12CultuRAl sChool 5DeshI App

Dhaka Tribune | vo l 2 I ssu e 41 | F R I D AY, F e b r u ary 27, 2015
5
Deshi app
-makers
12
Cultural
school
14
Matir
Mela
CONTENTS
1
Volume 2 | Issue 41 | February 27, 2015
News
2News
Editor
Zafar Sobhan
3Meanwhile
Features Editor
Sabrina Fatma Ahmad
Asst Magazine Editor
Farina Noireet
Weekend Tribune Team
Farhana Urmee
Faisal Mahmud
Tausif Sanzum
Sakib Mridha
Features
4 Digital Bangladesh Conference
6
Travel
5 Digital Bangladesh Deshi appmakers
8Post-riposte Zero Degree
12Feature Cultural school
Morocco
14Feature Matir Mela
Cartoons
Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy
Priyo
Contributors
Rabiul Islam
Shehzaad Shams
Tanusree Ghosh
Rasel Ahmed
Rajib Dhar
Mehedi Hasan
Naveed Ferdous
Saqib Sarkar
Dina Sobhan
Graphic
Md Mahbub Alam
Colour Specialist
Shekhar Mondal
Advertisement
Zia Ur Rahman
Production
Masum Billah
Circulation
Masud Kabir Pavel
Website
dhakatribune.com/weekend
facebook.com/WeekendTrib
Email your letters to:
weekend@dhakatribune.com
15Sports DU Women Cricket League
20Event Project Dhee
Regulars
16 Tough Love
18 Stay In
19 Go Out
9
Photo story
About the cover
Ekushey Boi Mela
Editor’s note
Dear Readers,
In what is starting to feel like very
dark times indeed, we’re hoping to
bring a little spark of hope with the
good things that continue to happen
in spite of all the bad.
How far have we come along in
our dreams for a Digital Bangladesh?
We’ve got not one, but two pieces
that attempt to shed light on that
question.
If you’re tired of chemical beauty,
it’s time to go back to the roots of
home-made skincare. Jatra shows
you how.
Shrinking park lands and
crammed study schedules are
robbing kids of a well-rounded
education, but we’ve found a school
that’s working hard to reverse that.
We’ve had Bend it like Beckham,
and now we’re trying to Clock it like
Kohli. Lame jokes aside, women
in cricket deserve your love, so do
check out our piece.
Finally, for a healthy dose of
fantasy and escapism, fly to Morocco
with Onetimefashionista to chase
some new horizons.
Hope you have a pleasant week.
-Sabrina Fatma Ahmad
Night lights
Photo: Md Rakibul Hasan
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
2 News | This week
The world at a glance
Rarest big cat on Earth starting to make a comeback
Weekend Tribune Desk
Kerry defends Iran negotiations before Congress
Secretary of State John Kerry told
wary lawmakers on Tuesday that it
was premature to criticize nuclear
negotiations with Iran before any deal
can be reached to keep Tehran from
developing atomic weapons.
“The president has made clear — I
can’t state this more firmly — the
policy is Iran will not get a nuclear
weapon,” Kerry told members of a
Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
“And anybody running around right
now, jumping in to say, ‘Well, we
don’t like the deal,’ or this or that,
doesn’t know what the deal is. There
is no deal yet. And I caution people to
wait and see what these negotiations
produce.”
Kerry testified in Congress 12 hours
after returning to Washington from
the latest round of talks in Geneva
involving Iran, the U.S. and five
other world powers. U.S. and Iranian
officials reported progress on getting
to a deal that would clamp down
on Tehran’s nuclear activities for at
least 10 years but then slowly ease
restrictions.
Photo: AFP
N.Korea may have 100 atomic arms by 2020: US experts
North Korea appears poised to expand
its nuclear program over the next five
years and in a worst case scenario
could possess 100 atomic arms by
2020, US researchers warned Tuesday.
And cutting-edge European
companies could be unwittingly
contributing to Pyongyang’s
suspect nuclear program with their
equipment diverted to the isolated
country via China, they said.
Unveiling the first results of what
will be a 15-month study, Joel Wit,
senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute
at Johns Hopkins University, said
some of their conclusions were very
“disturbing.”
Although North Korea’s nuclear
program remains shrouded in
uncertainty, Pyongyang is currently
believed to have a stockpile of some
10 to 16 nuclear weapons fashioned
from either plutonium or weaponsgrade uranium.
Using satellite imagery, North
Korean media reports and their deep
knowledge of nuclear programs, Wit,
and renowned non-proliferation
expert David Albright, have drawn up
three possible future scenarios based
on the progress made by Pyongyang
from 2009 to 2014.
Photo: AP
Pakistan police arrest schoolgirl over ‘Taliban’ extortion calls
Police in Pakistan have arrested a
schoolgirl for trying to extort money
from wealthy men by pretending
she was linked to Taliban militants,
officers said on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old girl, identified
only as Lubna, was arrested at
the weekend in the troubled
northwestern city of Peshawar after a
trader complained to police.
Furqan Bilal, a senior police
official, told AFP the trader said
he received a phone call from an
“anonymous militant” demanding
millions of rupees.
The caller threatened to kidnap the
trader’s children if he did not pay up,
Bilal said.
“We began an investigation, traced
the number and came to know that
up to 10 people have been threatened
using the same number,” Bilal said.
Investigators said they were
surprised when the number was
monitored and it emerged the caller
was a girl using special software to
make her sound like a man.
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
Things are starting to look up for
the rarest big cat on the planet: The
critically endangered Amur leopard,
which is indigenous to southeastern
Russia and parts of northeastern
China, has doubled in population
since 2007, according to a new report
by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Census data from Russia’s Land
of the Leopard National Park, which
covers about 60% of the Amur
leopard’s habitat, puts the number of
these wild cats at 57. That’s up from
the 30 leopards counted in the area in
2007, according to the WWF.
Eight to 12 additional cats were
also counted in adjacent areas of
China during the census, which
means the total population of Amur
leopards has, in fact, doubled in
less than a decade. [See camera trap
footage of rare Amur leopards]
“Such a strong rebound in Amur
leopard numbers is further proof that
even the most critically endangered
big cats can recover if we protect
their habitat and work together on
conservation efforts,” Barney Long,
director of species protection and
Asian species conservation for WWF,
said in a statement. “There’s still a lot
of work to be done in order to secure
a safe future for the Amur leopard,
but these numbers demonstrate
that things are moving in the right
direction.”
Photo: Wikimedia
Chinese rocket breaks up creating fireballs in western sky
People across a wide swath of the
West, from Arizona to Canada, looked
up at the sky late Monday to see a
cluster of weird lights followed by an
orange tail streaking across the night.
The lights were not a meteor, but
a Chinese rocket booster that broke
apart, said Maj Martin O’Donnell,
a spokesman for U.S. Strategic
Command.
There were no reports of damage
or injuries, O’Donnell said, pointing
to statistics showing there is a one in
a trillion chance of being hit by space
debris.
Canadian photographer Neil Zeller
was on his way home from shooting
the Northern Lights when he saw
the cluster of fireballs in a rural area
outside of Calgary about 11pm local
time.
“I’d never seen anything like it,”
he said. He captured several shots of
an orange streak slashed above dark
trees.
