RBR

Most Dhakaites have a sweet tooth. We just cannot do without a sweet end to our meals, be it licking your fingers on Kashmiri mango achar, tomato chutney, or slurping up the daal (lentil soup) mixed with sweet, jujube and tamarind pickle.

Nawajesh Salahin Sunny’s fame was sitting at his factory in a zen-like state of mind amidst scattered wooden planks and huge containers. His craftsmen noisily worked all over the place; while he supervised the work being done to give the factory a showroom-like facelift.

Two-thirds of the Holy Month is over, and food prices are at an all-time high. Despite strict surveillance by magistrates to control price hikes and adulteration of food, this Ramadan, like always, traders are doing everything against the law.

Night-time shopping has a certain charm to it, almost a like starry-eyed rebellion. Come Ramadan, staying out late into the wee hours has almost become a trend for Dhakaites.

Dhaka North’s newest venture is painting murals on flyovers, dustbin depots, free walls and spaces to make city streets look vibrant and colourful.

Haque added, “Instead of bulldozing history, they could have renovated and preserved the school and turned it into a Hall of Fame for all its illustrious alumni. It could have been a library for children of the city schools to come and learn about the country’s famous sons.”

Jilapi or jelebi, Ramzan or Ramadan; whichever way you say it, #jilapis is now a trending post on social media. And why not? It is the quintessential iftar delicacy second to none.

The latest craze for city-dwellers is the cycle vans selling all kinds of things, from undergarments to cushion covers. I leave it up to you to broaden the spectrum of things you get in these footpath vans.

Every family has a special recipe -- a cherished dish that only the mother, a specific aunt, or sister can cook to perfection.  The steaming Eid day polao garnished with almonds, pistachios, raisins, and plums may well be the grandma’s speciality, as is the Baishakhi special of the mother.

I am a soup person when it comes to food. With Dhaka’s ongoing coughing feats and sneezing bouts, I needed a bowl of hot soup for my flu-ridden body and soul.

A popular figure in Dhaka’s art circuits, Nazir Hossain, better known as Tiger Nazir, is a self-taught scroll painter or “potua”. Seen at almost all fairs and folk exhibitions in the city, he flaunts a patriotic, green-and-red bandana with brushes stuck in his unkempt hair.

The lively event catered to the growing demand for locally crafted art and craft products.

I have crossed the Dhaka University campus and its adjoining areas like Shishu Academy, the Centre for Renewable Energy Research,

“Shrink” is the informal noun to describe a psychotherapist. The word gained popularity from the fact that talking about your problems with her/him can hopefully help you reduce the difficulties or make them smaller and more manageable. 

The popularity of online shopping is not new. We are constantly browsing our social media handles and getting hooked to sponsored pages.

Art as a form of activism can at times stand against oppression and discrimination. It has always been a medium of expression for struggles that personally or socially affect the artist. In recent times, fashion activism has come to the fore in Dhaka.

The long strip of pavement from Tin Netar Mazar near Doyel Chattar to the High Court Mazar, by the east gate of the old court premises, has always been a hotspot.

Nights are just the opposite of the mad haste and the chaos that are Dhaka days. As the evening progresses and the rush dies down, the city awakes in a whole different tangent; it is time when the street food scene of this metro comes to life.

Samar Nandi has been in the trade for over 50 years and his tiny kite store, Shonkho Niketon, is a living testament to the popularity of this annual, Hindu festival symbolising unity and friendship of the community.

Did you know Christmas is celebrated on January 6 at the Armenian Church in Dhaka? In fact, the Armenian Apostolic Church is an Orthodox Christian institution still practising a very old version of Christianity.