Shuvo shokal from Dhaka, “There’ll be higher education for the toilin’ starvin’ clown, An’ the rich and educated shall be educated down.”So said Henry Lawson in his poem “For’ard”. The message resonates here. I know that bringing a western education to Bangladesh has its doubters. After all, it’s a bit like imposing imperialist dogma on …Read More
Shuvo shokal from Dhaka, Bangladesh the nation was born in bloodshed, in a nine-month war of liberation from Pakistan in 1971. Local folklore has it that the principal progenitor of the war was Pakistan’s determination that the national language would be Urdu. For East Pakistan (well over 1000 kms from the seat of power in …Read More
He hottun Saint Martin’s Island, It was the American band The Eagles who penned the aphorism, “Call some place Paradise: kiss it goodbye”. They were absolutely right about that. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has ever been in a beautiful place and been mystified by the propensity of some predecessor to leave …Read More
Na dam ma? from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, The people of the sub-continent are a bit difficult to categorise, anthropologically. They seem to be an amalgam of the Aryans, the Mauryans, the Guptas, the Muslims and the Moghuls. They appear to have some negroid, some caucasoid and some mongoloid. One Bangladeshi girl in my Grade …Read More
Shuvo shokal from Chittagong, Getting around on the sub-continent is always interesting. Traffic in Dhaka is a study all on its own. Being in the middle of it can be infuriating and exciting in equal proportions. And perhaps the most exciting mode of transport is the CNG. CNGs The CNGs are gas-propelled three-wheelers which …Read More
Ayubowan from Sri Lanka, . . . a bit more from the mango island: It’s fitting that the country derives its name from a food item as food tends to dominate the landscape there. It’s a beautiful country with beautiful food. Josef da Cruz lives in Negombo Beach on the west coast. He …Read More
Ayubowan from rainy Sri Lanka, That’s the big disadvantage with visiting a rainforest: the rain! We have travelled to Trincomalee on the north-east coast where the rainy season is lingering. Even the locals have had enough and can even be apologetic about it to us. It gives me a chance to compose another epistle. Trincomalee …Read More
Ayubowan from Sri Lanka, I’ve often wondered about the concept of travel. What is the benefit, for example, of travelling great distances in order to observe a zebra or to stand in the shadow of some ancient stone building? After all, as a tourist in such scenarios, you are not actually doing anything; merely looking. Why …Read More
Shuvo shokal from Dhaka, It’s never a surprise to find corruption where there is poverty. The link is universal and easily explained. The problem, of course, for a developing nation is that entrenched corruption is hard to eradicate, even many years after passing through the pre-industrial phase. Bangladesh has its share of corruption. In fact, …Read More
Shuvo shokal from darkening Dhaka, When Napoleon Bonaparte likened China to a sleeping giant, he was warning the rest of the world about the impact of the Chinese behemoth waking up and stretching. We are all living through the moment in history when Napoleon’s prediction is taking shape. Neighbouring India also has a massive …Read More