Financial assistance to 146 affected
vehicles owners
Bottom of Form
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on
Wednesday handed over cheques as
financial assistance to the bus, truck
and other vehicle owners who were
affected in the ongoing hartal and
blockade programmes enforced by
the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
The Prime Minister distributed the
cheques for Tk4,20,65,000 to 146
owners of the 156 vehicles in the first
phase at her Tejgaon office here in the
morning.
Out of the financial assistance, one
owner has been given highest Tk 10
lakh as the financial assistance for the
damage of his or her vehicle.
Speaking on the occasion, Road
Transport and Bridges Minister
Obaidul Quader said some 1800
vehicles, including buses and trucks,
were burned or vandalised by BNPJamaat men since January during the
ongoing hartal and blockade.
He said so far owners of some
823 vehicles have submitted their
applications to the Prime Minister for
financial help. Of the vehicles, Quader
said, 287 were torched and 536 were
vandalised.
In the first phase, some 146
owners of 156 vehicles were given
financial assistance by the Prime
Minister for the damage of their
vehicles, “The rest of the affected
owners will also be given financial
help in phases,” Quader added.
“The assistance of the Prime
Minister is an expression of her deep
and abiding commitment to the
affected vehicle owners,” he said.
The Road Transport and Bridges
Minister said that the Prime Minister
would also provide financial help to
the drivers and helpers who were
killed and injured in the ongoing hartal
and blockade programmes.
News: Dhaka Tribune
meanwhile ... | News
3
You’re
welcome
Event
How Do Free
Websites Make
Money?
In order to truly be a free
website the provider cannot
charge you fees, collect your
information to sell, rent, lease,
or share, or put advertising in
front of you.
Needless to say, there are
very few truly free websites;
most that are truly free are
government, institutional,
school, or non-profit
websites, though even many
of these advertise and sell
consumer information.
A school student pays her respects at the
Shaheed Minar on Ekushey February.
Photo: Rajib Dhar
Say
what?
Man selling his virginity for International Women’s
Day - but only to someone ‘decent’
A
security guard is selling his
VIRGINITY after reading about
women doing the same - but his
cherry comes at a high price.
Romanian Sorin Georgian Salinievici,
24, wants €2,000 (£1,476) - and says
the winning bid must be from someone
who “looks decent”.
“I read about girls doing this and
thought if they can do it so can I,”
said Salinievici, who dropped out of
university as he could not afford the
fees.
“Regarding her appearance, the
woman that buys my virginity has to
look decent. I’m not saying she has to
be very beautiful, but to look normal
and be a nice, honest person.”
On posters around his home
town of Galati he writes: “It could be a nice present on
International Women’s Day on March 8th.”
He added: “But really I am doing this to sort out my
The way most ’free’ services
make money is not by selling
advertising. What they
sell is access to you, and
information about you to
advertisers, marketers and
researchers, and others.
Your information is the
commodity that drives
the internet economy. It is
collected through your online
actions and the information
you share.
If you read a website’s terms
and conditions you should
be able to see just what
information is being collected
and how it is shared, though
many companies make it very
difficult to understand the
full scope of their use of your
information.
Every piece of information
you post, and every
action you take online has
commercial value to company
or someone. That isn’t
necessarily a bad thing. This
trade in information lets you
use the websites without
paying money for your
access.
financial troubles, not for fun, and I want €2,000.
“I won’t give it away for less.”
News and photo: Huffington Post
Your information helps
companies provide you ads
that are more targeted to your
interests. It helps researchers
and companies know what
kind of products to design,
and so on.
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
4
Digital Bangladesh | conference
Digital World 2015
Showcasing ideas, technologies and Innovations
Rabiul Islam
“W
hen we first
came up with
the term Digital
Bangladesh, we
were worried about its publicity. Now
UK is adopting the same term, Digital
UK, for them after us!” says computer
specialist, proprietor of Ananda
Computers and Bijoy Digital Mustafa
Jabbar in a seminar on “Knowledge
Based Society” at a Digital World 2015
Conference that continued from 9-12
February this year at the Bangabandhu
International Conference Center.
This year over 40 seminars were held
discussing e-governance, e-health,
e-education, women in IT, mobile
apps/games, BPOs, cloud, big data,
social media, cyber security, export
market growth and local market.
(digitalworld.org.bd)
Here are a few picks from the
exhibition showing achievements so
far in digitizing Bangladesh:
Bangabandhu satellite
Graphical Image
A replica of Bangabandhu-1 was
shown at the Digital World 2015
exhibition. The Bangladesh
Telecommunication Regulatory
Commission and Intersputnik
signed an agreement on the use
of frequencies at 119.1E. This
resource will be used by a satellite
slated for launch in mid-2017 and
expected to carry 40 transponders
for telecommunications, video and
audio broadcasting. The satellite
can save at least $14m every year,
which is now being paid to different
foreign companies by the country’s 28
television channels for transmission.
The BTRC also claimed that 70% of
the satellite’s revenue would come
from neighboring countries while
the rest would be from local sources.
(Dhaka Tribune and Intersputnik)
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant
Project
The country’s first 2,000 megawatt
(MW) nuclear power plant will be in
Devices for Telemedicine
Nuclear Power Generation Process
operation by 2020. The power plant
will employ nuclear fission process
under controlled condition. The heat
energy released from Uranium-235
(235U) atom nuclear fission generates
electricity. According to the Einstein’s
famous equation based on the theory
of relativity E=mc2, 200 MeV energy
will be released per 235U nucleus
fission. The released energy comes
from the difference in mass of a 235U
atom and the total mass of the fission
produces a Xenon 143 (143×e) atom
and a Strontium-90 (90Sr) atom. An
agreement of 500 million US Dollar
state export credit by the Russian
Federation for the preparatory stage
of the construction of the Rooppur
Nuclear Power Plant and MOU
on the state export credit for the
construction of second stage of RNPP
was signed in 15 January, 2013. Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the
Russian Federation. (Wikipedia and
baec.org.bd)
12-Lead Standalone ECG Machine with Software
Telemedicine devices such as 12 LEAD
Computerized ECG (shown in the
picture), digital stethoscope, localized
lung ventilation monitorand respiration
rate meter specially for children
(electrical impedance based), X ray view
box, digital microscope, Multipurpose
digital imaging camera on stand (2MP)
are developed and designed by the
Department of Biomedical Physics
& Technology of Dhaka University,
Bangladesh under the leadership of Prof.
K Siddique-e Rabbani.
issues, women’s rights, society and
tradition, violence against women
and health in general anonymously
which are answered by professionals.
In its vision Maya states, “Maya
aims to become a positive brand that
empowers women in Bangladesh from
all walks of life. With the web as the
platform, Maya aims to reach women
both online and offline through
multiple channels.” (maya.com.bd)
DAAK
E-Braille
Bangladesh Hi-Tech Parks
First version of E-Braille
Hi-Tech Park
To foster economic development
of the country, the Bangladesh
Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA)
was established in 2010. BHTPA is
responsible for the establishment and
expansion of Hi-Tech Parks within
the country such as Kaliakoir Hi-Tech
Park, Jessore Software Technology
Park, Mohakhali IT Village, Silicon
City Rajshahi, Electronic City Sylhet,
and Freelancer Institute Natore. The
first phase of the Basic Infrastructure
Development Project for Hi-Tech Park
at Kaliakoir has started at a cost of Tk
26 crore on a 232 acres of land. (htpbd.
org.bd)
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
This hand glove will give blind
people the opportunity to read
the texts written on smartphones.
