The final story
There lives a storyteller inside every mind. The stories that we create and tell ourselves, about ourselves, help us make sense of our constantly shifting identities and experiences, and justify our being who we are and doing what we do.
23 November 2017, 18:00 PM
Unjoking the jokes for a very serious nation
Bangladesh is the name of a serious nation. I could say “dull” but that would be a misnomer. We are not dull because sometimes we're capable of demonstrating a perfect understanding of the importance of not being dull. We know a
17 November 2017, 18:00 PM
Professor Anisuzzaman: The man and the academic
Few intellectuals can claim to have reached their full potential in their life. Great names are formed by great events. This is also true
12 November 2017, 18:00 PM
Airports and our flight of fancy
Bangladesh seems to be in two minds when it comes to sorting out its priorities with regard to airports. On the one hand, there is the lucrative prospect of having new airports.
2 November 2017, 18:10 PM
Living dangerously
There are times when I feel as though I'm living in a lunatic asylum where sanity is an expensive commodity. And common sense is not only not common, it is an aberration. I keep getting this strange feeling especially when I'm on the road.
21 October 2017, 18:10 PM
I'm my own prisoner
I think those see-no-evil, hear-no-evil public intellectuals who still believe the media is enjoying broad freedom in Bangladesh should try to explore the causes that are leading to self-censorship.
13 October 2017, 18:00 PM
Madrasa students and the myth of incompatibility
Not so long ago, I wrote a piece about the misconceptions and cultural othering that madrasa students are subjected to and why it is important to accept diversity. After it was published, there were mixed reactions.
26 September 2017, 18:00 PM
Tribute to Rupa (or someone like her)
“We will remain unwritten through history, no X will mark us on the map; but in books of prose and poetry, you loved me once, in a paragraph.”
11 September 2017, 18:00 PM
Dream, drama, and a decaying city
I wake up to an unusual silence. Or so it seems as I slowly open my eyes. A gentle breeze comes along through the unlocked windowpane.
24 August 2017, 18:00 PM
A loyalist's guide to Section 57
Subodh is a young dissident who refuses to accept things as they are, and is running because his refusal—or defiance—makes him vulnerable. But what if Subodh didn't have to run away?
13 August 2017, 18:00 PM
Confessions of a madrasah student
You can't help it. You see us from afar—our messy beard, unkempt appearance, the distinct attire that sets us apart from others.
16 July 2017, 18:00 PM
Of rats and rains
Nature, contrary to popular belief, does not work in mysterious ways. Conventional wisdom acquired over centuries as well as the rise of technology have made it possible for us to foresee changes about to occur in the natural world. It's human nature that seems mysterious to me. And the fact that we often tend to ignore the consequences of our own action makes us very dangerous, too.
6 July 2017, 18:00 PM