My Publications

The sacred fortunes of Jessore Faizul Khan Tanim visits an archaeological site in Manirampur upazila, Jessore from where an ancient terracotta plaque was discovered on December 18 Photo by Naeem Huque On December 18, in the midst of the controversy and frenzy surrounding the now-cancelled Bangladeshi artefacts show in Paris, excavators working at the Damdampir site in Manirampur Upazilla of Jessore dug up a terracotta plaque bearing the image of the female Tirthankar (saint) of the Jain religion, Mallinath, believed to be the most ancient relic discovered from this part of the world. According to officials of the archaeology department, the plaque is at least 1800 years old and is currently being kept at the Khulna Museum. The 15cm by 7.5cm by 2.2cm red and orange terracotta plaque, where the figure is holding two heads of a snake in both hands, bears further significance because Mallinath is believed to be the only female Tirthankar of the Jain dynasty. Born to King Kumbha Raja and Q...

For Taka 300 only Faizul Khan Tanim looks at the work done at ‘Provatee’, a pre-school for slum children where they are given elementary lessons to help develop their brains and which will last them a lifetime photo by Momena Jalil ‘Assalamualaikum Sir, amar naam Khadija’ says a three-year old girl barely able to formulate her speech with a wide grin across her face. Soon, I am surrounded by an army of children smiling and shouting assalamualaikum, barely reaching the height of my knees. Ten to fifteen minutes off the Mirpur sector 13 main street, inside the Baisteki slum, sits two pre-schools named ‘Provatee’ on the east and west end of the slum. In a two-hour session 25 toddlers, between the ages 3 to 5, are enrolled in each of the three batches divided amongst the two schools. On reaching the spot, one is overwhelmed by the endearing site of the innumerable toddlers. The schools, started in 2007, are run by Eminence, an organisation which works on public health and social research,...