MAILBOX

New Perspective on the Star Weekend
The reason I am writing this is a sub topic by the name "Quirky Science" (published in pg.12 of the 26th February, 2016 edition of the Star Weekend) that grabbed my attention. While reading that section what interested me was that, it was a very rare incident where any Bangladeshi newspaper magazine offered an 'open', or occasion-free explanation of the complex science of the cosmos. I have clearly observed that such writings attract a lot of people from a vast plethora of subjects, since strange science, appeals to all as a means of entertainment. Quirky Science section of the Star Weekend hit me this week, and made me realize that this trail is not a dead end, and in fact, if presented on a regular basis and in a clear easy-to-understand manner, it yields great potential and a very large target audience! But unfortunately, newspapers (or additional magazines that come with them) seldom pose any 'free will' scientific elucidation by writers. It would be nice to see contemporary science blending with the contemporary literature that these magazines and newspapers offer.
Banin Abrar
Uttara, Dhaka

Gibberish: Trains of Thoughts
The articles titled "Gibberish: Trains of Thoughts" attracted me a lot. Every day when I come on the road for office, I wish when we can see an organised traffic management in our beloved country. According to "IBM Traffic Management for a Smarter Planet", the number of vehicles on the world's roads is expected to double to around 2.5 billion by 2050. How could there be more vehicles but less traffic in the future? The main reason is mismanagement of traffic in our country and commuters are mainly responsible for the crisis. If Government can impose penalty in every corner of traffic and fine collection can be done properly,I hope things will change in a year. We have wider & long roads than Singapore and Japan but traffic congestion makes our life hell. Thanks to Elita Karim for her nice article. If Government desire, they can change the total traffic in a year and open the doors for foreign investment as communication obstacle in our country is the burning question for all foreign investors/buyers. Besides, awareness among mass people should also be done through electronic media/newspapers and satellite channels.
Sharfuddin
Agrabad, Chittagong

Photo: Prabir Das

Bangladesh's Forgotten Languages
The spotlight article from last week was an imperative issue which has been written and discussed prudently. All things related to mother tongues have always been a matter of attention for us as we, the Bengalis in 1952, set an example by giving supreme sacrifice for our mother tongue by protesting against the decision of Urdu being the national language. Now we, the young generation, didn't see the incident of 1952 but surely we can understand the intensity of the spirit of the students who had defied the section 144 and protested in the procession with great surge of people coming out on the street. But after all these years the spirit of the language movement seemed to have started losing its glory as indigenous communities in our country are unable to preserve their own mother tongues. The omnipresence of Bengali is kind of wiping out their mother tongues as Bengali is being used in their schools. I would like to thank the writer for writing on this important unheard issue. Special credits go out to Rubayet who went through such ordeal and turbulence to dig out information. Finally I hope the government and respective authority will take time-befitting steps to preserve the indigenous communities' languages by having them written in the scriptures and to safeguard their cultures.
Samiul Raijul
London, UK