Shining stars and future of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is passing a horrible time considering incidents of recent past. Nothing is going right and we are facing all the worse things. Alike most of the countrymen I was also depressed about the whole scenario. A report on Daily Star made me to dream and be hopeful about the future once again. Its about the superb performance of O level and A level students of Bangladesh. just read a part of the report which is given below.

Thirty-four Bangladeshi students secured the highest marks worldwide in thirteen subjects in the GCSE O-level examinations last year while another 19 have obtained the highest marks worldwide in six subjects of the A-level exams during the same period. Two students also obtained A grade in 11 subjects in the 2008 O-level examinations.

I am sheer delighted to see those shining stars who have proved once again the potential of our country. Its now proven that our boys and girls have the worldclass merit and they are the best in many cases. We should inspire and suport them to build up themselves more strong, who in tern is the future of the country. Lets be insipred and work together to build a better Bangladesh.

Congratulations and hats off to all those shining stars.

Observing Pohela boishakh at Ramna

"Shuvo Noboborsho"
To observe Bangla new year and to see how it is observed I went to Ramna park today. I reached karwan bazar around 10am and found the traffic totally clogged there. So I started walking towards the historic "Ramna Botomul", center of all attraction and the value of the cultural program. The crowd was so thick all around that it was not easy even to walk. When I entered Ramna Park after waiting long in line it was all over. Though the program were finished the crowd were there enjoying the time with dear ones.

Then I went to TSC and Charukola Institute. I found it interesting that most of the people there were like me. They went just to roam around and be a part of the festival. The whole area became a sea of people. There was no vehicle allowed within one kilometer of the "Ramna Botomul". Outside this area the traffic was horrible. I have seen cars and buses not moving an inch from Panthopoth to Chief Advisors office. The situation in other directions would be similar, I guess. I walked for 3 hour from 10 am to 1 pm without any rest.

While roaming around I have taken many snaps. I am finding it difficult to upload those. I have uploaded some in flickr. Here are some more..

The whole area became a sea of people


Drawing tattoo


Signing in the longest bat of the world

Let's be less critical

I am quite surprised in the reaction of the bloggers concerning present situation of Bangladesh. A unique type of government is running the country which came into power in a very critical situation. During their 3 months in power, they have been enjoying vast public support so far. Though there are few ambiguity and allegation against them, their activities and moves are mostly positive.

But when I come to read posts of fellow Bangladeshi bloggers I became confused. Where those propaganda coming from? Even the most prominent Bangladeshi blogger (Rezwan) seems anxious being far away from his motherland. It's interesting that this type of news is available mostly online. Even newspapers have not published this sort of news that much. Let me assure Rezwan bhai that the practical situation here is quite different than you see online. People here are suffering for the new rules. But in spite of being fad up with the government, they are trying to cope up with the situation. Politicians are not saying anything against the government while their fellow politicians have been detained one after another. So, I think the situation is not that worse.

I think bloggers becoming a bit more critical in analyzing the situation. The blogging arena seems a bit politicized also.

An exceptional independence day

Today is 37th Independence Day of Bangladesh. This day reminds us that we weren’t free always. Today we remember the thousands of brave souls who died in 1971 just to make us free. They know the value of the word “Freedom”, so they sacrificed everything to have it. Now their beloved country is free; but do we feel the value of it?

I have witnessed 17 independence days, after knowing the meaning of it. But today I feel much different than the other 16. I was thinking about the reasons behind experiencing it exceptional and found the followings-

1. None is shouting around that their leader (Mujib or Zia) is the only inspiration of liberation war.
2. The independence was achieved by the combined contribution of many persons. Not a single time in last 36 years all of them were given the due respect simultaneously. Today in “National Parade” the pictures of Bangabandhu and Mejor Zia were side by side where the former one was bigger in size. There were some other portraits giving the required importance.
3. For a free nation all the citizens should be treated in same scale. Today we are observing our national day with the son of former prime minister and many other main leaders in jail. Today it is proved that our country don’t need leaders who only think about themselves.

IIUPE 2007: a pleasant exhibition and some bitter experience

IIUPE stands for "International Inter University Photography Exhibition". The exhibition took place at "Shilpokola Academy" from 17 to 23 March. It was organized by NSUPC (North South University Photography Club). I am one of the 200 participants of the exhibition. Though I am not at all qualified in photography, I have great interest in it. With all enthusiasm we founded PSR (Photographic Society of RUET) back at Rajshahi and organized a small exhibition at our campus. When I heard about IIUPE, I couldn't avoid the chance to participate.

Now let's come to the point. How was the exhibition? "Great", everyone visiting it would say without any doubt. The exhibition was wonderful indeed. 500 photos displayed there resemble different views and ideas of amateur student photographers from around the world. The gallery in which the photos were displayed is one of the best in Bangladesh. Hence we must thank the organizers for arranging such a nice exhibition.

So what's wrong with it? Actually in eye of a visitor, there was noting wrong. But from the viewpoint of a participant it was nothing but a bitter experience. We were invited for the opening and closing ceremony just a day before over phone. There was no arrangement for the participants. Ops! There were snacks for all the viewers. But nobody served it; you have to collect the pack yourself. The organizers were busy enjoying themselves. No one even said welcome to the participants who traveled hundreds of kilometers just to attend the occasion. Is it so tough to give value to the guests you invited?

