My Publications

10 defining songs of the contemporary bands in Bangladesh and their ‘cheese’ mix Faizul Khan Tanim loves food and he loves music. He takes his passion to new heights as he compares his favourite numbers of different Bangladeshi bands to different forms of world-famous cheese Did it ever occur to you how the process of making varieties of cheese is like producing different genres of creative contemporary music? The formula of success in producing both these products – cheese and contemporary music, require great art and craftsmanship and the great secret lies in making them with varying recipes, and trade secrets, so that they become more desirable with all the delicious deviations. This cheese affair makes me realise how the different genres and breed of contemporary music are produced and transferred in to essential silver discs of pure enjoyment, just as cheese makes exciting and mouth watering stomach trips. Now here are ten essential songs compared to ten essential types of cheese...

Bangladeshi food-icians in Bangkok The taste of deshi cuisine is on the rise in lands afar. Photo and text Faizul Khan Tanim One of my friends once told me that her liking for cities depended on how welcome the city made her feel. I would say, in addition, that the cuisine on offer plays a significant role on the attractiveness of cities, while bridging cultures and establishing a better understanding of countries and their people. After all, the phrase ‘food for thought’ was not coined for nothing. There are quite a few restaurants owned by Bangladeshis in Bangkok, Thailand and among them, four are running smoothly in terms of food quality, presentation and overall business. Each restaurant has enough history and mystery to make the investigation into their past and present entertaining. Thailand saw the rise and fall of many a restaurant, while others experienced hardship but stood their ground, probably taking inspiration from Don Marquis’ famous quotation - Successful people are th...

The pulse, smell and flavour of rural life by Faizul Khan Tanim This nine-song soundtrack compilation poignantly paints an emotional canvas of the free-spirited romantic rural life. The music essentially captures the sound, smell, taste, love, treachery and simplicity of rural Bengal and listening to the CD, you will be able to feel the fragrance of immense green and the splash of river water. The film apparently is set in a backwater ountryside – an island called Monpura, where a shy, nervous and humble man called Shonai is a character who only experiences betrayal in life for his modest attitude and genuine love for a fisherman’s daughter Pori. The main theme music for the film is a flute-influenced piece that lurks on the film with mournful and melancholy sound - to perfectly capture the solemn and earnest gaffes of the countryside that surrounds Shonai and Pori. Their tough life is aptly illustrated in the songs Nidhua Pathare 1, 2 and 3, Jao Pakhi Bolo Tarey 1 and 2, the immortal ...

‘Everyone wants to do something with climate change’ Dr Ainun Nishat, country representative, IUCN, the World Conservation Union talks to Faizul Khan Tanim on the results of the SAARC Summit and whether Bangladesh will go under water Climate change featured strongly during the recently held SAARC summit. Have there been any fruitful results from that? As a member of the government delegation in the SAARC Environment Ministers Meeting focusing on climate change, I would say it was a very successful and positive meeting. All the eight countries are very serious on issues related to climate change and how to manage the future impacts. After the Bali Conference of Parties of December 15 2007 and meetings of the heads of governments of UN on September 24, 2007, the activities, adaptation, and mitigation to climate change are moving very fast. Mitigation to climate change has now become obligation to all nations, which was previously a compulsion for only the developing countries. In SAARC a...

The tenant nightmare Faizul Khan Tanim writes on the various concerns that landlords have before and after letting out a house While tenants have a range of issues with landlords, the landlords themselves are not to be left behind in the number of concerns and reservations they have before letting out a house. Most landlords across the city cite numerous cases of being deceived by tenants, on various occasions being deprived of rent for months and years, and sometimes losing possession of their own property. Like tenants have no recourse to law if they are mistreated by landlords, landlords also feel that once in the hands of tenant who can pull a lot of ‘weight’, the landlord is virtually captive. They also feel that the measure most landlords take nowadays to screen and control tenants is justified in the absence of laws to protect them. A very common complaint is how lodgers deceive landlords while renting houses. ‘I once rented a flat to a decent looking lady who told me that her ...

Sewage leaking to the surface Faizul Khan Tanim finds out how Dhaka’s inadequate sewerage system threatens to destroy the city’s environment photo by Al-Emrun Garjon I step out of my house looking for a ride to the office at Karwan Bazar. I need to walk a certain distance to get to the bus stop or taxi stand, and I have to get across dirty water to get transport most of the time. Vehicles passing by have no sympathy towards pedestrians as they speed over the reeking sewage water spraying all over me. On number of occasions, I needed to go back home, change clothes and make a fresh start. Imagine the time wasted on a busy weekday. This is how Gulshan-1 resident Kader Khan describes a typical morning in a city with a sewerage system in desperate need of upheaval. His voice is one of the many belonging to residents of Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, Tejgaon, Moghbazar, various parts of Old Dhaka and other areas who complain that the stench caused by continuous sewage water overflow or leak at r...

Kozmo Alive with Sohini by Faizul Khan Tanim photo by Arif Hafiz Kozmo Alive, the regular Friday event of Kozmo Lounge, Dhanmondi couldn’t have been any better. Last Friday, the July 25 event featured Sohini Alam from London and was more ALIVE than ever. She is quite easily one of the most powerful singers of the contemporary Bangla music scene and the best thing is to listen to her singing live. It is an amazing experience to feel her singing as she drowns in words, emotionally mingling with the lyrics and singing her heart out. Curiously, although her singing style is very western, Sohini possesses one of the most elegant folk voices of recent times, making for a beautiful fusion. It sounds as though her rebel voice is screaming socialism in the midst of this capitalist world. This came out most clearly when singing the patriotic songs ‘Rashtro Bhashar Andolon’ (‘Dhaka Shohor Rokte Bhashailiee’) and ‘Amar Protibaad er Bhasha’. Not only that, she has the most intoxicatingly mellowed v...