There are six sensor points in the
glove which represent six dots of the
braille cell. These hand gloves use
Bluetooth to connect to an app on
the smartphones. As the user moves
his hands on the smartphone screen,
the sensors vibrate letting the user
know which texts he is touching.
The makers of this prototype are
Jonayet Hossain, Shaifur Rahman
and Samiul Haque who teamed up as
RenoScience and built it within 48
hours spending just Tk 2000.
Maya Apa
Maya Apa lets its user inquire about
women’s health, maternity, teenage
DAAK is a mobile application which
aims to prevent sexual harassment.
Using real time community
engagement, people within 1km
radius will receive distress sms and
a call will go to nearest police station
when someone finds themselves in
an inconvenient situation. It can also
track contacts using internet to help
them get out of such situations. DAAK
won an award in 2014's National
Hackathon on Sexual Harassment
category. n
Deshi app-makers | Digital Bangladesh
Claps for
apps!
John Messer, president of Invictus
US Corporation, talks about how
Bangladeshi app-developers can
jump on the bandwagon of the
future
Faisal Mahmud
The internet has changed everything that
we do. You can now hire talented developers
at any place in the world to develop your
products. As a businessman, we obviously
wanted the best output with the lowest
investment, of course, without compromising
the quality. Bangladeshi developers
perfectly fit into that profile
to organise an app development
competition titled “Innovation
Next Generation” in Bangladesh,
which will include prize money of a
whopping US $25,000 for the winner.
What is it about?
T
he rise of smartphone
usage has established a
thriving market for mobile
applications in the country.
More than 70% of the country’s
internet users are using it through
their mobile network and the demand
for customised and business apps is
increasing day by day.
Due to this boom in mobile
apps, on December 5 last year, the
government organised the National
Hackathon, organised under the
Information and Technology
“Innovation next Generation” had
a booth at the “Digital World 2015”
the sole purpose of which was to
disseminate information about the
competition.
In a conversation with Weekend
Tribune, John Messer, president of
Invictus US Corporation said that they
have created the competition to bring
all the mobile app developers of the
country to submit the concept or idea
of their apps to their corporation.
“We are going to select a few
winners from the list of participants.
Then we will finance them to develop
their apps and aid them in bringing
their products in to the market,” said
Messer.
Messer said that while at he
Digital World event, he observed
the technological innovations and
advancements the country has been
undertaking. All the departments and
ministries of the governments had
stalls at the event and they showcased
their contributions towards achieving
the vision of digital Bangladesh.
“I think this is fantastic. This is
probably the best time to invest in
Bangladesh’s technological sector.”
Photo: Courtesy
Division’s National Mobile Application
Awareness and Capacity Building
Programme.
The objective was to find
innovative solutions to 10 issues
related to question paper leaks, sexual
harassment, traffic congestion, road
security, corruption, reproduction
heath, sanitation, cyclone centre
management, and safe water supply.
Now, to take the country’s mobile
app development into the fast lane,
Invictus US Corporation, a New York
based venture capitalist firm is going
5
The types of apps
When asked what type of apps the
competition will prefer, the US based
venture capitalist said that they want
to help the young entrepreneurs in
the country and want to take their
concepts into the market.
With new innovations and new
business ideas, the whole market has
become diversified. People now need
apps to facilitate their works as well
as for entertainment.
“So if we see an app idea which can
change certain existing concepts in
the market and make it better, we will
go for it.”
“It can even be the next angry bird
or the next whatsapp.”
Why Bangladesh?
Messer said that the US is the biggest
mobile app buyer in the world and
Bangladesh is a large supplier of
these apps. Many US companies
are using customised apps for their
official purposes, and these are being
developed in Bangladesh.
“The internet has changed
everything that we do. You can
now hire talented developers at any
place in the world to develop your
products. As a businessman, we
obviously wanted the best output
with the lowest investment, of course,
without compromising the quality.
Bangladeshi developers perfectly fit
into that profile.”
According to him, the sky is the
limit in terms of the future in the
South Asian region. “This region
represents 23% of the world’s
population but in mobile app world,
it represents only 7%. It has immense
potential to grow.”
Mobile apps are among the fastest
growing sectors in the software
industry and it alone generated at
least one third of the total revenue
earned by the software sector in the
past year in the whole world.
“The situation in Bangladesh
is no different, he said. Observing
the mobile app boom, many
software companies here have
started developing apps. Especially
freelancers who have their accounts
in popular online bidding websites
like “odesk” and “elance,” Messer
added.
“Internet penetration across
the globe has been increasing in a
geometric manner because of mobile
internet. So mobile apps are the
future. Competition like this will
only provide Bangladesh’s tech savvy
youth the much needed impetus to
move forward.” n
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
6 Travel | Morocco
Morocco: the to-do list
M
orocco is increasingly
becoming a popular
destination for
Bangladeshi tourists
who want to put first steps in Africa
beyond the usual destinations
such as Egypt for example. While
we ourselves do many things like
a typical tourist we always make
sure we go off track and experience
something unique. For the readers
of Dhaka Tribune, we can certainly
recommend the top 10 must do
activities / places to see if they are
planning for a trip to this gorgeous
North African country.
Enjoy a Caleche ride in Marrakech
This is the most unique and authentic
way to explore Marrakech. Best done
as the first thing early in the morning
to avoid rush hour traffic and usual
chaos that ensues later in the city.
The Caleches follow a certain route
around the Medina and ride duration
can vary from an hour to two.
Experience Royal Hammam at La
Maison Arabe
Do not leave Morocco without doing
this. Do this preferably the day before
you are returning home. And don’t do
it elsewhere – you have to do it at La
Maison Arabe to understand how to
get ported back in time and be treated
like royalty. This experience involves
a luxurious hot water bath and body
scrub using the authentic Moroccan
herbal oils and toiletries which will
leave a lasting effect on your skin and
state of mind.
Get lost in the offbeat fairy tale blue
town of Chefchaouen
If you are a tourist, go to Marrakech
and come back. You are ordinary.
If you are a voyager, you need to
see for your eyes this blue town of
Chefchaouen. You are extra ordinary
then. Situated some 6 hours drive
from Marrakech up north, this town
was painted in only blue and white in
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
1930s by the Jewish immigrants. It is
a labyrinth of mysterious blue where
you will see the residents of the town
in their local costumes going about
with life as usual.
colours, sounds, chaos. You have to
see for yourself the spice markets,
the leather handicrafts, the colourful
babouches, ceramics and traditional
Berber jewellery here.
Take a day trip near Marrakech: Visit
the Kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou
The harder a place is to get to, the
moremesmerising it is. The more
remote a place is to get to, the
more rewarding that experience
is. Although most would go to
Essaouira or Agadir as a day trio from
Marrakech, we suggest you head
south-east towards Ourzazate to see
the Kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou. You
need to visit for yourself to find out
why so many international movies
were shot including the French
version of Cleopatra, Bertolucci’s
Sheltering Sky, Scorsese’s Kundun,
Gillies Ridley Scott’s Gladiator,
Oliver Stone’s Alexander The Great,
Penelope Cruz’s Sahara etc.
Enjoying the sunset while sipping
mint tea overlooking the Jemaa al
Fena
There are several restaurants
overlooking the Jemaa al Fena and
very naturally seats get filled up
especially before sunset. You can
decide to go to the terrace of Café de
France to book yourself a good spot
from where you can not only see
hustle and bustle of the Jemaa al Fena
below you but you will be witnessing
the astonishing sunset behind the
Koutoubia Mosque. The minaret
will stand tall while the sun will kiss
goodbye to another day.
