Reflections

One of the most rewarding engagements to me, and perhaps to so many others,is the animated discussions one has with friends. Such no-holds-barred sessions at least in our close and intensely vibrant circle,produce fireworks and have a cleansing effect.That reminds me to put to them my recently -written controversial piece ( in Bangla -titled ‘Humu,Himu ebong Aami’) and have the exorcising ceremony in full earnest. The ghosts and cobwebs a la late celebrated Humayun Ahmed could perchance receive a respite. Let me keep these thoughts for a later rambling. Details…

Reflections

Manik Bhai used to visit us sometimes with his daughters and a son,none of whom even in later years,had any flare for literature or the sense of finer arts. They were near about our age, with the elder girl,Pushkin by name, being really pretty and somewhat dumb, the younger one called Kochi was a wild one and perhaps took special courses in being overtly quarrelsome and rude.

Their brother was a silent type named, I don’t know why, Masum, meaning innocent. I always got ruffled by such and other anomalies and I still do. So I asked Manik Bhai what this pushkin thing all about .Don’t raise the eyebrow, I was around 12 or so, for heaven’s sake! Manik Bhai’s you’ve not still read the world classics, then you would have known Pushkin was one of the greatest writers in Russian and world literature. Naming his first-born with this somewhat pompous, and strange surname, did ,in my view, a lot of damage to the poor girl’s psychology. Details…

Educational researchers unveiled a series of research findings at the ‘Sixteenth Educational Researchers’ Conference’ held on 24 November, 2012 at IDB Bhaban, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. UNESCO and Bangladesh Forum for Educational Development (BAFED) jointly organized the conference. Findings from a total of five research works were presented in the conference.

Professor Mustafa Kamal, Chairman, National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), inaugurated the conference as the chief guest with Professor Dr. Abu Hamid Latif, Chairman, BAFED, in the chair. Mr. Kichi Oyasu, Officer-in-Charge, UNESCO Dhaka Office, was present as the special guest. The presentation & discussion session was presided over by Dr. Manzoor Ahmed, Senior Advisor at BRAC University’s Institute for Educational Development (IED). Details…

There is a saying that ‘History is written by the old but made by the young’. Youth is the most valuable time of a person’s life. Youth is a guiding force for change. Hopes, dreams and futures of a nation are reflected through the young people. Our youths played a historical role in the Language Movement of 1952, the Liberation War in 1971, and also the Anti-autocratic Movement in 1990.

At present, the youth constitute one-third of our total population. But our parents, teachers and social workers are worried of our youths. Many of them think that youth means a person involved in eve-teasing, terrorist activities, taking drugs or deviated student politics. No doubt, in an era of rapid social degradation this is true. But it is one side of the coin. Details…

In Bangladesh, classrooms are considered as the only teaching-learning places in the schools. Usually, within a stipulated time (30-40 min) a teacher gives instruction (in most of the cases lectures) on his/her respective subject and the loyal students are bound to follow their teachers. And it is very natural most of the students can hardly concentrate on their study. They think classrooms as the most boring places in the world. Sometimes, even the teachers loose their interest in conducting the classes. As a result creative teaching-learning activities have been an elusive in our schools. Details…

Reflections…..

If one tries to recall the past, it becomes a fascinating exercise to know how many good people one has met along the way. Relatives, friends, strangers and so on have enriched our lives in various measures,at different levels and in wide ranges of fields. We did not have any paternal uncle, as my father was the last to be born and his immediate elder brother, whose name I happen to be known by, was almost twenty-five years his senior.But his only son was older than our eldest brother.However, we had quite a few maternal uncles and aunts- a very colourful, noisy and varied lot. Two uncles have had the most abiding impact on my growing -up years. No two persons could be as different as Zahed Khalu and Hassan Khalu were, as were the two khalas they were married for over twenty five years at the time. Details…

They say “Life’s hard!” Hard in a sense that we have to struggle a lot to survive the moments. In fact from the elementary level we grow up learning that, “life is not a bed of roses .” But is it only me who finds life so easy? Or it’s actually easy? I am referring to the life that is totally wrapped up with the internet! Details…

Downtown Disney is home to restaurants, nightclubs and shopping adventures. You will find that it has the same souvenir shopping experience, including a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique salon as you will find in the Kingdom. So if you are trying to maximise your theme park time, you might save some of that for here. Even if you are just a window shopper, there is a very cool Lego store with some fantastic Lego sculptures on display.

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Law and Legal English - An Understanding on Legal English and English for Law, first edition by Barrister Md. Abdul Halim (Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh) and Ms. Farhana Helal Mehtab (Associate Professor, Department of Law, Daffodil International University and PhD Researcher, Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka), Published By: CCB Foundation, Dhaka, September 2012. 272pp. ISBN: 978-984-33-5349-8 Details…

From time to time we get people who glorify the human civilisation through their knowledge, intellect, dedication and leadership. Abraham Lincoln was such a great person. He was the 16th president of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Abraham Lincoln successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil war – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and promoting economic and financial modernisation. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was mostly self-educated. One of his letters is very famous in the history. Abraham Lincoln wrote the letter to his son’s teacher. Details…