Fahmim Ferdous

Buddhadeb Dasgupta is one of the brightest names in Bengali cinema today. Winner of multiple national and international awards for films like “Bagh Bahadur”, “Tahader Kotha”, “Charachar”, “Uttara” and “Kalpurush”, he is also a highly-regarded poet. The director spoke to The Daily Star during a recent visit to Dhaka.

Despite repeated calls by animal rights groups to not relocate stray dogs of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh’s instructions to relocate canines have been carried out over the last two days.

Despite repeated calls by animal rights groups to not relocate stray dogs of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh’s instructions to relocate canines have been carried out over the last two days.

If one can even remember a time before the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the most familiar scenes on the streets of Dhaka were people gathered around tea stalls – snacking, smoking and chatting with friends, colleagues or even total strangers. And almost inevitably around every such gathering would be a friendly canine face or two, waiting eagerly for a kind soul to throw a piece of cookie or cake.

Ever since the Malaysian authorities imposed a stringent lockdown in the country in March, Asif Rahman had been counting down the days in his small Kuala Lumpur apartment till when he could reunite with his family in Bogura.

From a young age, he believed in helping people in whatever way he could. Whether it was staging protests for the causes he believed in, saving lives of people trapped in building collapses, or rescuing stray animals in distress, he believed in acting upon his beliefs.

While the launch of a circular bus service -- that promises convenient short-distance commutes around Dhanmondi and nearby areas -- has generated excitement among many citizens of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), they might have to hold their horses for just a little longer.

His would not be an ordinary life. The year was 1952, and the movement demanding Bangla as a state language of erstwhile East