family. Moving out greatly improved my relationship with my parents. They started taking me seriously and now, for the most part, treat me like an adult. With the orders and ultimatums out of the way, our relationship has changed to a kind of friendship, where we can laugh together and actually share things. It’s when you have that space that you make the conscious decision to come together.

So why do I feel so strongly about having your own space and doing your own thing? Because it’s an essential part of growing up. You’re meant to make your own mistakes without the comfort of having someone rescue you. There’s nothing more liberating and rewarding than taking ownership of your choices and not having to explain them. Eventually you might find someone who will take on both the mundane and thrilling hurdles of life with you. Until then, you’re meant to be on your own – and that’s okay. This is the real world - and the real fun starts here. n

Cartoon: Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy


Who’s the real villain?Naveed Chowdhury

Ant Brain

Before you start reading, I’ll just preface this rant by saying, that I did enjoy Ant-Man. It had

the makings of the standard Marvel Summer Blockbuster, with the cheesy one liners, comically bad villains, and Stan Lee. While it was no Oscar winner, this is not a review of whether I enjoyed Ant-Man or not. This is not a review of plot holes either, since Ant-Man has more of those than your grandmother’s colander. This is a meta analysis on why Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, played by Michael Douglas, is

actually the villain in the film, and causes more damage than Darren Cross (played by Corey Stall) ever has the chance to.

Hank Pym invented the original miniaturisation technology utilised by the Ant-Man suit, and used it to fight Nazis. He’s our Howard Stark in this scenario, having invented a formula that scientists have been trying years to replicate, and we’re brought to the current world where Darren Cross is desperately trying to replicate the miniaturisation technology, for it’s Military Applications. Straight off

the bat, I can tell you that Darren Cross is not the good guy here. He is, for all intents and purposes, a scumbag. Hank Pym wants to see a demonstration of what Cross is trying to do, and immediately decides that this technology must be destroyed, despite him having founded the company this was built in, and him having used it decades earlier. He continues on his zealous endeavour to destroy Pym Tech, eventually he does. All copies of the suit are lost, including backups, and Pym Tech is sent back to the stone age.

Lets look at the applications of this technology. It makes things smaller. Anyone wearing it would become smaller, also his ninja throwing star things make whatever they hit, smaller. The applications for this are unfathomable. Have you never wanted to be small enough so you can just treat your own room as a giant playground? This technology would allow doctors to travel inside their patients and see what’s wrong. It would let firemen and police miniaturise themselves and travel inside rubble and debris to look for survivors. Space exploration? Easy! We would be sending rockets the size of cucumbers into space, and making them bigger once they’re out. Deep sea exploration? Actually this won’t help it in any way when I can think of it, but lets put a pin on that. You can miniaturise crops, and grow an entire city’s worth of food in one building.

You can solve world hunger, stop deforestation, and maybe even end global warming.

If Hank kept control of his company, he’d usher the Earth into a new era of wonder. He could monetise his technology and use it “only” for good purposes. Sure, there would be military application, but if your enemy has them, and you have them, the playing field is even. Unable to accept this, he instead tries to stop progress, and if there’s one thing we know, you cannot stop progress. Now imagine if Niels Bohr decided to withhold his research on fission, and we never had nuclear energy? Instead of a source of clean energy, we’d be burning coal. There would be no nuclear medicine, nuclear imaging, or any of the thousand different things we invented while doing nuclear research. Since there is no threat of mutually assured destruction from a nuclear winter anymore, Russia would invade everybody. All things considered, nuclear technology has saved a far, far greater number of lives than it took.

Instead of helping the world with mind shatteringly awesome technology, he decides to sabotage the man trying to make sure that the world knows about it. Shame on you, Pym. I’ll take my money to Tony Sta…Ah forget it. Marvel can contact me when they decide to take this writing thing seriously. n

mOvie science | gEEkOuT 17


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 Bread and tea for Patrick and me (7)4 Length and vintage of outdoor space (7) 6 Her malt transformation to do with heat (7)7 English, your old after 50, going on a bit (7)

DOWN1 Weep last about rock (7)2 Eager for reassignment, give it the nod (5)3 In a perfect world I would be last friend (7)5 Allow entry and confess (5)

