I met Sabah Tani back in 2012 when I was asked to be one of the judges for the initial audition round of a TV music reality show. It was a fascinating experience, being a first-timer in something of that sort. I got the opportunity to visit all eight divisions of Bangladesh in 25 days, which otherwise I would have neither the strength nor the time to do. Our primary job was to listen to contestants sing and decide

"Which university do you want to go to?” I wrote down on a notebook. She circled the word “university” and weakly asked in a shaky voice that barely rose above a whisper: “What does this word mean?” Maisha will be graduating tenth grade in less than a year from a reputable institution in the city, but her performance at school lags behind her peers'—as can be seen from the absence of the word “university” from her vocabulary.

In the first part of this series the Star Weekend revealed, how huge amounts of waqf (an endowment made by a Muslim to religious, educational or charitable cause) properties in Bangladesh have been completely grabbed by illegal occupiers. We found that 122,294 acres of endowed estates are now under illegal occupation and Bangladesh government's waqf administration has lost control over 90 percent of these estates.

As one of the youngest sons of one of the heirs (called the nine sharers) of the Dhaka Nawab family, I thank your correspondent Md Shahnawaz Khan Chandan for this story last week. Just recently, when family members on my mother's side went to visit the waqf state in Savar, they were severely abused and chased away by the people living there on disclosure of their family's identity. The Nawabs of Dhaka, even

This is in reference to a write-up titled “How safe is your child online?” on February 16 in the Star Weekend. I think the write-up touched upon all the hazards growing children are exposed to when they venture into the internet. However, the point I would like to re-emphasise, as was stated in the write-up, is the massive role that parents and teachers play in this regard. The internet is a powerful tool that can be

A lot has had happened since word spread that one Marma girl was allegedly raped, and another molested, by members of security forces last month. The claims led to a confusing chain of events involving state forces and rights activists which rapidly escalated the crisis. On one hand, a court ordered the girls to be handed over to the custody of their parents, against their wishes. On the other hand, the queen

Twenty-four-year-old Nayeem, a private university student, has a spinal cord injury. He often talks about his girlfriend, whom he has been dating for more than a year now. They study at the same university. They met on campus when Nayeem was selling coupons for a department picnic, became good friends and eventually started dating. Nayeem says that he loves her “with all his heart”.

When Rafiqul Islam, a college lecturer of Kaliganj upazila in Jhenaidah district, received a call from his son Ahsan Rafiq at 2:00 am on February 6, 2016, he felt a pang of anxiety. Ahsan studied at the Department of Disaster Science and Management at the University of Dhaka and used to live in the veranda of Salimullah Muslim (SM) Hall, as he did not have an assigned room.

Project Roopkotha

I was walking home from university a few days ago when I had an interesting thought. I'm a student of Dhaka University. Unlike many other students, we are blessed with a spacious campus and lush greenery. Despite the availability of ample pavements within DU, I was walking on the road. It was a choice—one that I, and many others, make everyday. I realised this was borne out of habit, an involuntary action I

"Just look at his pace.” That's a BPL team official describing a young fast bowler from Pakistan he picked for last year's tournament. The pace bowler didn't turn up because of clearance issues, which meant that the team owner would have to wait longer...

I migrated to Dhaka in 2011 in pursuit of higher education. In the last two years, I have made a home for myself in Rayerbazar, near the Mohammadpur Beribadh area. Everyday, I witness my home inch closer and closer to becoming a barren and comfortless dystopia in the name of development. As infinite buildings are erected, a mountain of waste piles up, destroying rivers and causing pollution. Our economic

There is not much to love about being a woman on the streets of Dhaka. Let's call a spade a spade—Dhaka streets are not pedestrian-friendly, irrespective of one's gender. Missing or broken pavements, gaping holes to catch you off guard, footpaths overtaken by hawkers, vendors, makeshift shops of all sorts, piled up construction materials, spilled-over garbage, bikers and even rickshaws carrying passengers looking to cut across heavy traffic—you name

While Boi Mela sadly lasts only a month, what do readers in Dhaka and the rest of the country do the rest of the year? Buying a year's worth of books in one go is hardly feasible. For those without the means to buy, reading for pleasure is a luxury. Readers, especially young students, require a well-stocked and diverse library in the vicinity of their home or where they work or study to encourage them to read year-round.

As we are now in the final week of February, Star Weekend asked five writers in the country about the annual Boi Mela and which books they look forward to reading.

In the early twentieth century, when Calcutta's political and social elites were protesting against the formation of a university in East Bengal, which would educate the “uncouth, working class”, the Nawabs of East Bengal came forward. Dhaka's Nawab Khwaja Salimullah donated 600 acres of land to establish necessary buildings for the university. The property also included Nawab's gardens and court buildings (now Madhur canteen and Shahbagh area). Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury of the Nawab family of Dhonbari, Tangail even mortgaged a part of their estate to collect funds for the university.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is perhaps the most culturally significant movie of the last year. In the protagonist Mildred, director Martin McDonagh portrays a woman who's had enough of the town's corruption plaguing her life and decides to do something about it.

On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, Star Weekend profiled several prominent

Almost every parent has asked this question at least once—how do you protect your children from the dark side of the internet?

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