Living a feminist killjoy life

The way we perceive the word “emotion” through the gendered lens contributes to systematic oppression because it dismisses those who fall under the umbrella of the emotional radar and it is easier to silence their voices as emotional beings because they are often, according to the patriarchal society, deemed as unstable, illogical, or disoriented.
26 August 2023, 04:55 AM

The Rakshushi by Kazi Nazrul Islam

‘It’s been two years today, a full two years, and it continues to amaze me that people run for their lives the moment they see me.
25 August 2023, 18:00 PM

Why Nazrul was at loggerheads with language purists

I proposed a panel at a North American Bangla literary conference. ‘Is translation itself a form of activism?’ I queried.
25 August 2023, 18:00 PM

Equality

I sing the song of equality– Of a country where fresh joy blossoms in every heart
23 August 2023, 18:00 PM

Kazi Nazrul Islam’s short narratives

Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976), was a poet, novelist, lyricist and musician in Bengali, and was popularly known as the rebel poet.
23 August 2023, 18:00 PM

Oak cognacs

From moon beamed mountains  To plains deltaic; In Diasporas–detached 
21 August 2023, 14:33 PM

The howling pack of dogs

This poem has been translated by the author from Zahir Raihan’s poem, ‘Kotogulo Kukurer Artonad’ on account of the novelist, writer and filmmaker’s birth anniversary.
19 August 2023, 13:55 PM

Anjuman and the stories of the mango people

My father’s ancestors were Ayurvedic medicine men from a remote corner of the North Bengal. A few generations ago, one of them had cured a long-lasting ailment of the Raja of Taherpur and had received, as a reward, a large chunk of agricultural land or “joat” next to the mighty Joshoi Beel.
18 August 2023, 18:00 PM

Unravelling Bangali feminism and female rage

Feminism and literature share a profound connection as literature gives voice to the experiences of women, allowing us to understand their perspective. However, despite the abundance of information in the technological age, the promotion of feminist books remains a challenge in Bangladesh, often facing criticism from conservatives.
18 August 2023, 18:00 PM

Diphylleia grayi

The burst of fragrant marigolds on the blanched porch of our old Calcutta home, free like sand, unbridled like the wind
16 August 2023, 15:55 PM

In some corner of a foreign field: Rahmat Ali & the once and future Cambridge Majlis

The map is part of an exhibition arranged to mark the revival of the Cambridge Majlis, a society (dating from 1891) designed for students from all over the Subcontinent to meet socially to enjoy their commonalities and discuss and debate in a civil way their political differences.
15 August 2023, 13:59 PM

The poet who shook the Ershad regime

As he had actively protested against Ayub's dictatorship, and was indeed jailed, he felt compelled to protest against Ershad's dictatorship through his poetry.
12 August 2023, 04:55 AM

Ameena goes to America

A young white officer asks her in heavily accented Bangla, “What’s the purpose of your visit?”
11 August 2023, 18:00 PM

Partition and Bangladeshi literature

Their apartment was located on the ground floor of a three-storied building whose yellowish paint looked as if it was peeling off on its own.
11 August 2023, 18:00 PM

‘In Extreme Need of Guidance’: Afterword

'In Extreme Need of Guidance', the book being serialised here, captures the first 16 years of writer Sultana Nahar's life. This is the Afterword by the author.
11 August 2023, 11:55 AM

‘Bare life’ and Partition

“Can one break a country...Will the earth bleed?” asks eight-year-old Lenny in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India (1988)–a tale about Partition. “No one’s going to break India. It’s not made of glass!”
9 August 2023, 18:00 PM

7 minutes to midnight

In exchange for the presidential suites at the Ritz and so on, the men holding our city keys have already opened our skies to all that may come.
9 August 2023, 13:55 PM

Crooked lines

To sit on thy laurels seems apposite, Yet to dig graves for perceptive pleasure resemble a breach Of lines bridging the things learned, unlearned.
8 August 2023, 13:38 PM

The astounding optimism in Tagore’s songs

His words convince the listener that the world is actually a beautiful place where truth, honesty, and simplicity are the quenching clouds above a desolate desert of dry despair and monotony.
6 August 2023, 13:55 PM

Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Gora’: From notions of purity to an all-embracing Bharatborsho

Rabindranath Tagore’s Gora, written between 1907 and 1909, reveals the ways in which Tagore addresses the all-important issues of his time—national identity formation, the coming together of people over time, and obstacles or barriers put in the way of the progress of a nation. The novel captures Tagore’s fascination with envisioning a future based on human amity or moitri, one where the powerless and the dispossessed transcend the barriers of division and distrust.
4 August 2023, 18:00 PM