70% discount at Ecstasy

Yesterday while roaming around at the giant Bashundhara City, a sign surprised me. It was declaring 70% discount. You won't believe it, the shop is "Ecstasy". Established brands other than "Westecs" seldom give discount and they never give more than 50% discount. Even the discount is not for so called selected items; but for all the items they have there.

Everyone there became crazy with the offer, leaving the shop fully loaded. Even the guards had to control the flow of entry to the shop. I coincidentally found the shirt I chose before, which was too expensive than. I bought the shirt for 258 taka which costs 860 taka in normal cases. I can't remember any deal that satisfied me to this extent.

So hurry up! The offer may not last long.

Completing graduation with 1 month in hand

I have completed my graduation recently. It took 3 years and 11 months to add a degree with my name.

For public university students, it is a dream to complete the course in time. In most cases the dream never come true and it takes about 6 years to complete the course of 4 years. While other universities are burdened with huge session jot, we finished the degree with 1 month in hand. Thanks to our university authority to make the system so speedy and efficient.

In my varsity life, our varsity didn't ever stop for any unexpected incidents. Our class was running even when the blockade by political parties clogged the country. The best engineering university of the country is about 1 year behind us. I feel proud to complete my graduation from such a university.

Thrill of exploring Bangladesh

On last sunday my article titled "Thrill of exploring Bangladesh" has published on "Star Campus" of The Daily Star.
Click here to read it.

Education: going beyond reach

Students who cannot afford to buy admission forms should not aspire to study in the university, they would rather enroll at madrassas

Altaf Hossain
VC of Rajshahi University

My heart trembled reading this in Star Magazine. Politicians are used to say this kind of junk. But when head of the second largest university of a country says it, the situation becomes awful. Vice Chancellor of a university is the guardian of the students who must not overlook any of the students. He is the person to ensure enrollment of students according to their merit, not considering their social or economic status. When he looks for financially strong students for the institute we feel helpless.

In most of the public varsities tens of thousands of students sit for the admission tests. The fees they give are used for the expenses of the test. But the total amount is so huge that teachers and officers get a good share from the rest of the money. There can be no reason to increase it further.

In our varsity there are students who struggle to pay the least amount of hall fees. Some of them don't go home during vacations only to save some penny. But they proved their quality coming all they way and becoming an engineering student. We won't see such students in future if the authority makes their path even troublesome. In that case public university, the last hope for poor students will also become a dream for them.

A Hypothesis about getting a Nobel from Bangladesh

Bangladeshis are known to be great addabaz (gossiper). They like to shout, quarrel and even fight for the sake of meaningless discussions. The discussions are meaningless from the point of view that they have no power to implement anything and the people who are there to implement never count them in. Is the introduction getting big? Let's come to the fact.

For last few days Nobel winning of Dr. Yunus is the hot topic. Dialog between two main political parties comes next on the list in the table of adda (gossip). To dominate such an adda one of my uncle has brought in a hypothesis. That is – "Dr. Yunus was always qualified for the Nobel, but never valued by the westerns. When he got the prize? He got it in such a time when not only political parties but also whole nation looking for an acceptable person to lead the caretaker govt. It is a open matter that Dr. Yunus has a close relation with United States. So the US thought it's high time to put a person they like, in the chair. If he gets a Nobel, he becomes most respected and acceptable to all. Finding no solution in the ongoing talk, the two main parties will offer him the chair. That's how they played the game."

Though my uncle's theory of getting Nobel may not be pleasant, but the prediction is rational. May be many of you has already started to think in this way. So what's your opinion about the hypothesis?

Why foreign consultant?

In the recent speeches, Nobel laureate Dr. Yunus has pointed out many vital facts. Of them foreign consultancy is one. It is very common to appoint foreign consultants in most of the projects in Bangladesh. It directly implies that our country don't have enough experts in the concerned sectors. But in reality that is not the case. How foreign consultants can give better suggestion in matters like poverty elevation? The fact is, we are dependent on foreign things and believe that everything from abroad is better.

A poor country like Bangladesh can not effort huge amount of money to get some suggestion from outside, having many qualified persons inside. Foreign experts consume much bigger amount of money than our experts. It is also building pressure in our foreign currency reserve. None but we can realize our problems better. So we should come forward to find out the solutions not depending on outsiders suggestion.

Torture of Loudspeakers

The use of loud speakers is a very common affair in Bangladesh. It is being used in politics, publicity, marketing, religious festivals and every other possible fields. Especially in the month of Ramadan it crosses all the limits. In front of every market there are lots of loudspeakers to advertise and attract customers. But the sounds of those are so noisy and loud that it becomes a torture to the pedestrians. In Chittagong the condition of new market area is worst, considering use of random loud speakers. Shop owners' organizations of New market, Riazuddin bazar and Tama kundi lain using tens of horns with loud sound which ended in a mess. It is intolerable to the buyers who are already tortured by load-shedding and huge rush at markets. The Chittagong city corporation took an initiative to keep the holiness of Ramadan and it is to play holly Quran in all the important traffic circles. This noble initiative also goes in vain because of low quality sound mixed up with noise.

In such ways sound pollution are leaving a bad trace on every of us. The authority should focus on this sector to keep the environment livable. Actually people are unaware of their rights and users are rough in using those. They think it is their right to use loudspeaker of any quality, anywhere they like. If you ask whether they have permission to use those, they will suggest you to put some cotton in your ears if you don't want to listen. That's how it works.