Last

wee

k’s

solu

tion

s

aCROss1 Take ages, like a mythical beast (6)6 Aviator, one of the geometry crew? (5)7 French road between 100 and 50 is nasty (5) 8 Located in America, or gone travelling (6)

DOwN2 Delight at new pure rat (7)3 Astronomer sees girl and a lion (7)4 Sign says no rocks (6)5 Sticky cloth made from clover (6)

Clues

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

Mini crypticsStories of Riot – collection of stories translated by Jafar Alam

Jafar Alam has been translating Urdu literature since the 70s. This book is a collection of stories written

by Hindi and Urdu writers on the riots as a result of the partition of India in 1947. India and the newly formed Pakistan were devastated by the communal riots that sprang up at the time of partition.

Millions of people were forced to leave the land of their ancestors and move to other side of the new borders. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children lost their lives, and unknown numbers of women were abused and raped. A huge number of people became refugees. Two of the most affected communities were the Sikhs and the Muslims of Punjab. 10 million people became refugees just from this area.

This catastrophic event shook up the people of the region. Many writers were deeply affected by the human tragedies. As a result a number of writers of Hindi and Urdu produced some of the most powerful literature in the Indian subcontinent.

Legendary Urdu writers like Krishan Chandar, Khaja Ahmad Abbas, and many others heart wrenching literary pieces of the human struggles have been witnessed. Jafar Alam compiled

some of the most poignant short stories written by these influential writers.

There are fourteen stories in the book by the following authors: Rajendra Sing Bedi, Ahmad Nadim Kasmi, Khaja Ahmad Abbas, Krishan Chandar, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chugtai, Kurratul Ain Haidar, Kudratullah Shahab, and Ram Lal.

Not surprisingly Jafar Alam chose to include four stories by Manto, who is perhaps the most well known short story writer in the Urdu language.

The stories tell the tragedies of

losing loved ones, and getting them back as broken people. The stories show the power of loss and power of love. The authors also show the awesome power of intolerance and hatred. The trauma and misfortune endured by the victims of India partition is vividly painted by the powerful pens of these writers.

In the book Jafar Alam occasionally used original Hindi/Urdu phrases and provided translation in brackets. This will probably have the desired effect only on readers who understand basic Urdu. But Alam’s translation is a joy to read and very spontaneous, almost always unencumbered by hard to read expressions, which is no mean feat in translation work.

Jafar Alam has an impressive resume as a journalist and government officer. But his career as a writer will be remembered the most, as Professor Anisuzzaman wrote in the foreword for the book: “he has earned a permanent place in our translation literature.” Alam has authored 24 books, including original and translation work.

The copy of the book being reviewed is the first edition. It was published in 2012 by Mohammad Abdul High, Director of Language, Literature, Culture, and Magazine Department of Bangla Academy. n

Saqib Sarker


gO OuT 19

When 9:30am-5pmWhere Fujifilm Experience Zone, Plot 21, Road 13, Block-G, NiketanWhat Fujifilm and Wedding Diary Bangladesh presents One Day Exclusive Wedding Cinematography Workshop. Pros and cons about using lights,

shades in a wedding will be taught in this workshop.

Seats are limited. Registration fee is Tk1000 only for this certification workshop.For registration and queries, contact: 01973338889. n

Weekly Planner Sep 19Workshop | Become a PioneerWhen 10:30am-05:30pmWhere EMK Center, House 5, Road 16 (New), 27 (Old), 9th Floor, Midas Centre, DhanmondiWhat Social change through leadership and volunteerism, is the focus of the workshop, organized by It’s Humanity Foundation. It is supported by EMK Center and Don Sumdany Facilitation and Consultancy. The goal of the event is to build up the mentality to become an enlightened citizen who could work as a change maker of the society by taking positive steps.

The participants will get the chance to build and enrich their skills on leadership and volunteering. They will get the chance to work with It’s Humanity Foundation (IHF) in the long term projects. The enthusiastic heads will get the platform to explore their abilities on social changes.

Registration fee is Tk1000 for this Certificate course. Lunch and snacks will be provided.

For Registration, contact: 01737824287, 01759988791.

Sep 19Cinema | Adda with Chico Kfouri (Brasil) + ScreeningWhen 11:30am-8pmWhere Pathshala Cinema Department, House 58, Road 15/A (New), Dhanmondi R/AWhat Pathshala Cinema Department is arranging a film screening segment and a productive adda session with Chico Kfouri from Brasil, about making TV commercials, cinema appreciation and much more.

