My Publications

Hope rekindled for a dying forest Faizul Khan Tanim visits Lawachara forest which is returning from the brink of destruction through conservation efforts undertake by the forest department and funded by the USAID photos by Sirajul Hossain The thing that hits you when walking through Lawachara National Park, just outside Srimangal town in Sylhet, is the overpowering scent of pure greenness. At dawn, the forest glows as if the sun were involved in a wild love affair with the leaves. It is hard to believe that Lawachara is less beautiful now than it was for the first person who ever walked there. Ants march, birds chirp, wildcats prowl and apes dance through the trees, almost as if they had been choreographed for a Disney animation. Decades of destructive management policies of the Bangladesh Forest Department has meant that the Hoolock Gibbon—Bangladesh’s lone ape species that was once abundant in Lawachara—has seen its natural habitat shrink to the point edge of final destruction. The

Jaatishshor – reincarnating their musical values by Faizul Khan Tanim If you are a traveller in mind and musician at heart, then you will realise that the band’s musical taste has travelled wide across the world in search of divine tunes and genres but Jaatishshor is set firmly in their native Bangladeshi oeuvre. Powerful and energised folk-jazz-rock-funk fusion,friendly grooves under folk-inspired melodies,mystical flute, tabla beats, bass, drums and craftedvocals - the album covers almost all variations ofharmony and divinity. This is one CD which caters to the taste and smell ofBengal – I mean, it will drive you to a villagewedding with water splashes and romantic boat rides;continue with happy tunes involving juvenile love,capture the essence of urban romanticism and, finally,take you to the realisation of our inevitable destiny. Listening to Shopno, a lover, holding onto pastmemories of his lost beloved, we ask the eternalquestion – Shopno dekha shikhiye amay harale oikolahole…cho

Incubus Among Us 6th studio album Light Grenades bombarding our senses By Faizul Khan Tanim When South-Asian fans like me fervently anticipate an alter rock band album from the West, it means that the group has jolted and wowed our imagination with its ostentatious lyrics and mind-blowing tunes. From the thousands of international albums released from the United States (some of which are way below standard), Incubus's music actually makes me restless craving for more. Listening to the pre-released track Anna Molly – a pure Incubus rock and hearing the album name, I thought that it would be an explosive album with emphasis on heavy rebellious rock. Instead, the quintet gave 13 songs composed from different Incubus-phases. Listening to the CD, I have come to the conclusion that the title track Light Grenades is a riveting track as it is filled with a nu-metal-ish hard hitting sound. The track literally explodes…exciting you to head bang and mosh; when performed in a gig I mean. With

muhuhuhhahhaha