Do Souk hopping while getting
lost and found in the Medina of
Marrakech
With an open mind but firmly
guarded pockets, you have to make
a plan one day to get completely
lost in the endless maze of the old
Medina at Marrakech. The UNESCO
heritage site is an amalgamation of
Visit mosques and madrasahs
It should be taken for granted that in
order to explore the spiritual aspect
and the Islamic art of Morocco, you
have to spend some quiet time to
reflect on the Universe and all its
creation. No place will give you that
much serenity other than a mosque.
While they are aplenty all around
this country, the one we certainly
recommend would be the Grand
Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.
7
Photos: Courtesy
Team Onetimefashionista visited the Royal Kingdom of Morocco in December 2014
and what an experience that was!
Tanusree Ghosh and Shehzaad Shams
The grandeur, the architecture, the
might will overwhelm you once you
stand outside its door and when
you step inside it will transform
you to a different zone. This is the
largest mosque in all of Morocco, in
Africa and the 7th largest mosque in
the whole world. Similarly the Ben
Youssef Madrasah is an architectural
splendour to marvel at, located inside
the Medina of Marrakech.
Have an afternoon drink in a Riad
Even if you are not staying in one
yourself, it is imperative that to
explore the stay in a typical Riad,
you have to grab a mint tea in one of
the many Riads. In Marrakech, there
are Riads right in the heart of the
Medina and outside it. The unique
ambience, the gentle sound of the
fountains, the calmness is really
worth an experience to have over
some aromatic fresh mint tea.
Dine under Berber tent and enjoy
breathe-taking performance at Chez
Ali
A must have experience towards the
end of your travel in Morocco. This
place is a fantasy kingdom just 10
minute drive from Marrakech towards
the route to Casablanca. Traditionally
dressed characters, colourful Berber
tents and the amazing desert tunes
in the background convert the whole
evening atmosphere into magic land.
Especially the food – the size of the
dish, the amount of food they will
serve you – may bring water to
your eyes after watering
your mouth! The open
air performance that
follows dinner is
equally stunning
with horsemen,
fireworks and
belly dancers.n
Eat Moroccan street food, traditional
dishes
Yes it is the land of couscous and you
will have to try out various couscous
dishes maybe in every other meal you
will be having here. You must also
try Tagine and Moroccan Kebab. It is
mandatory tip to have orange juices
when you are at Jemaa al Fena square.
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
8 Post-Riposte | Movies
Does Zero
Degree have
a negative
impact on
our nation’s
younger
generation?
Yes
It is a sad depiction
of women
Tausif Sanzum
From the moment the movie opened
in theatres, it has received mixed
reviews. A section of the society
praised the thriller for being the first
of its kind in Bangladesh while others
strictly criticised the vulgarity on
screen. If you do not agree with the
latter group, catch the movie at the
nearest theatre and you can see for
yourself what negative impact it has
on movie-goers, a majority comprising
of young people.
At the beginning, we see an upper
middle class family consisting of
a father, mother and a child. The
mother ends up having an affair in
Singapore and leaves her family.
This causes the husband, played
by Mahfuz, to hate on all women,
particularly namesakes of his wife
Nira. He ends up murdering a woman
who he randomly picks up from
Facebook based on her name (Nira).
Her fault being, she neglects her son
and asks him to leave the room while
she was with Mahfuz. This sets the
direction in which women characters
will be shown throughout the movie
– sexually starved, helpless, homebreaker, murderer and indecisive.
Sitting at the heart of the movie is
the character of Saniya played by Joya
Ahsan. However, the story line of her
character is such that it hardly evokes
the emotion it was meant to. She is
repeatedly raped, gang-raped, and
the camera focuses on her assets on
several occasions.
True, that there are instances
where women face these kinds of
terrifying situations, but when you
sexualise it on screen the issue loses
it depth. As evident from the cheers
among the audience, the scenes
evoked nothing but guilty pleasure.
The director shows stark contrasts
between Saniya and Nira. As Saniya
is raped and is a victim of fate, she
is shown as the “good girl” who
deserves all the sympathy despite
murdering her rapists brutally. On the
contrary, as Nira ruins her marriage
while pursuing a new affair, she is
shown as the vamp who, by the end
of the movie is shown to regret the
choices she has made.
Why is it important to create
complete black and white characters?
The makers stick to the age old
formula of heroine and vamp – a rigid
role which is a big blockade in the
path of modern feminism.
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
NO
It is a slice of reality
Rasel Ahmed
A film is a film – a piece of life that
is recreated on reels, not in reality. It
could spark a debate but it shouldn’t
spark idiocy.
We have to admit, Zero Degree
is bold. We live in constant denial
that boldness in any form other
than chauvinistic patriotism,
exists. Zero Degree shows sex, rape,
molestation and drugs, all of which,
unfortunately, are very much a part
of the world around us. We need to
change the holistic concept of purity
that is overwhelming our sense of
reality. If we don’t see them on screen
that doesn’t necessarily mean they
never happen out of the screen.
Zero Degree shows strong violence
– from beginning to end there is
bloodshed, brutality and multiple
assaults depicted on screen. How do
you expect a psycho thriller to design
violence to fit into your taste?
The director was pretty clear on
portraying all the major characters in
the light of the ordeals they undergo.
The violence was inevitable at times to
create the intensity of the moment. One
should be capable enough to analyse
and reject such violence in their lives.
Zero Degree shows desire. Though
the film shed a negative light on
desire as the director had to focus on
betrayal, the good thing is it at least
came out of the closet.
The film shows hatred, but doesn’t
endorse it! At the end of the film we
see a really sadden extremity that is
not meant to be replicated. Hatred
and bigotry can never be the solution
– that should be the only conclusion
we can draw from Zero Degree. n
Ekushey Boi Mela | Photo story
9
A world of books
Photos by Mehedi Hasan and Rajib Dhar
As this year’s
annual Ekushey Boi
Mela comes to an
end, we bring to
you a photo story
featuring precious
moments from the
fair grounds, as a
tribute to the muchawaited event that
is visited by millions
of patriotic Bangalis
nationwide.
Turn for more
photographs
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
10 PHoto story | Ekushey Boi Mela
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
11
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
12 Feature | Cultural school
Batighar
A school that promises much more than academics
Farhana Urmee
W
hat if we could give
our children unlimited
time to play? What if
we could do something
get rid of the cage of hard rules the
burden of the overweight school bag?
Today’s children growing up in the
city, do not have the luxury of space
to run around in. Playing with video
games or doodling on smart phones
have made their existence virtual and
have taken them far away from the
pleasures of real life.
Think about a school that does
not have any uniform and more
interestingly it does not have any
books. A school without books? This
is a cultural school where your kids
can go twice or thrice a week to learn
extracurricular activities. One may
argue that this kind of school can
simply add extra pressure on children
who are already burdened with vast
syllabus, exams and tuitions. On
the contrary, however, it is a school
where children will find space to learn
things that boost their extracurricular
activities, and will open a window to
know about life, their country and
the world. Welcome to Batighar – a
cultural school for children.
