My Publications

Breaking the barriers Young, talented, dynamic and die-hard proponents of women power, Jesin, Alif, and Mishu represent a new breed of women who are stamping on an old stereotyped template to come out with conviction and flair. Faizul Khan Tanim and Tahmina Shafique get a feel of that ineffable dazzle photos Momena Jalil Kazi Jesin Needless to say that, Kazi Jesin continues to be one of the most popular talk-show hosts. She stands out for her distinctive style in delivering news or for discussing issues. 'I think it has been easier for us to be a part of media, because there has been a positive change in attitudes and perceptions of society towards women talk-show hosts or news presenters,' says Jesin. Born in Gaibandha, Jesin spent most of her childhood reading books and writing short stories. After her Secondary School Certificate examinations, she came to Dhaka but continued writing as a freelancer completing BBA from East West University. In 2003, Jesin received an offer ...

Mask exhibition at Art Club Bangladesh by Faizul Khan Tanim Mask – the word has a tremendous sense of anonymity in its very essence. Although used to disguise ones human identity, it also brings out the reflective imaginations dwelling inside the bearer, consciously or unconsciously. For example, comic legends Batman or Spiderman sport a mask that inspires heroic deeds while there are chainsaw wielding masked men in movies who commit massacres and run a chill up your spine. For avid masquerade enthusiasts to find their own prototype- whether a superhero or a serial killer, a mask exhibition is being held at the Art Club Bangladesh at Gulshan-2. The event will end on June 29. At the exhibition, there are many delights for connoisseurs as well as curious guests. Mask number 55 by Prakritajan Prajanma – an angry Frankenstein trying to unleash the mechanical beast from within, is a show-stealer. The very imaginative composition is composed of vivid colours on structure made of paper mesh, ...

Scouts help protect Lawachara National Park by Faizul Khan Tanim Mohammad Abu Taleb, 19, member of the Moulvibazar District Boy Scouts, has never breathed the scent of a forest before. ‘Hiking through Lawachara National Park (LNP) is an overwhelming, warm, unsullied, and green experience’, he says. ‘I saw a funny-looking, rare species of monkey that looks like it is wearing goggles. My group and I also had the rare opportunity to see a group of Hillock Gibbons playing in their untamed neighbourhood on top of trees. I saw some other rare birds as well and the heavily scented Lemon Garden — Lebu Bagan,’ said Taleb excitedly. Imagine the trails of such a beautiful national park littered with chips wrappers, cigarette butts or a picnic party blaring Hindi music through loud speakers. The beauty and serenity is virtually destroyed. Even the animals take offence to such intrusion and make their appearances rarer. To help preserve the forest from such harmful intrusion, Taleb and a group of h...

Bangla’s musical conquest in Germany by Faizul Khan Tanim Photos by Matthias Muehlbradt and Christoph Burseg Band Bangla, one of the leading folk-fusion bands in Bangladesh, conquered the hearts of thousands of international music enthusiasts last week in Germany performing in a series of concerts titled ‘Your Voice Against Poverty’ which also included international music heavyweights Bono Vox, the lead musician of U2 and Bob Geldof. Starting June 1, they performed in four concerts around the country. They performed in a concert on June 1 at Halle (near Leipzig). On June 4, they performed in Berlin for the Bangladeshi community, on June 6 they performed in another concert organised by an anti G8 and anti capitalist organisation called Rostock Attac in Rostock, before the finale and grand gala event. Bangla performed songs like Nodir kul er lagi, Tui pagol tor mon pagol, Haar kala and more. The tour for Bangla was jointly sponsored by Netz Bangladesh, a German NGO dedicated to reducing ...

‘It’s the music that binds us’ Bangla has undoubtedly come a long way - from a group of youngsters singing for fun to forming a popular folk-fusion band to performing in Germany this week with bands of eight countries, writes Tahmina Shafique and Faizul Khan Tanim photo Andrew Biraj Bangla has undoubtedly come a long way — from a group of youngsters singing for fun to forming one of the most popular folk-fusion bands in the country to becoming internationally acclaimed artistes. In 2002 when Bangla, then featuring Anusheh, Buno and Arnab, released its maiden album Kingkartabyabimurha (confounded), the response was tremendous. Unique tunes, soulful lyrics, masterful combination of folk and fusion made every number of the album hugely popular and earned the band the acclaim of being a leading folk-fusion exponent in the country. Then came its second studio album Pratyutpannamatitva (ready wit) last year, after a break of almost two years. Another instant hit, the album not only consolida...

