FLASH FICTION / Chand raat at Mohakhali

Once, I believed there was a crown on my head. The heart was brimming with life and light Brimming with boundless force to surpass any spread. Among the crowd, I was always one

You land in London with £210 in your pocket. It is the year 2009. You are able to pay the first month’s rent for the room, but not the deposit. You have to share it with an acquaintance from Dhaka. He arrived a week prior.

But I guess Ivan did not choose wisely. It was a series of unfortunate events with him and now, he was stuck with Rebecca–and there was still six hours 46 minutes left in this office cubicle.

The pavements are hotter in winter, the rain never wets the asphalt and I never tell you to do anything else other than “be”. 

Even if you are not a film enthusiast, chances are high that you have watched the 2022 Telegu blockbuster RRR. At the very least, you should have heard about it.

I became an ardent admirer of Amrita Pritam, the maverick Punjabi author, an outspoken critic of the Indian patriarchy and discriminating social practices, three decades back in New York when I was putting together an anthology of world feminist poems in Bangla translation.

Absorbing these books is like viewing the world through the writer’s eyes—the pain she felt, the love she did not receive and the manner she perceived the people around her.

Much of the reminiscences in The Murti Boys encompass the grittiness of staving off the Pakistanis with little weaponry and a great deal of quick thinking. 

As time passed by and as the poet made an introspection in seclusion, he dug up such verses which to the reader might feel like a revelation of truth.

Mehta also directed the documentary film Dateline Bangladesh based on her time stationed in Bangladesh during the war.

Describing Abul Mansur Ahmed as a multi-faceted personality, the speakers said that from a sense of responsibility to the society, he has constantly fought for the rights of citizens, freedom of speech and change in the society.

And along with our bodies, the rage keeps on, / we chafe and bleed and clot and steer; / we go mad and nude

The lad appeared to be very humble and slowly took a seat. But I noticed that he did not take his eyes off my face even once. He kept on staring at me through his glasses.

And in spite of knowing this/ In spite of the absurdity of it all/ You let yourself fall

Despite his caste-consciousness and critical depiction of the social prejudices of colonial Bengal, he never directly opposed them; in his real life, he was an upholder of traditional Hindu patriarchy and Brahmin-dominated caste society.

Following the trails of Imaginary Homelands (Penguin Books, 1992) and Step Across The Line (Modern Library, 2003), comprising essays written and lectures given by Salman Rushdie between 2003-2020, Languages of Truth is Rushdie’s third collection of nonfiction works and is as a delectable read as its predecessors if not more.

This week, the Daily Star Books compiles a list of satirical fiction for our readers to feast on. In sociopolitical climates rife with crackdowns and censorship, satire takes on the burden of giving a voice to matters that cannot be spoken about otherwise.

Rarely does a book arrive, a debut no less, that feels as inventive and accomplished as Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi’s The Centre. Her novel is built on the crossroads of interpretation and ownership, of the power of language and of those privileged enough to reclaim it.

The author paints an engrossing picture of her experiences and memories, both influenced by food, which is true for most of the people in this world, and particularly for South Asians.

By visually capturing the characters, landscapes, and action scenes, the graphic novels enhance the reading experience and offer a fresh perspective on the beloved story.