Batighar
Children aged between 3-14 are taught
here on a total of six subjects which
include music, dancing, fine arts and
crafts, recitation and acting, debating,
speech and general knowledge, world
history and history of Bangladesh,
the liberation war, culture and
heritage of Bangladesh, science and
environment, contemporary world
affairs and many more.
For the children aged between 3-4
the course is called Prostuti. After
Prostuti children are divided into two
groups according to their age for an
18-month long course. Batighar has
its own curriculum, but it also tries
to encompass more and more subject
matter in teaching the students.
Batighar’s motto is not to teach their
students literally, but rather holding
the children’s hands and be with
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
them while they learn from culture,
heritage, nature and surroundings.
Classes are held every Friday
and Saturday afternoon. There
is another extra class of learning
outside of school. This may consist
of anything from pottery classes at
Dhanmondi Lake or learning about
other the history and culture of other
countries through visiting museums
or historical place or just a tour to the
Agricultural University to learn about
trees and nature.
In winter the classes start at
3:30-6:30pm and in summer the
time schedule is from 4pm-6:30pm.
There is a 20 minutes Tiffin break in
between the classes.
Background
The school started with absolute
personal financing from the owners.
Mehedi Hasan Shoyeb, one of the
initiators shares his vision about
the school: “While the time is very
unstable in terms of social changes,
politics, cultural invasion, it is really
hard for our children to decide what
to pick and remember for lifetime
in this information dense age. We
thought, if we could start an institute
where we can at least try to give our
children a different environment
other than being utterly commercial
and competitive that could be a thing
we could look forward to be fruitful
in future.”
Tamanna Shetu, the director of
the school shares her thoughts: “I
started to think about founding such
a school out of sheer frustration that
I feel living in this city. I see a stark
difference in the childhood of my
children and the one that I had. We
had boundless access to run, play,
swim and sing. But I can hardly
provide my children such luxury of
space and of course, of mind to be
themselves – to be children.” Batighar,
is an endeavour in helping today’s
children by giving them a better
environment to learn their culture
and heritage. This learning is not
just some A-B-C-D or even taking
13
Photos: Courtesy
also need a break from regular school
and routine bound life.”
Vision
Batighar was absolutely an initiative
taken by a couple who were worried
about their own children. And later
their anxiety about the future of their
kids found a common ground when
they met other anxious parents and
ended up startign an entire cultural
school, which will be complimentary
to regular education. “Our motto
to provide the children with the
openness of our nature and society
is a bit hindered when they are
meeting in a class room located in an
apartment building. We hope to move
our school to a more open place with
wide premises in near future,” says
Tamanna, “And about the future that
we dream for Batighar is that this
school will have branches in every
district in the country.” Batighar, is
not an institute that is confined to us
only, it has become the possession of
all the students and guardians who
have come here,” thinks Tamanna,
“this light house could be everyone’s
house.”
As the light house emits light to
help the ships to navigate in sea,
Batighar, the cultural school wants
to be that bright light, which can give
the new generation a light of guidance
so that children do not get lost in
the ocean of concrete jungle, virtual
reality or the imposed structured
education system. n
elaborated dancing or singing classes
in specified institutes, rather this is
learning from life, learning from the
very childhood desire of exploring
things.
It has been almost a year that
the school started. The session
starts according to Bengali year- in
Boishakh. The school started with
a total of six students and now the
number of student is 32. After its
inception a number of renowned
personalities areconsulting for the
betterment of the school. Painter
Hashem Khan, educationist Shymoli
Nasreen Chowdhury, poet Ashim
Shaha, singer Chandana Majumder
and Kiran Chandra Roy and other
cultural personalities, journalist,
debater and organizer have given
their opinion and expert comment on
child education for Batighar.
Nigar Sultana who is a banker
and a mother of a four year old girl
Shemonti, says how she almost
cried when she heard her little one
singing “Moder gorbo moder asha,
Amori Bangla Bhasha,” the very old
and popular patriotic song about our
language. “Shemonti has not yet
learned to speak properly, but as she
sang the song on international Mother
Language Day, it brought tears to
my eyes,” says Nigar. “I don’t need
my child to be the best dancer in the
country or become a popular singer,
I am happy that she is learning every
bit of it in a very cultural environment
and of course, with other kids who
Contact:
Batighar Shishuder Shangkritik
Bidyaloy
5/7, Block E, Lalmatia, Dhaka
Tel: 01624804048, 0176845873
Admission fee: Tk1500
Admission form: Tk200
Monthly fee: Tk1500
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
14
Feature | Matir Mela
The Earth Factor
Jatra’s sustainability fair features environment friendly
cosmetics and food items that are age-old recipes of success
Weekend Tribune Desk
O
Photos: Courtesy
ur lives have become too
fast paced to keep track of
anything and the things we
use are more chemically
and technologically advanced than
we’ve ever imagined it to be. There
was once a time when all of this
would have seemed surreal and
alien-like to us. Back in the day, not
too long ago when we wanted to have
a quite day in and treat ourselves
to some self-pampering we’d do it
ourselves and in our own way with
homemade recipes. Everyone at home
would sit around together and help
with the ingredients while sharing a
laugh.
Now of course, you rely on readymade packaged goods that you buy
off the shelves. You look for the
best brands and you buy the most
expensive one that there is. Either
that or you go to the best spa in town
and spend a good chunk of your hard
earned money after hours of rest and
recuperation. It’s not your fault either
– our lives have forced us to become
so extremely busy that we barely have
enough time for ourselves that we
hardly ever think about using some
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
of our time at home to utilise the
resources around for personal use.
Old is gold remedies
When our parents were in their teens
and if they ever had a problem with
dandruff, their parents would sit
them down and instead of going out
and getting a bottle anti-dandruff
shampoo, they would just use a
mixture of freshly squeezed lime
juice, mustard oil and a little bit of
sugar for a few days to do the trick.
As far as face packs are concerned
instead of buying a face pack in
the past you’d be making your own
face pack like the age-old brilliantly
effective one with carrot paste with a
little bit of honey to rejuvenate your
face and leave you feeling refreshed.
All of this does not only make you
feel like a diva but will also make
you feel like you’re contributing to
the environment by not spending as
much as you used to on chemically
manufactured products.
Jatra’s Matir Mela – a
sustainability fair
Mother nature will sure be proud of
you and pat you on the back much
like our friends at Jatra who organised
an event called “Matir Mela” strictly
focusing on homemade products.
The event introduced Saba Homaira
Ahmad and her wide range of
homemade organic products such as
face wash, shampoo, neem-miswak
toothpaste, beeswax candles, scrubs,
recycled mason jars, solid lotion and
a lot more. There was also a booklet
of recipes and product information on
sale by Saba at the event.
The fair included a puppet show
organised by “Obbhoyaronno,” an
animal welfare project along with a
workshop on DIY cosmetics. There
were also children present from “The
Tech School” who presented their
lessons on how computer science and
robotics could be used for sustainable
energy use.
Since the event was held at Jatra
it couldn’t have ended without
music, Arnob, Anusheh and friends
tantalised the remaining of the night
with their soulful voices.
.
DU Women’s Cricket | Sports
15
off the boundary
Achieving gender equality through cricket
Naveed Ferdous
B
angladesh is a complete
cricket crazy nation. We –
the Bengali people simply
love cricket irrespective
of our age, class, race, religion, sex,
gender etc. The worldwide popularity
of cricket has grown so high that
women’s cricket has also emerged
over the recent years, and Bangladesh
is not absent from the scene. We have
the Bangladesh Women Cricket team
who are doing quite well in the world
arena.