Everyone is MAD during the summer - The heat stress, hot head, and scorching weather Realize why the productivity of Bangladeshi people becomes low during summer? Why people are more angry, swearing at each other for little things? More chaos taking place on both streets and in homes. The answer to me is the excessive heat and humidity problem to be specific. If you read the newspapers, the amount of social problems like car accidents, street brawls are less and comes down during winter. The summer heat makes your temper rise for no apparent reasons. Its just that you are sweating, more tired, feeling uncomfortable and irritating, which is why even the slightest mistakes made by other people ticks you off. Your head boils with anger, you start a fight you were not supposed to, and then it becomes a domino effect of misshapenness. The whole day becomes a bad day just for one reason. Imagine, you got up from sleep to start for the office…you move out, its so hot that you are sweating lik...

Everyone is MAD during the summer - The heat stress, hot head, and scorching weather Realize why the productivity of Bangladeshi people becomes low during summer? Why people are more angry, swearing at each other for little things? More chaos taking place on both streets and in homes. The answer to me is the excessive heat and humidity problem to be specific. If you read the newspapers, the amount of social problems like car accidents, street brawls are less and comes down during winter. The summer heat makes your temper rise for no apparent reasons. Its just that you are sweating, more tired, feeling uncomfortable and irritating, which is why even the slightest mistakes made by other people ticks you off. Your head boils with anger, you start a fight you were not supposed to, and then it becomes a domino effect of misshapenness. The whole day becomes a bad day just for one reason. Imagine, you got up from sleep to start for the office…you move out, its so hot that you are sweating lik...

Fifteen essential albums according to Maqsoodul Haque Former Feedback vocalist Maqsoodul Haque (Mac) who trailblazed Dhaka’s music scene since the late seventies tells Faizul Khan Tanim about the 15 essential albums that makes him the perfect Big Mac of today ‘Fifteen essential albums!’ exclaimed Mac. However, he continued with a giggle, ‘this could be an interesting interview. I can finally let people know of the songs I grew up with.’ ‘Bob Marley was a new and significant phenomenon back then. The late 1960’s and early 1970’s belonged to rock music and I was hooked to Deep Purple, AC/DC, Jeff Beck, The Who and more. Then suddenly, came this weird but beautiful music called Reggae from Jamaica and, there stood Bob Marley. Bob and his band, The Wailers from the Caribbean went to the UK and got the biggest and best sound system called “Rolling Stone” to record LIVE and on location. What stood out most about this man was that he instantly touched me with the intensity of his lyrics. Ba...

Fifteen essential albums according to Maqsoodul Haque Former Feedback vocalist Maqsoodul Haque (Mac) who trailblazed Dhaka’s music scene since the late seventies tells Faizul Khan Tanim about the 15 essential albums that makes him the perfect Big Mac of today ‘Fifteen essential albums!’ exclaimed Mac. However, he continued with a giggle, ‘this could be an interesting interview. I can finally let people know of the songs I grew up with.’ ‘Bob Marley was a new and significant phenomenon back then. The late 1960’s and early 1970’s belonged to rock music and I was hooked to Deep Purple, AC/DC, Jeff Beck, The Who and more. Then suddenly, came this weird but beautiful music called Reggae from Jamaica and, there stood Bob Marley. Bob and his band, The Wailers from the Caribbean went to the UK and got the biggest and best sound system called “Rolling Stone” to record LIVE and on location. What stood out most about this man was that he instantly touched me with the intensity of his lyrics. Ba...

New face on the block Nobonita Chowdhury is yet another upcoming artiste whose solo album of Lalon songs, arranged by Ayub Bachhu, will hit the market by June this year from Gaanchil record label. In this interview, she talks to Faizul Khan Tanim about how she started her musical journey and the serenity she derives from Lalon geeti New Age (NA): How did you get in to music and why did you choose Lalon as your canvas or your field of work? Nobonita: I started taking music lessons from when I was three and half years old. My parents never asked me or my older sister whether we wanted to learn or not; they wanted their children to sing, and so we started singing as soon as we started to talk. My first music teacher was Krishnakanta Acharya, who gave me the initial lessons in music. Then I started taking only Rabindra Sangeet lessons from Wahidul Huq when I was around eight or nine years old. When I first met him, he instantly became my friend, philosopher and guide of my life. I thi...