The economics behind education choices in Bangladesh
23 May 2026, 09:00 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
The economy of premium education and parental anxiety
16 May 2026, 09:00 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
Mohammadpur and the reality of urban crimes in Dhaka
9 May 2026, 09:00 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
An open letter to Limon and Bristy
3 May 2026, 10:00 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
Cox’s Bazar at the crossroads of beauty without design
18 April 2026, 11:00 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
Blended learning in an energy crisis: Innovation or institutional amnesia?
11 April 2026, 08:00 AM
Opinion
Austerity and the crisis of fuel, confidence and coordination
4 April 2026, 09:00 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
The surcharge of Eid-time tragedies
28 March 2026, 08:00 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
The unfinished promise to Bangladesh’s women
14 March 2026, 02:15 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
When our indifference breaks our children
7 March 2026, 01:16 AM
Blowin’ in the Wind
The Rape of the Lock: A Mock Epic Revisited
“How do I cultivate freedom alongside discipline?” German philosopher Immanuel Kant asked in 1899. The question still remains valid in many sectors of life, especially in teaching.
1 October 2021, 18:00 PM
Let’s not be the fox without a tail
You must have heard of the story of a fox who accidentally lost his tail to a trap, and later decreed that all foxes must lose their tails too.
24 September 2021, 18:00 PM
With Covid, there’s no easing back into campus
It is as refreshing as watching flowers of urban forestry in bloom or the roadside plants glisten after a bout of rain.
17 September 2021, 18:00 PM
9/11: The Turning Point
In September 2001, soon after the attack on the Twin Towers, the Bangladesh government issued a public announcement to contact the America & Pacific wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the whereabouts of Bangladeshi residents.
10 September 2021, 18:00 PM
Human and elephant lives both matter
Two news reports caught my attention on Friday: one was about a wild elephant being electrocuted, and the other was about the dwindling international funds for the Rohingya refugees.
3 September 2021, 18:00 PM
The Hills Have Eyes
I don’t remember the last time I went to Chattogram. My knowledge of the port city can be summed up by the memorable quote from the epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones, where the main protagonist is told: “You know nothing, Jon Snow.”
27 August 2021, 18:00 PM
There are no secrets in the world
I was watching a movie on Netflix. Suddenly, the voice assistant of the laptop, Siri, got activated and said, “Siri aha?”.
21 August 2021, 18:00 PM
Lizards Losing Their Tails
We are all glued to the mega-spectacle involving the flickering of the dropped or lost tails of some lizards who have tactically dissociated from a disposable part of their bodies to protect themselves from their attackers.
6 August 2021, 18:00 PM
Intergenerational divides in the time of Covid-19
While staying with a host family in Pennsylvania during a weekend trip in the late 1990s, I found a statement knifed in the bed’s headboard: “Here a battle was won by the Man of the house [date]”.
30 July 2021, 18:00 PM
The Heart of the Matter
There is a rush hour traffic out there. People after spending a short Eid escapade are frantically returning to the capital as the lockdown tolls the knell of a parting holiday.
23 July 2021, 18:00 PM
Maracana, Wembley, Cannes and Narayanganj
Last week, all eyes were fixed on Neymar’s ripped shorts, Badhon’s jewelled blouse or English rogue fans’ red-crosses, when something terrible happened:
16 July 2021, 18:00 PM
The problem with academic bureaucratisation
When an esteem-ed member of our university’s syndicate board died recently, we requested the government for a replacement.
9 July 2021, 18:00 PM
Mother of All Bangladeshi Universities
The institution that one attends for education is often attributed with the honorific title alma mater, literally meaning "generous or nourishing mother". The phrase "alma mater studiorum" (nourishing mother of studies) was first used in 1088 as a motto by the oldest university in the Western world, the University of Bologna.
2 July 2021, 18:00 PM
Street violence and gang culture 2.0
A female student of mine walked out of her dentist’s chamber at Bailey Road at around 8pm on June 7, 2021.
25 June 2021, 18:00 PM
A Canary in the Mine
Normally, you and I would not see fairies or hear them singing. They exist in a world where we fear (or do not care) to tread (anymore). Even if we do, we will not admit it in public.
18 June 2021, 18:00 PM
‘Please forgive me…’
It reads like a Netflix blurb of a horror movie. A young man took a machete from a street coconut seller, uttered his last words: “please forgive me”, and then slit his own throat in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
11 June 2021, 18:00 PM
Students getting a slim slice of the budget pie
At a preparatory meeting for ULAB’s planned virtual convocation, I suggested that we use the iconic image of Keanu Reeves dodging many bullets in the Matrix trilogy as our promotional campaign.
4 June 2021, 18:00 PM
Desperate Times, Desperate Journeys
During the latest rerun of the biblical David and Goliath narrative in a changed context, the age-old conflict between the Israelites and the Philistines has come alive.
28 May 2021, 18:00 PM
How do I hate myself? Let me count the ways
The holiday lethargy has caused me self-loathing. Let me count some of the factors as to why I am beginning to hate myself.
21 May 2021, 18:00 PM
The Tortoise, the Hare and the UGC
A breath of fresh air: the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to allow public universities to hold online examinations.
7 May 2021, 18:00 PM