Chico Kfouri is a Brazilian producer cum cinematographer. He produced and worked in 300+ TV commercials before switching to cinematography career. Adda with him includes introduction of Chico Kfouri, career challenge: What makes a better crew, tea break, screening of selected TV commercials, relation between TVC and film industry in Brazil and a Q&A session.

It is open for all. You can register for free. For free registration, visit: http://goo.gl/forms/XrVZetTW7T

Sep 19Music | EMK Happy Hour: A Journey of BeatsWhen 3-8pm (Sundays closed)Where EMK Center, House 5, Road 16 (New) 27 (Old), 9th Floor, Midas

Centre, Dhanmondi R/AWhat Rhythm! Something that flows within us in every heartbeat. Our body is a wonderful percussion instrument beating the beats of life. Join and feel the rhythmic percussive beat of life and wander, lost in a trance by the solo tabla recital by young and energetic tabla player Mir Naqibul Islam and Tamnia Islam on harmonium. Resonate with the beats of life. Feel the tempo, be the rhythm.

Ticket is Tk100 only. They will be available at EMK Center, before the event starts.

Sep 19-21Exhibition | Jewellery & Boutique ExhibitionWhen 10am-8pmWhere Women’s Voluntary Association (WVA), House 20, Road 27, DhanmondiWhat jatra.com is going to organise a three-day exhibition, where exclusive jewellery, salwar kameez, party wear, pakistani wear, sharees, cosmetics, fashion accessories, foot wear, jute products will be available.

For more information, please contact: 01957981863

Sep 20Cinema | EMK Cinema Nights: The Pursuit of HappinessWhen 6-9pmWhere EMK Center, House 5, Road 16 (New) 27 (Old), 9th Floor, Midas Centre, DhanmondiWhat EMK Center welcomes you to the screening of The Pursuit of Happiness, under EMK Cinema Night series.

The film is inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5-year-old son Christopher. Evicted from their apartment, he and his young son find themselves alone with no place to go. Even though Chris eventually lands a job as an intern at a prestigious brokerage firm, the position pays no money. The pair must live in shelters and endure many hardships, but Chris refuses to give in to despair as he struggles to create a better life for himself and his son.The film was written by Steve Conrad, directed by Gabriele Muccino as Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith starred in it.

Entry is free, but for pre-registration, visit: goo.gl/DtoXyN

Sep 19Concert | Life is Sweet!

Sep 18Workshop | Fujifilm and Wedding Diary presents: One day exclusive wedding cinematography

When 11:30am-10:30 pmWhere Coentro, Areeb Tower, 48 Progoti Sarani, BaridharaWhat Life is Sweet is a fund raising event, where you will be able to enjoy tasty cupcakes along with entertainment and good music. If you have a sweet tooth and a kind heart, this event is just the right place for you. We will have delicious cupcakes which will be contributed by good online bakeries. The amount of money that will be collected from the sold entry tickets and cupcakes, will be donated to our Poverty Fighter Foundation, for the betterment of the underprivileged

Entertainers and musicians will be Rafael and Friends, Project Neel, Old School (Mobassher Chowdhury), AvoidRafa (Raef Al Hasan Rafa), Comedian Naveed Mahbub and Mosharaf Yafi.

Online Bakery Partners are Lamia Salim, The Flourist, Anika’s Basket, Kitchen Creation, Punizz Kitchen, Tasty Treats and Sugar Daddy.

Entry ticket price is Tk200, and will be available from September 18, in Coentro. Tickets will also be sold at the entry gate, during the event date. n


After the hullaballoo of the wedding was finally over, I realised how united my in-laws and

extended family actually are. They’re so close-knit, that The Husband and I never got to travel on a trip by ourselves. After the wedding, instead of escaping to an island somewhere for some alone time, a big trip was planned which including most of the family and some friends (with their families).

