My Publications

Sanjeeb Chowdhury (1962 – 2007) Singer, songwriter, journalist, founder of Dalchhut – Sanjeeb was so many things to so many people but, above all, he was an animated and emotional human being, writes Faizul Khan Tanim photo by Moin Uddin/Drik SanjeebChowdhury’s untimely death at the age of 45 has moved people and music enthusiasts across the country. His deep voice, urgent lyrics and soulful music has made a tremendous impact in the lives of many and the country’s music scene is paying large tributes to this prodigy. Hailing from Habiganj, Sanjeeb began his career as a journalist in the 1980’s. In the mid-1990’s, he along with renowned musician Bappa Mazumder started the band ‘Dalchhut’, which raised him to the heights of fame. ‘gari cholena, cholena’, ‘bioscope’ and ‘amake ondho kore diyechilo chand’ are some of his timeless songs during his time with the band. Bappa Mazumder turned very emotional while reminiscing about the man who many people affectionately refer to as Sanjeeb Da. T...

Delta of the dead Faizul Khan Tanim visits Bagerhat district, one of the worst-affected cyclone-hit areas in the country and discovers how people are living without food, without water, without a roof, dead human, animals and trees surrounding them, absence of aid and being cheated of relief and finally, to compound their miseries, the fear of tigers illustration Shibu Kumar Shill photos Andrew Biraj/Sanaul Haque/Focusbangla The victims of hurricane SIDR which left thousands dead and many more thousands homeless, now live under the open sky, under inhuman conditions, without food, water and shelter. Along the shores of Baleshwar River towards Shoronkhola in Bagerhat district – one of the worst cyclone hit regions- the sight of human and animal corpses floating around has become a common scene. There is a sinister silence, which often breaks in a loud cry, howling and tears of a family as they are recovering dead bodies of their family members. Those who are still alive on the broken e...

Land-grabbers attack adivasis Faizul Khan Tanim visits the indigenous Oraon community in Naogaon who were recently attacked by local land-grabbers, leaving 16 houses gutted and many injured photo by Al-Emrun Garjon At 7:00am on November 5, a neighbourhood of the indigenous Oraon community in Uttar Kazipara village of Patnitala Upazilla of Naogaon district woke up to a violent assault by local hoodlums who set fire on 16 thatched mud houses, broke them, looted goods, and burnt the rest that could not bagged. More astonishingly, the attack was launched upon the women of the community as most of the men had gone to work. ‘We had earlier heard that they would attack us on the night of November 4 so we had set up strong guard and vigilance to resist them, throughout the night,’ says Mohishshor Karkata, a community member. ‘But nothing happened that night.’ ‘But following morning, the gang decided to instigate their attack shamelessly on our unarmed women as we all men went to work. They t...

The school of joy Faizul Khan Tanim returns from Dinajpur fascinated by the architecture of the premises of METI School, which is considered a breakthrough in architectural design and is also inspiring the villagers in future development photos by Anna Heringer/Khandakar Hasibul Kabir The nine projects that won the prestigious 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture ranges from a sustainable residential tower in Singapore to a village school hand-built by local craftspeople in Dinajpur. Built in four months by members of the local community and volunteer architects from Germany and Austria, the school makes use of easily available local materials like mud, straw and bamboo to create a new model that is being touted as an architectural feat. The first sight of METI (modern education and training institute) school in Rudrapur, Dinajpur, can very easily be mistaken as an ancient, exotic, temple or structure from the land around the Himalayas. On a sunny morning, the school building basks in...

The man behind the shades Ferdous Wahid was the most dazzling artist of the early 1970s. Wearing funky and flowery printed shirts, bell-bottom trousers and large sunglasses – he was the first to bring disco elements into Bangla songs and is still going strong, writes Faizul Khan Tanim photo Andrew Biraj FERDOUS Wahid is a symbol of pop with his flashy clothes and cheerful songs, and his music is loved by millions today. As a pop star, he started wearing sunglasses and made it a fashion statement. Watching Elvis in his bright, shiny attire and glasses was a huge encouragement for him. He remembers the first time he went to record a song for a TV programme, how all the makeup and high-powered light glowing on his face brought tears to his eyes. Inspiration struck, and he took the help of goggles to cover up those tears of joy. And from that day it became Wahid’s signature. Today, Wahid fondly remembers, ‘Soon, people could not even identify me without the pair of sunglasses. My glitzy cl...