My Publications

humour Eid, Salami, and Law Enforcement Faizul Khan Tanim shares his personal accounts of cop-troubles in the city I remember during our childhood the spirit of Eid started with ‘Eidi’ or ‘Eid Salami’ (a token money or gift). We would wait for that special moment during the morning of Eid day when our elders would give us Eidi in exchange of the loudest Salam. Elder cousins said that while giving the salam, the more you can kneel and show your respect the bigger the notes that will come your way. And so, back then, it was a replication of the modern-day game ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ in smaller denominations of course. Now that we have grown up and as the hunters have become the hunted, we realise that this same technique to derive Eid salami exists in our police force and the only difference is that theirs can be termed as forcible acquisition or extortion. So in this not-so-green and political turmoil filled Bangladesh, police patrolling in alleys and lanes, ins...

A tribute to Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier Despite having a population of almost 15 crore, the nation does not create heroes all the time whereas we are writing regular untimely obituaries, writes Faizul Khan Tanim August 13, 2011. The nation has not yet recovered from the wounds of a recent road accident that claimed the lives of 44 school children, and yet with the tragedy that was about to unfold, the wounds were about to become much deeper. At around 1:00 pm on the day, the nation is confronted with the news. Tareque Masud (December 1956 – August 2011) and Ashfaque Mishuk Munier (September 1959 – August 2011) are NO MORE! Award-winning film-maker Masud and ATN News CEO Munier, son of martyred intellectual Munier Chowdhury, were killed along with three others in a road accident on the Dhaka-Aricha highway. They were on their way back from Manikganj after visiting a shooting location for Masud's new film Kagojer Phul (Paper Flower). They wer...

The spirit of Ramadan and Dhaka's traditional Iftar Faizul Khan Tanim takes a stroll down Chawkbazar of Old Dhaka and indulges in the spirit of Ramadan and Iftari Indiscriminate screams - Boro baap er polay khay, thonga bhoira loiya jay... - these lines rhyme and literally means this item is consumed by the sons of the rich fathers', filling up brown-paper bags to take back home. And according to the thousands of Iftari connoisseurs, these are one of the sweetest lines or catch phrases they listen and experience with pleasure while in the Iftari capital – Chawkbazar of Old Dhaka. This place throbs with noises of banging spoon on steel plates, many different colours and the aroma in the air of names of the most popular items like shahi jilapi, koyel pakhir roast, haleem and more. This is where Eid-Ul-Fitr festivity starts for many. This famed item Boro Baap er Polay Khay (BBPK) is said to have started from the Pakistani period and now a registered item of the Ci...

Eid Extras on the Streets a photo story by Faizul Khan Tanim

Dhaka’s Monsoon Woes Faizul Khan Tanim researches the ever-increasing problems caused by monsoon each year and looks for possible solutions Monsoon is believed to be a season of blessing in agriculture based Bangladesh. But nowadays, in both urban and rural parts, it is simultaneously considered a miracle and a menace, due to the negligence of the government, utility organizations and citizens’ commitment. With monsoon approaching, Dhaka residents are already worried about water logging due to the poor drainage system of the city. The season has not started properly, yet floods set off by monsoon rains out of the capital have killed six people, displaced more than 10,000 and washed away shrimp farms close to the Bay of Bengal when the region’s Matamuhuri and Bakhkhali Rivers overflowed after several days of heavy rain, inundating almost 200 villages and destroying paddy fields. Studies from urban planning departments of universities, water modelling centres, flood and water manag...

A walk on the wild side - the very interesting 'street plazas' of Dhaka Faizul Khan Tanim took a stroll down the road in Gulshan and Banani to discover the thriving street life and finds quite a few bargains and deals on offer Street life in Asia is always vibrant and alive, step out on the streets of most countries and you will see life is lived to the fullest on the roadside. Dhaka is no different; here one can find some of the most amazing sights and scenes as well as steals (pun intended). It is vivid, colourful, noisy, stinky but there are quite a few tantalising smells. This bustling and heaving city will show you scenes that are worth capturing on film, a photograoher’s delight and a bargain hunter’s haven. We bring a snap shot of just one stretch of road, along the Gulshan and Banani main roads, where the contrasting realities can not be resisted. We found the rich and the not so rich living side by side, albeit in separate worlds. Which is not to say their paths do ...