The destination of choice was The Sundarbans, the vast amalgamation of mangrove trees, crocodiles and home to the Royal Bengal Tiger. The transport of choice was a small cruise ship, which we boarded from Dhaka and made our way down south. This was in the middle of summer and we thought we’d be barbequed by the time we reached, but the weather was surprisingly pleasant and windy. Among the ship’s guests, it was heavily pregnant me and The Husband’s seventy year old granny who got the most attention (and concern). But I had checked with the doctor before I left, and she said it was absolutely okay as long as I was cautious and didn’t exert myself too much.

Being the strong-headed women we are, neither granny nor I paid heed to the showers of “don’t do this, don’t do that” and went about doing our own things. The day after we reached, after a sumptuous breakfast, we headed to the forest and trail that would lead us to Kotka beach. It was a five kilometer trek, to and fro, riddled with knee-high sea water and all sorts of fauna. I dressed comfortably in a scarf, sunglasses, t-shirt and slacks, and granny in her cotton saree, and with the rest of the clan we made our way to the beach. Nothing drastic happened along the way, but the sights were beautiful.

20 ThE BONg MOMMa | Tales frOm a firsT-Time mOm

There were birds calling in the trees, balmy sunlight all around, as we waded through the water on the forest floor.

We reached Kotka beach, but since the tide was high at that time, there wasn’t much of a beach to frolic on. So we posed for pictures and took a snack break. Sitting on a broken tree branch, I was particularly hungry at this point, so while reaching for a packet of my favourite Ring Chips, I heard an extremely unfamiliar snort. I turned around slowly to see a large, black, wild boar sniffing at our bag of chips. With a jump that would have put any gymnast to shame, I ran from the spot.

Hiding chuckles, the guide who was with us gently shooed away the boar, but by then the criminal had already consumed all our chips. More angry than afraid, I mentally threw curses at the boar. And by curses I mean large, cauldron-sized amounts of Petrificus Totalus!

When we returned to the ship, a feast awaited us, full of freshly caught fish from the sea. I had probably gained most of my weight on this trip! The food was absolutely delicious. If I ever went back, the food would definitely be a big reason. After dinner, everyone either lounged on the deck with cups of tea, or played carrom in the dining room. One family had brought a deck of UNO and I have to tell you, we played enough UNO to last us a lifetime.

The Husband was particularly chatty on this trip, I would find him absent on several occasions, and he would be heard chit-chatting with the ship’s captain. For the outsider, this would seem normal, a man being friendly during vacation. But no, knowing The Husband, he was probably trying to chat up and sweet talk the captain into letting

him control the ship! The Husband thinks of himself as an adventurer of sorts and like the character Barney of TV’s “How I Met Your Mother”, everything is a “Challenge accepted!”

The cabins had double-decker beds, which I found really vintage and authentic; and tiny fans to beat the heat. For me the nights were particularly uncomfortable, because the wind wouldn’t enter the cabins, and the fans wouldn’t always run because electricity came from a generator on the ship which they turned off after a certain time at night.

The next day we went on a shorter trek in search of deer and possibly, a tiger. The guides carried rifles with them, and instructed us on safety measures. We saw many deer, playing hide and seek with us, as we approached them. We never really ended up seeing a tiger, but we did come really close, we spotted pug marks and more importantly, tiger poo!

The second day ended with a visit to the guides’ offices, and dinner on the ship. Since it was our last night, dinner was special and the ship’s crew had prepared fresh

sea fish and shrimp, along with the regular items. The Husband and I spent time together on the deck; it was completely dark except for the lights coming from the cabins. We took in the sounds as the cool breeze blew against us. The low drone of the engine as it slowly shut down for the night. Muffled voices wafted from the captain’s room upstairs and the cabins. There was a laugh or a cough, but mostly it was silence - sweet, thick and welcoming. I nestled in closer to The Husband and fell asleep.

We were to return to Dhaka the next day, and the feeling for me was bittersweet. It was a wonderful three days, getting to know everyone on another level and taking in the sights. I still remember the clear, bright blue sky, strewn with white cotton candy clouds, the ship cutting through the dark water, with mangrove trees beckoning from each side. A sleepy crocodile nestled in the mud, daring us to get closer. The sunsets were the most beautiful - peachy skies dimpled with shades of purple and that bright burnt orange sun, heavily sinking into the horizon. Absolutely breathtaking! n

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

Mangroves and CrocodilesThe bong Momma goes on a ‘wild’ honeymoon Minu Ahmed

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Weekend Tribune Vol 3 Issue 22