The shelf / 7 Asian healing fiction recommendations for rainy days

The top selections in poetry, flash fiction and artwork for Day 1 of the Sehri Tales challenge; prompt: Begin

Sehri Tales has established itself as a Ramadan tradition for writers in Bangladesh. The rules are simple: each night at midnight, for the entire month leading up to Eid-ul-Fitr, Ahmad shares a prompt, and participants have until 6 AM (sunrise) to write original poetry, flash fiction, or create unique art, and then share it online with the hashtag #sehritales2023.

"In Fool’s Paradise" is aptly named as it gives us a glimpse of post-independence Bangladesh, a young nation still struggling to find its identity amidst post-war blows.

Unlike many of the war refugees from Bangladesh in Calcutta, he felt no urge to be involved in the war. He had fled the country to save his life, not to participate in the fight.

After the war, the library authorities placed advertisements requesting people to return any books from the library that they might have in their possession, but the response was poor. The library's hundred-year-old collection was lost forever.

Among the new books we’re excited to read this season, these March releases hold special promise. 

Illustrated by Kazi Istela Imam, Nobo Opens a Door embraces the occasion of Pohela Boishakh—an event that is dear to many.

To be human is to be a poet. And I will tell you why.

The best fantasy book series seem to have figured the formulae out in their own unique ways.

Poet and writer Ishor Dulon Roy, author of Teestar Kanna, told The Daily Star that many of his relatives live on the Teesta shoal. Once they were all rich, all now lost to the river erosion.

“How tragic it would be if you were wasted”, made me smile in a melancholic way. I know moments when “unnecessary things are our only necessities”. And I’ve not been hesitant to give “rebellion its fascination” and “disobedience its charm.”

When we study the effects of urbanisation on formerly relevant concepts of home, newer images pop up and we find them coexisting with the previously established one.

The verses remind us that a withering, war-torn Earth can still birth new life and hopes of freedom.

Today, I am no dead man. But I am not happy, I will not lie to you.

When Coke Studio Bangla released Meghdol’s Bonobibi, their second song of season 2, listeners found themselves torn between loving the song and questioning it. Questioning as to why the song was done under the banner of Coke Studio, a project funded by an American-based multinational corporation; questioning what qualifies Meghdol, a band known for singing about urban life in Dhaka city, to sing about tales originating in the Sundarbans; and why the song didn’t delve deeper into the history and background of the stories they were trying to tell. It has raised a wider question about how music plays a role in storytelling.

On Saturday, March 18, UPL will inaugurate its new sales centre in Chittagong at Jamal Khan Road’s Sanmar Spring Garden.

Perhaps the most important contribution of the book lies in providing intimate insights into how NGOs work in Bangladesh.

Set in 1990s Dhaka against the backdrop of the military occupation, the novella follows the lives of a young university professor, his wife, and their house help, Phulbanu. The story is narrated entirely from Phulbanu’s perspective. 

Set in the backdrop of a nameless forest, the narrative of the play 'Ekti Moragachh O Charjon Narir Shopnobhongo' revolves around characters of William Shakespeare’s creation.

Novels from India, the Caribbean, Ukraine, Spain, Bulgaria, Ivory Coast, France, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, China, Norway and South Korea in the longlist.