We have the Bangladesh Men’s
Cricket team and the Bangladesh
Women Cricket team. But are
men and women getting equal
opportunities in the world of cricket?
This question arose in a recent
seminar, which dealt with women’s
empowerment and equality in
participation of women in every
sphere, organised by the Department
of Women and Gender Studies,
University of Dhaka.
During the seminar, the speakers
said that having a national cricket
team for women does not imply that
women and men are getting equal
opportunities in terms of playing
cricket. There is almost no scope,
encouragement and opportunities for
women to play cricket in comparison
to men.
A simple example will be enough
to prove it. If we look back in the
history of our cricket, we will find
many cricketers actually had their
roots in their school, college or
university cricket teams. This proves
that cricket in the educational
institutions played a major role in
discovering the best cricketers of the
nation and also that participation
in cricket was encouraged by the
educational institutions. But when
we take a look at the scenario of
participation of women in cricket in
the educational institution, we will
see that no such opportunities exist
for women. How do we expect the
society to offer equal opportunities
when the educational institutions are
not encouraging it?
To change the scene, the Women
and Gender Studies department
along with Dhaka University Cricket
Committee officially launched
Women’s Cricket in Dhaka University
in December 2014. This is the
first time in the country’s history
that a women’s cricket has been
initiated in a formal educational
institution. Sayed Saikh Imtiaz,
Associate Professor, Women and
Gender Studies Department played
a key role here. Last year, he was
appointed as a Member of the Dhaka
University Cricket Committee, who
then established the voice of his
department in the committee and
only then this matter was taken under
serious consideration. Shubhroto
Kumar, the chairperson of the
Committee, and his endless efforts
made it possible to launch women’s
cricket in Dhaka University.
According to Imtiaz, bringing girls
to the cricket ground will not only
ensure their physical fitness and
mental development but also play
a key role in empowering women.
This will be a statement which will
highlight that men and women are
equal and therefore women should
avail equal opportunities as men.
Dhaka University has been the
trend setter among the educational
institutions in Bangladesh. With
Dhaka University starting women’s
cricket he believes that it will
surely motivate other educational
institutions to start and promote
women’s sports. The first step of
Women’s Cricket at Dhaka University
is the inter hall cricket tournament.
Soon it will start inter department
cricket tournament. He believes that
within a very short span we will have
an inter university women’s cricket
tournament.
This initiative has a broad horizon.
Starting cricket in the educational
institutions will help to extract
the best talents. We will get the
best of the players for our national
Women’s team. Once the educational
institutions start this practice, all
the other social institutions will
follow and will start to appreciate it
too. Girls, like boys will have equal
opportunities to play cricket at every
level of the society. This is not only
about the opportunity of playing
cricket but also is about overcoming
a gender-related hurdle for women.
This is about showing the world
what women are capable of and also
establishing the fact that they can do
the things that men do. This is about
eradicating gender stereotyped ideas.
Starting Women’s Cricket at
educational institutions will not
change the situation of women
instantly. But without any doubt, it
will turn out to be a huge contribution
in achieving women’s empowerment
and equality.
.
Photo: Courtesy
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
16
TOUGH LOVE | DINA SOBHAN
cat wars and muggers
Got
a problem?
Write to Dina at
weekend@dhakatribune.
com
Q
Dear Dina,
I am a 22-year-old girl
who lives with her
parents. We have a pet
cat that is the darling of
the house, and we all
dote on her. Recently,
one of my cousins from the village
moved in with us because he got a
job in Dhaka, and my parents offered
to accommodate him. And then
things turned sour. He immediately
expressed that he hates cats! I’ve
done my best to keep my cat out of
his way, and lock the poor thing in
my room when I am away at work. In
any case, she seems to be terrified of
him, which makes me suspect that he
must have lashed out at her at some
point. I’ve tried talking to my parents
about it, but they’re too polite to say
anything to him. I am so frustrated
and angry! How do I get him out of
the house?
A
Dear Feline Fanatic,
While some might find
it strange to give pets
priority over people,
I’m with you 100% on
this one. Let’s face it,
the cat was there first,
and it sounds a lot more pleasant than
your odious cousin, frankly. I think he
must have kicked the cat when you
weren’t looking, and you just can’t
take that sort of thing lying down.
You need to wage a full-on war to
get this guy gone pronto. First, stop
locking your baby in the bedroom.
She has every right to roam free in her
own house. Make sure you have every
member of the household on the
lookout for suspicious behavior on
the part of this cousin; we can’t have
any further acts of violence enacted
on your furry friend. Secondly, you
need to train the cat in some form
of combat, so she can be on the
offensive at all times. Maybe buy her
a scratching post with his photograph
on it, or move her litter box closer to
his bedroom. Lastly, he must be made
to understand that his presence in the
house is not appreciated. Drop not-sosubtle hints about apartment rentals
across town while simultaneously
complaining about how crowded the
house is getting and how suffocated
you feel, etc. Just fight obnoxious
with obnoxious, but do it better.
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
Q
Dear Dina,
I’ve been mugged
twice already in the
last two years, and
it happened again
for the third time
last week. I feel my
paranoia has reached a whole
new level. I’m terrified of going
out now, even during the day; I’ve
already missed almost a week of
work. But I no longer even feel safe
at home, especially since I live on
my own. I’m thinking of moving
in with my parents but they live in
another city and that would mean
having to leave my job completely.
I’m in desperate need of help, but I
don’t know who to reach out to.
A
Well, my immediate
advice to you is: move!
You don’t need to quit
your job and move
to another city, but
you definitely need
to get the heck out of
whatever ghetto area you live in. Who
wouldn’t be paranoid? You’d be crazy
to feel safe there. I bet the people
who mugged you don’t even want to
live there out of fear for their lives.
Cartoon: Priyo/Dhaka Tribune
Instead of barricading yourself into
the death trap you call home, I would
start scouring the papers and telling
everyone you know that you need a
new place to live. In the interim, go
live with family or friends. Hell, live in
a motel if you need to, just don’t stay
in your own house. And if money is a
problem, look for someone to share
with you. It’s a far better option than
slinking home to your parents with
your tail between your legs, isn’t it?
.
Dina Sobhan is a freelance
writer, and cautions readers not
to take her ‘advice’ here too
seriously!
last days | Boi Mela Beat
17
Bidding farewell
to the Boi Mela
The Ekushey Boi Mela comes to an end. With bigger
premises and extra facilities from previous years, this
year’s event was the place to be throughout this month
of February
Farhana Urmee
In Focus: Agun O Chhaya
Agun O Chhaya is a novel by Rayhan
Rhyne published by Prothoma
Prokashan. The book has been
awarded “Borshoshera Boi 1420,”
(best book of the year). It tells the
story of the lives based on the politics
of sex. The context of the novel is
depicted in a way where private
life is dominated by politics of sex
and societal power lies in arms and
weapons. In such a context the very
familiar characters from our day to
day life struggle to survive and cope
with odds. The narrator Javed Kaisar
tells the story sitting in a train and he
has a collage of moments captured by
his camera with him.
A new incident is changing the
old character that we know and thus
every character has a shadow with
it. These shadows become more
mysterious in the world of cyber sex,
and nobody know where all of us are
destined to go.
Who’s In?
