Beyond stereotypes: Rupert Grey’s ‘Homage to Bangladesh’

Rupert Grey, a descendant of Charles Grey and best known professionally as a leading libel and copyright lawyer stood against this statement. “If Bangladesh is a basket case,” Grey tells The Daily Star, “then it is so in the best possible way.” For him, the term collapses under the sheer vitality of the country. A single square metre of a Bangladeshi street, he argues, holds more energy than entire neighbourhoods in London. Where life in England often unfolds in rigid routines, Bangladesh thrives in spontaneity—where a hanging lighter at a tea stall can become a moment of shared choreography.
7 hour(s) ago Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / The rickshaw artist
24 January 2026, 01:52 AM Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / Pirouette of a phoenix
24 January 2026, 01:48 AM Books & Literature
POETRY / Memories
24 January 2026, 01:36 AM Books & Literature

EDITORIAL / Why read?
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature
THE SHELF / 7 new books to look out for in 2026
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature

INTERVIEW / Reclaiming the unwritten: Kanika Gupta on colonialism, embodiment, and the art of remembering

Gupta shares her insights on reclaiming forgotten histories, reimagining myths, and connecting ancient narratives to contemporary ecological and social concerns.
22 November 2025, 11:51 AM Books & Literature
EVENT REPORT / An eco-critical look at Sultan: Reading the manuscript of ‘Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha’
With the aid of Duniyadari Archive, Pavel Partha’s soon-to-be-published book Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha is a new addition, which looks at Sultan’s work from an eco-critical perspective.
8 November 2025, 11:43 AM Books & Literature
NEWS REPORT / “Curious love letter”: Wole Soyinka responds after US cancels visa
He responded to the situation with grace, mentioning “I like people who have a sense of humour".
30 October 2025, 10:45 AM Books & Literature

5 mystery thriller books to look out for at and after Boi Mela

Sanjana has killed her husband. She had not meant to kill him, but the odds never seem to be in her favour. Desperately trying to grasp the reality of her situation, she flees the crime scene, leaving her family, friends and life behind.
28 February 2024, 18:00 PM

The promises and pitfalls of decolonial thinking

The craze that once prevailed in academia over postcolonialism no longer seems to hover around there anymore.
28 February 2024, 18:00 PM

A discussion on truth, dares, and death with Nadia Kabir Barb

It was an intimate gathering of book lovers who had come together to listen to and participate in a discussion regarding a variety of topics, starting from her writing process to concepts of death explored in her stories, all stemming from deeply personal events in her life
28 February 2024, 10:05 AM

Has the Boi Mela been reduced to photographic aesthetics and vacuous controversies?

In the last few years, there has been a paradigm shift in the traditional book fair culture. The commercialisation and curation of hyper nationalist books have led to the absence of literature and stories of “others”.
27 February 2024, 13:45 PM

Goodreads, transparency, and the perils of the publishing world

Cait Corrain's reviewbombing practices serve as a cautionary tale. As readers and writers engage with online book communities, the issue of transparency becomes more vital than ever
27 February 2024, 10:00 AM

Ekushey Boi Mela: Children's books and what to expect

With only a few days to go, there’s still a chance to take the younger ones to the book fair and check out the wide range of books available
26 February 2024, 13:45 PM

BTS of Ekushey Boi Mela: Is our publishing industry overly reliant on one event?

Most publishing companies in Bangladesh are not big enough for them to have a fully functioning marketing team or a viable marketing strategy.
25 February 2024, 13:45 PM

She’s a terrible person, but that’s the point

A review of Ottessa Moshfegh's 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation' (Penguin Press, 2023)
25 February 2024, 10:12 AM

Dynamics of race and riches in ‘Such a Fun Age’

In the thick of it is a young woman of colour who’s a late bloomer and eventually finds her footing.
24 February 2024, 13:45 PM

Unveiling ‘L’État, C'est Moi’: A journey through French aesthetics and culture

Last week, on February 15, 2024, Alliance Française de Dhaka hosted a book launching event for Dr Mahbubur Rahman’s 'L'État, C'est Moi'
23 February 2024, 13:45 PM

Trends in horror and graphic novels at this year’s Boi Mela

According to the publishers, the classic horror books are among their best selling novels this year.
23 February 2024, 05:31 AM

Behind the scenes: Preparing stall layouts for the Ekushey Boi Mela

For most of the publishers, pavilion planning commenced as early as mid January and the organisers left no stone unturned in terms of planning the layout.
22 February 2024, 13:45 PM

The lack of fantasy at Boi Mela

With Ekushey Boi Mela now in full swing, the excitement surrounding the discovery of new releases should be hanging palpably in the air.
21 February 2024, 18:00 PM

Is this year’s Boi Mela a mausoleum of Bangla romance?

Wandering through the bustling lanes of Boi Mela, amidst the cacophony of voices and the rustle of pages turning, I found myself lost in a curious examination of the Bangla love story.
21 February 2024, 18:00 PM

Of language and sexism: We are what we speak

Amanda Montell states that gender is directly linked to power in many cultures, as is language. It’s just that we are unable to identify the difference. People use language to express gender. Gender also impacts a person’s speech and how that speech is perceived.
21 February 2024, 13:50 PM

Turning the pages of Ekushey Boi Mela

Boi Mela is more than a clickable link we see on our phone screens; it is more than the controversies and public debates.
20 February 2024, 13:45 PM

A tale of forced displacement and uncertain futures

Review of ‘The Displaced Rohingyas: A Tale Of A Vulnerable Community’ (Routledge, 2024), edited by SK Tawfique M Haque, Bulbul Siddiqi, and Mahmudur Rahman Bhuiyan.
17 February 2024, 12:41 PM

Romance and unfulfillment in the past and the present

Much like most media geared toward women, romance novels have frequently received flack for its supposed shallowness, absurdity, and flamboyancy.
16 February 2024, 18:00 PM

A sip of sweet, comforting 'saa'

Review of Priyanka Taslim’s ‘The Love Match’ (Simon and Schuster, 2023)
16 February 2024, 15:00 PM

Anubad Sahitya Puraskar 2024: Celebrating the achievements of translators

Speakers talked about the losses and the gains of the meaning of text after having undergone translation, about the responsibility and the power that a translator holds in taking an author’s words and transforming it for a different reader base.
15 February 2024, 14:00 PM