My Publications

Pops comes to Dhaka Adfest 2011 Faizul Khan Tanim spoke with K V Sridhar, fondly known as Pops when he was in Dhaka for the biggest advertising event in the country From Bollywood a billboard to national creative director is a long way to come and Pops has done it all. He is now the national creative director at Leo Burnett India, globally one of the leading ad agencies. Under his leadership, Leo Burnett India won agency of the year from the agency’s global network, twice! What did you tackle first when you rejoined Leo Burnett in 2003 after a few years away? K V Sridhar (KVS): The first thing I did was change the hierarchy of Leo Burnett. I have made the young and competent ones creative directors and recovered a generation of young minds to take the agency forward. And this idea is paying off beautifully. We are now one of the top 20 most progressive agencies not in India but across the globe. At what age did you begin to consider a career in advertising? KVS: It was quite late....

Enchanting Edinburgh Faizul Khan Tanim recommends a magical city for adventures With castles, cathedrals, myths about witches and warlocks, premium scotch, festivals, and historical stories about William Wallace, Rob Roy, the bagpipe, the kilt, the Loch Ness monster, and much more, Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland is a majestic city and capital since the 15th century. It stands on seven hills creating a dramatic skyline for this lively cosmopolitan city. While touring the city, you can see the differences between Edinburgh's Old Town and the new Georgian part. Listen to the tales of hangings in the Grassmarket as you marvel at stories about attempts to capture Edinburgh Castle. Visit the Royal Mile, where you will glimpse all the highlights of the city, which joins Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyrood House. Edinburgh Castle has the Scottish crown jewels and the stone of destiny. Walk down the path from the castle to see St. Giles' Cathedral. It is the mother church of...

Absolutely ABBA The band that redefined pop music with super-catchy compositions and sassy vocals is still filling dance floors. Writes Faizul Khan Tanim ABBA came from Sweden, where they came together in Stockholm in 1972 and released their first studio album Ring Ring in 1973. But it was their second studio album, Waterloo, released in 1974 that gave them momentum and immense success. And the group became one of the hottest musical names of all times. ABBA claims the honour of becoming the first pop group from a non-English-speaking country to enjoy consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries with their tunes. The name ABBA is an acronym formed from the first letters of each band member's first name - Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid. They were influenced by The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys and went on to influence others such as Ace of Base to Madonna, Wham, Kylie Minogue, A-Ha and many more. Th...

New book at Ekushey Book Fair 2011, Bangladesh - Shonar Poromtola by Mizanur Rahman Khan

A tourist in your own town - DhakaLive suggests places of interest in Dhaka http://www.theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=29&date=2011-02-12

Hospital Food - pleasant surprise...food at Apollo Hospital's canteen is actually VERY YUMMY

Gamchha Chic Faizul Khan Tanim wears gamchhas 365 days and recommends it for everyone

http://www.theindependentdigital.com/?opt=view&page=29&date=2011-02-08

Dhaka hosts World Music Festival 2011 DhakaLive's Faizul Khan Tanim gets blown away by the electric grooves at this year's World Music Festival The story that Dhaka World Music Fest 2011 weaved, sounds like this – in an epic stage of sound and lights feauring artistes of mammoth proportions, audiences felt peace explode in the form of music that was heard beyond Bangladesh. As I arrived at one of the practice sessions before the two-day festival, I got an amazing education as to how the genre of world music sounds. The band on stage was jamming Esho Dekhi Kanar Haatbajar. I have heard this song plenty of times before, but this time it was utterly different. The heavy energy of the music had much to do with the improvised sounds of foreign instruments along with sounds of local instruments. It was like the world saluting our folk culture in their own style. This unbelievable energy I speak of cultivated as Close Up star Rinku was on the mic with Nazrul and Shofik on dhol, Jahan...

ICTD through the eyes of Richard Heeks Faizul Khan Tanim spoke with Professor Richard Heeks about the future of ICT in Bangladesh and other developing countries Richard Heeks is one of the leading ICT scholars in the world. Professor of Development Informatics in the Institute for Development Policy and Management, part of the School of Environment and Development, he is also the Director of Centre for Development Informatics at the University of Manchester. He is one of the pre-eminent and highly-cited academics in the emerging sub-discipline of "ICT4D" - ICTs for Development, and has written six books, more than 30 refereed articles, and over 100 other papers and reports. Faizul Khan Tanim (FKT): In developing countries, the ICT sectors are lagging behind because there is lack of human resources. How can we go about developing this resource? Richard Heeks (RH): Of course the obvious answer is through education, particularly building up skills at undergraduate and postgradu...

An escape to Samdado Faizul Khan Tanim explores the tantalising tastes of a classic Japanese eatery Traditional Japanese cuisine is said to be one of the healthiest in the world. At Samdado, their culinary art is everything that comes with a bona fide Far Eastern signature and tastes devilishly entertaining as well. There are many places around town that use sticky rice, seaweed paper, fish – teriyaki and half-cooked with soy sauce as cardinal flavouring, but only Japanese dishes with a dash of wasabi, especially from Samdado's sushi bar are worth the mention. Samdado, meaning the island of three rocks, is Japan brought closer to the Bengali taste. It is a very neatly decorated cosy eatery with traditional rice paper windows, skin-coloured tables and chairs, interesting artworks and wall hangings – set on two floors to cater to the pouring guests who walk in through its doors each day. The restaurant gives a formal yet relaxing atmosphere which is why it is a second-...

Rise of British psychedelia by Faizul Khan Tanim In 1967, two phenomenal things happened. The Beatles were recording their mammoth studio album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a quintessential record of that era. And a band who called themselves Pink Floyd, were recording their debut The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Recording began in 1967 in the English capital London, in Studio 3 of EMI’s Abbey Road Studio at St John’s Wood, four musicians – Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Rick Wright were producing, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, a title taken from one of the chapter headings of Kenneth Grahame's children's book, The Wind in the Willows. The album was produced by Norman Smith, an EMI staff member who had previously engineered all of the Beatles' recordings up to 1965's Rubber Soul. Formed in 1965, the name Pink Floyd derived from the creative genius of the band Syd Barrett's thoughts and was coined from the names of two blues musicians Pink And...