Kinkor Ehsan is a new writer who has
had two of his books published at this
year’s Boi Mela.
His novel Rongila Kitab and
collection of stories Swarnobhumi are
both published by Jagriti Prokashoni.
He has worked in newspapers
and is currently working in the
advertisement industry. He begin
writing by contributing columns in
newspapers.
His inspiration is the peace of
mind that he finds while writing. And
reaching out to the readers is always
important to him. His stories are
regularly published in newspapers
throughout the year.
“When writers write,
they have some thoughts
behind it, and later when
readers read it they may
not necessarily perceive
the same meaning that the
writer wanted to share.
This difference of understanding
triggers debate, but to me it is truly
important that the readers are finally
thinking about something that I have
written,” says Ehsan.
Both of his book is available at the
publisher’s stall at the Boi Mela for
Tk120.
Boimela Blow by Blow
This Boi Mela was bigger not only
in terms of space but also in the
total number of books published
too. Till the 24th day of the fair the
total number of books published
were 3,135 whereas the total
number of books published on the
28th day of the fair was 2,959.
The total number of stories
published is 499, novels 554,
essay 163, poetry 737, research
85, rhymes 117, books on
children 81, autobiography 79,
books on liberation war 49, play
26, science and science fiction
92, travel 47, comedy 17,
religion 28 and many more.
Hot on the shelves
1. Octopuser Chokh by Muhammad Zafar Iqbal
2. Porathoporotar Orthoniti by Akbar Ali Khan
3. Tajuddin Ahmad Neta O Pita by Sharmin Ahmad
4. Shorom by Taslima Nasreen
5. Bikkhobher Dingulite Prem by Anisul Haque
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
18 stay in
Book Review: Education and Literature
in the Colonial Period by Muheebul Aziz
ACROSS
1
6
7
8
Talk nonsense about pancake (6)
Play with sitar for upward advancement (5)
First of stops in North Africa is a mountain (5)
Marry everyone in a secure area (6)
states. At 104 pages this is not by
any means a hefty book. But Aziz
managed to put enough historical
data into it and made it a very
informative read.
The first essay (Education in
the Colonial Bengal) lays out the
historical background of the advent
of British education system in India.
The author used primary sources
extensively, which makes the essays
very authoritative. In the first essay
Aziz provides a brief account of
pre-colonial education traditions
and practices. The author dug into
old publications and provided some
fascinating pictures of the past.
Before the British came, children
used to go to school to learn the
Bengali language, reading, writing,
and mathematics. They were also
taught about cultivation, trade, and
letter-writing.
Aziz cites a survey done in
1870, result of which showed the
percentage of students from different
social classes attending government
education institutions.
The second essay in the book
titled, “The origin of Anglo-Indian
literature and Poet Ramkinu Dutt,”
details the earliest English language
writers of Bengali origin. In the
second part of the essay the author
provides biographical information on
poet Ramkinu Dutt. The reason for
singling out this poet is that Ramkinu
Dutt was one of the first Bengali
personS to write poetry in the
English language but he is absent
from nearly all historical records and
was never credited as one of the
earliest Anglo-Indian writers.
Ramkinu Dutt had a bitter sweet
relationship with the British authority,
as Aziz documents in detail. He was
arrested for obstructing land survey
in Chittagong, where he was a
native. However, he wrote a number
of poems praising British members
of government and the Queen. Aziz
quoted a few verses by Dutt.
In “Reverend Krishnamohon
Bondopaddhay and his journalism”
the author looks into the life and
work of one of the most prominent
19th century Bengali thinkers. Aziz
calls Reverend Krishnamohon
Bondopaddhay an “anti
establishment intellectual.”
“The first Bengali Education
Periodical” details the birth of the
first ever Bengali periodical on
education. The author quotes an
article by Krishnodas Bondopaddhay
that appeared in one of its issues.
The article provides instruction
on how to interact with an English
person. Read without the historical
context this will probably fall within
the modern genre of black comedy.
The author carefully investigated
primary sources and literature
for writing these essays. This is a
beautifully written educational book
that anyone can read. A glaring flaw
in the publication is that the book
does not contain any biographical
information on the author. The book
was first published in 2007 by the
Oitijjhya Publication in Dhaka (ISBN
– 984-776-504-9). n
2
3
4
5
Weapons at disposal of football team (7)
Delicate tool holds piece of cloth (7)
Wager I arranged for insect (6)
Puzzle of dance understood (6)
Solved it? Email answers to weekend@dhakatribune.
com and win one free month of the Dhaka Tribune.
Last week’s solutions
W
Clues
DOWN
Saqib Sarkar
hen we talk about our
education system we
compare it to the “western”
system of education. We tend to
forget that our education system is a
“western” system introduced to this
subcontinent by the good old British
Empire.
What were the first “English
medium” schools like? Why the
British spend so much effort to
educate us? What is the history of
colonial education? These are some
of the questions Muheebul Aziz
answers in his book Education and
Literature in the Colonial Period.
The book is put together as a
collection of 6 essays. Aziz explores
the history and background of
education and literature in colonial
India, which currently exists, of
course, as three independent nation
Mini cryptics
ACROSS
1 Churchman uses vehicle after six (5)
5 Employ you and I and initially, everyone (3)
6 President sees nine in French refusal (5)
8 Parasites after a children’s literary heroine (5)
10Left, for example, limb (3)
11Correct electricity and repair (5)
DOWN
1 Roman house holds an orchid pod (7)
2 A hundred bovine, steer on the water (3)
3 Manage to flee (3)
4 Ginger communist leader (7)
7 Bird takes lid off soup vessel (3)
8 Silver plate’s last years (3)
9 99 Euro for frozen dessert (3)
Sudoku
Use the numbers 1-9 to complete each
of the 3x3 square grids such that each
horizontal and vertical line also contains
all of the digits from 1-9
Last week’s sudoku solutions
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
Go out
19
Weekly Planner
Feb 27
Music | 25th Recitation
Workshop 2015,
When 3-5pm
Where TSC, University of
Dhaka
The four months long
workshop is titled “Standard
pronunciation, verbal
excellence, recitation and news
presentation,” and will have
Professor Niranjan Adhikari,
Dr. Shoumitra Shekhar, Mir
Barkat,Golam Sarwar, Shimul
Mustafa, Rejina Wali Leena,
Shahadat Hossain Nipu,
Majumdar Jewel, Mrinmoy
Mijan, Masud Ahmed, Morshed
Alam, Kamrul Islam Jewel,
Manjur Hossain and others
among the esteemed list of
trainers. Application forms can
be collected in front of DUCSU
cafeteria on Fridays between 10am to
12:30pm. To apply online visit http://
abrittiacademy.org/workshop-form.
The admission fee is Tk600.
For more information, contact: 01911594051, 01552-329238.
Feb 27- Mar 4
Theatre | Theatre Festival
2015
When 9am onwards
Where Selim Al Deen
Muktomancha, Jahangirnagar
University
Like every other year Jahangirnagar
University theatre is a arranging
theatre festival and this year will be
their 35th instalment.
Feb 27
Workshop |
Digital Film Making Workshop 2015
When 3-8pm
Where Moviyana Film Society, Bangladesh Shilpakala
Academy
Moviyana Film Society and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy is
arranging a digital film-making workshop with a moto of ‘’from zero
to infinity, it’s all about movies.’’ The workshop, which will span four
months, with two sessions per week (Friday- 10am-8pm, Saturday3-8pm), is categorised in to three different stages: movie appreciation,
movie making training, and movie making
Every session will screen movies relating to the context.
