RBR

Each street popular for its food has a story to tell. From the narrow lanes of Old Dhaka, the bustling Taltola or Banani 11, to Uttara — they all have their flavour for us to relish. Each experience is richer than the next one but hands down, it's time to re-discover Mohammadpur's street food this winter, for its warmth and vivacity.

Upcycling is the act of taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function. In doing so, the finished product often becomes more practical, valuable, and beautiful than it previously was. While recycling involves the destruction of waste in order to create something new, upcycling creates something new from it in its current state.

Unfortunately, the clothing industry has drilled this idea into our heads that the biggest fashion crime you can commit is to repeat your clothes. It is time to undo and ditch that unsustainable idea promoted by advocates of fast fashion.

Teas are a joy, be it chamomile, Earl Grey, Makaibari or just good old deshi milk tea. A light sip of hot black tea with a slight squeeze of lemon or brewed heavily in cardamoms and cloves, or frothy milk tea; it makes you happy and keeps you going. So, with the advent of chilly evenings and misty midnights, go for your favourite warm fuzzy brew to add a little liveliness to your day’s itinerary.

The ilish is a versatile fish as it can be used to prepare a variety of dishes. Hilsa is as suitable for preparing delectable dishes on those special occasions, as it is for cooking a regular everyday curry. The hilsa season is almost coming to an end. Now is the time to get your fresh ilish from the bazaars of Chandpur and Mawa. The following are some easy to make recipes with hilsa. Try them out and you will not be disappointed!

Modest and fashion might be two words seldom put together, but changing global perspectives made its popularity a reality. It is by no means a new idea, as people, and women, who preferred to dress modestly have always been around, but the idea to cater to this growing population specifically is only just catching on. Some choose it to comply with religious practices, others for simple personal preference; however, modest fashion is not about the hijab or headscarf alone. It relates to anyone who is partial to loose, flowy clothes, often in multiple layers, like capes, wraps and loose jackets, with the intention of not displaying the shape of their bodies prominently.

The real joy of eating a mango is peeling off the skin and eating it right away, with delicious juice runs down your hand; it might be offensive to many, but a true Bengali would love to eat it that way. However, the civilised way to eat a mango would be to slice it into pieces and have the pulp with a fork. Now that the season is over and we have satiated most of those cravings, we can safely shift our attention to chilled sweet mango desserts for this scorching summer. Mangoes are high in calories; hence, everyone will ask you to keep your mango count in check. But, if you pair it with cool foods like yoghurt, you can have that extra one too. So, no reason to stop the mango binge.

As I have grown older, my mind is calmer but it’s a void now, empty of any voice.

Imagine a Doza Market or Bongo Bazar but for ceramics only. If you cross Uttara and drive towards Tongi and Gazipur, you will shortly reach a turn which takes you to Cheragali Ceramics Market tucked inside a dusty, debris piled corner. The narrow alley takes you to the treasure troves.

While mango has a cemented spot as the king of summer fruits, in its many varieties it also easily overshadows our other seasonal favourites like jaam or the java plum. The festivity around mangoes often makes for a lacklustre season for other bounties of summer. This dark purple, bordering on burgundy, lozenge sized fruit is fleshy, juicy with a hard seed and stains everything it touches a deep purple, including your mouth.

Monsoon is dreamy for some and exasperating for others, yet it is the best season in Bangladesh. The rivers are full and abundant with sweet water fish, nature is at its greenest best.

What I failed to realise is that the price hike is a constant thing, it is steadily increasing every month or rather every week it now seems, and never coming down actually.

There is a legitimate reason behind the adage — children not only mimic, but also develop their social mannerisms, ways of interaction and behavioural traits by observing and acquiring information from the adults around them. 

“If you are the bread earner, then I am the butter earner” — rounds with my husband always starts with this sentence. And indeed, it is true!

labbayka -llāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā šarīka laka labbayk,  inna -l- amda wa-n-ni mata laka wa-l-mulka lā šarīka lak

She has been under the limelight, on the ramps, and in the media as an Indian supermodel for some 30 odd years. Nayanika Chatterjee is the ideal person to talk to about the changes our society has gone through in regards to portraying women in mass media.

There are many issues that plague the development of women in Bangladesh. While the country is celebrating its 50th year of independence, we cannot for surely say that her womenfolk are fully liberated. And there are few pressing reasons to believe so.

One such graceful person is Bibi Russell, who is in awe with her land and draws inspiration from its people. Everyday villagers are her muse; people toiling in the fields and rubbing off their sweat with the mundane gamcha,

Rape is the easiest of all crimes and most probably the laxest too in our country.

It’s certainly an impressive trick! Small terracotta pots preheated in big tandoor like stoves; milk boiled at a high heat until it becomes all creamy and thick, and tea liquor brewed with sticks of cinnamon.