Renowned film personalities will be conducting sessions such
as Syed Salahuddin Jaki, Liakat Ali Lucky, Syedul Anam Tutul, Dr.
Salimullah Khan, Maksudul Bari, sound engineer Ratan Pal, Producer
Samir Khan, Professor Sabrina Sultana Chowdhuri, Sabyasachi Hazra,
music director Tanvir Alam Shojib and many more.
Belayat Hossain Mamun will be planning and coordinating the
workshop.
Participation fee for the workshop is Tk1,500.
For more information contact: 01675642777, 01971101106,
01815110282
Feb 28
Where Greenland Migration
Limited, House No- 34, Road
No-100,Gulshan-2
Theatre | 25th show of
MACBETH
When 7pm onwards
Where National Theatre,
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy,
Segunbagicha, Ramna
Macbeth, a popular tragedy from
William Shakespeare will be featured
at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
The production is translated by Syed
Shamsul Haq, produced by Padatik
Nattya Sangsad and will be directed
by Sudip Chakroborthy.
Greenland Migration Limited
is arranging a free information
session on various Canada
Immigration opportunitie.
Information regarding
Express Entry, PNPs and other
options will be discussed.
For reservations, please send
your CV to seminardhk@
greenlandmigration.com, and
call 01847090009 for assistance.
Feb 28
Immigration | Free
information session on
Canada Immigration
Send your events to
weekend@dhakatribune.com
When 3pm onwards
Feb 28-Mar 6
Environment |
Environment Week 2015
When 3pm onwards
Where Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology
(BUET)
“Environment Watch: BUET” is
celebrating Environment Week
2015.
The event schedule includes:
Day 1 – Feb 28
Inauguration of “Environment
Week”
Magazine publication
Setting up trash cans throughout
the campus
Tree plantation
Day 2 – Mar 1
Seminar on environment
Photography exhibition
Day 3 Mar 2
Poster presentation
Competition on ideas for
improvement the BUET campus
environment
Day 4 – Mar 3
Performance by Boyati
Day 5 – Mar 4
Horticulture fair
Closing ceremony
Day 6 – Mar 6
Nature Olympiad (inter-college &
inter-university)
Prize giving ceremony
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5
20 Event | Project Dhee
Connecting the
dots through
knowledge
Spreading awareness on gender issues
Tausif Sanzum
“W
here the
mind is
without
fear, and
the head is held high, where
knowledge is free, where the
world has been broken up into
fragments by narrow domestic
walls” this extract from the
widely popular poem of
Rabindranath Tagore sums up
the journey Project Dhee has
undertaken.
Whenever an LGBT related
issue pops up, it ends up
garnering considerable
amount of publicity. However,
most of the reports and
conversations tend to ignore
the core idea and focuses
mostly on the “LGBT” factor.
One such project which has
caught a significant amount
of attention since its launch
on Facebook on February,
followed by an inauguration
ceremony at EMK Center on
Feb 19, is Project Dhee.
The event saw the likes of
Robert Gibson, the British
High Commissioner to
Bangladesh, eminent filmmaker Noman Robin and
researcher Shuchi Karim who
all came in support of the
project.
Rasel Ahmed, the Project
Manager of Project Dhee
says: “It was quite a challenge
for us to come up with a
name for the project which
does full justice to what it
stands for. ‘Dhee’ stands for
intellect, wisdom, knowledge,
comprehension.”
Tanvir Alim, the Executive
Director of BoB (Boys of
Bangladesh), the organisation
which is spearheading the
project, pointed out that
through this attempt of
theirs they want to impart
knowledge on alternative
sexuality, a topic which is still,
to a large extent, spoken in
hushed tones.
What is Project Dhee?
“The project will be
undertaken over a period of
14 months. During this period
we want to present a five
years strategy plan regarding
the LGBT movement in
Bangladesh. We aim to do it
through initiating countrywide awareness campaigns,
community mobilization
and spreading more fact
based information on sexual
orientation and gender
identity,” says Rasel.
Though Bangladesh has a
long way to go when it comes
to acknowledging LGBT rights,
a pro-LGBT movement has
been collecting steam in the
last couple of years in Dhaka.
Instead of just limiting to
Dhaka, project Dhee wants
to spread awareness among
both the LGBT community
members as well as the nonLGBT population across the
WEEKEN D TR I BU N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UARY 27, 201 5
seven districts of the country.
They do not want to term
the project as an advocacy
channel. Instead of drawing
conclusions, Tanvir Alim
explains: “We want to create
a platform where people can
come forward and debate
about sexuality.”
Three components of Dhee
The project consists of three
major components of which
External Advocacy is the
most interesting. Through
this component, Dhee wants
to reach out to allies from
different walks of life and
are not essentially part of
the LGBT community. These
allies will be chosen through
fifteen country wide events.
“We plan to have at least 50
allies at the end of each event
who will include journalists,
NGO workers, students,
artists, etc, and we want to
provide them with a platform
where they can understand
the complexities of sexuality,
gender identity, etc. We
would like to refer yo them
as ‘priority change-makers.’
They will be provided with
campaign materials designed
by our team of content
developers who have broken
down the complex discourse
in such a manner that it has
become much easier for
people out the community to
understand. These ‘priority
change-makers’ will be given
the tasks of distributing these
materials and spread what
knowledge they have received
during the workshops with
ten people from their personal
group. In this way by the
end of the project we want
to reach 7500 people who
are outside the community,’
claims Rasel Ahmed.
There is a lack of
information relating to LGBT
issues even among members
of the community, particularly
those living in small towns.
Dhee wants to make a little
change in this direction. They
want to find 21 potential
LGBT activists, three from
each district. These potential
“dhees” will undergo a two
days long training process.
Post this, they will hold focus
group discussions among
LGBT members of their
community in their respective
home towns and pass on what
they have gathered during
the training session. Finally,
Dhee will provide them with
essential support to hold
seven programs, one in each
of their districts.
The final component
consists of Dhee coming up
with a strategy and action
plan after gathering country
wide information on what
could be the possible direction
the LGBT community wants to
take over the next five years.
The risk factor
Tanvir Alim says: “There is
also the danger of an LGBT
project backfiring particularly
because of the backlashes
from the conservative
members of the society.
However, we are willing to
take the risk for the sake of
the greater good. Also we are
planning to contact NGOs and
support groups in each of the
districts and work in close
proximity with them while
organising events which will
considerably mitigate the
risk factors. Finally, when we
are going to approach noncommunity members to be
‘priority change makers,’ we
will try to bring together a
bunch of rational and liberal
group who are ready to listen
to, if not accept the existence
of an alternative sexuality.”
On LGBT being labeled as a
foreign concept
Rasel Ahmed admits that while
it is true that they are working
with materials which might
not be local, the discourse on
alternative sexuality is almost
non-existent in Bangladesh.
As such, using materials
from the West or even from
nearby countries like India is
the best alternative solution.
However, they promise to
modify these to suit local
taste before imparting them.
Alim concludes: “Just because
something is foreign, it does
not mean that it is negative.
We should always leave the
slate blank to incorporate
knowledge.” n
WE E K E N D TR I B U N E | F R I DAY, F E B R UA RY 2 7, 2 0 1 5