My Publications

*My very short tribute take on the Legend Ravi Shankar – the man behind ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ Pandit Ravi Shankar ‘got by with a little help from his friends’ and made this concert one of eastern classical and rock’s greatest acts of philanthropy. Writes Faizul Khan Tanim I wonder if i could accommodate one minute’s silence in this article to show respect to the legend Pandit Ravi Shankar who paved his way to the other side of the world on a sombre December 11 at age 92 in San Diego California. As Bengalis we would remember him as one of the greatest musicians to have represented us at peaks of musical heights worldwide. And as Bangladeshis, we must remember the value of friendship through the mellifluous tunes and weeping strings of his sitar when he helped assemble one of the greatest musical groups during our Liberation War in 1971 to perform in front of a strong 40,000 audiences on a hot August night at New York’s epicenter for life – the M...

Old Dhaka Heritage Walks – discovering a secret Dhaka Faizul Khan Tanim takes a stroll down memory lanes where myths unfold and stories of conservation are told The significance of Puran Dhaka (Old Dhaka) heritage walks lies greatly in the storytelling and therefore, appreciation will start once you see the historical structures through the eyes of a passionate, a patriot and you will love it once you feel that you are rediscovering history. Ace architect Taimur Islam and his fascinating wife Homaira Zaman and Shamira Islam are the heart and soul of Urban Study Group (USG). USG is a voluntary organization, campaigning for the conservation of the heritage of Bangladesh, and at present their work is mostly focused on Puran Dhaka. USG’s heritage walks in and around the different mohallas (suburbs) of old Dhaka are about discovering the fascinating history behind what is now known as the city of personal biographies and organic phenomenon – the hustle and bustle, the people and th...

special feature Can Technology be a Key to Curb Poverty in Bangladesh? Faizul Khan Tanim writes on digital solutions of Grameen-Intel Social Business for an agricultural feat contributing to the poverty reduction intend I CTs are usually referred to computers and the Internet, with a view limited to restricting them only under gadgets and maybe how a home theater system operates.  But technology includes beyond traditional ideas of radio, TV, telephones, online news services. Services which carry information and disseminates them almost precisely. Recently, technology is one of the key factors, evolving to be a crucial tool to help agricultural feat and address poverty reduction in this country. And this is particularly why renowned information communication technology (ICT) specialist Dr Roger W Harris said, “The most effective route to achieving substantial benefit with ICTs in development programmes is to concentrate on re-thinking development a...

Bangladesh needs optimum technologies to grasp more Intel opportunities and expertise John E. Davies , Vice-President of Intel's World Ahead Programme, speaks to Faizul Khan Tanim of The Independent, on a positive note that Intel only hires good people John E. Davies is the Vice-President of the World Ahead Programme at the corporation’s Sales and Marketing Group. This week, he came to Bangladesh to launch the initiative of Grameen Intel Social Business Ltd, where he is working as a board member. As we know that the hardware giant, Intel, makes 21st century technologies which are becoming more affordable and accessible for millions of people worldwide. Through hands-on collaboration with governments, telecommunications providers, technology companies, and other organisations, Intel World Ahead increases access to digital devices, the Internet, and local content. Working together with partners, they develop long-term approaches that strengthen communities and...

Breaking News: The culture of Breaking and Shaking Fatal accidents near campus areas spark vandalism and what starts as a protest, transforms in to mass mayhem. Faizul Khan Tanim writes on this social disease which often brings a whole city to a standstill A common ‘breaking news’ has been: whenever a fatal accident takes place in a university campus, usually the culprit driver also known as the ‘ghatok bus/truck driver’ flees. But if he is caught somehow, it is always the police custody that saves him. Meanwhile, roads are blocked, agitated students roll on the street, and thanks to the foot soldiers of misfortune, vehicles are vandalised as if the ‘v’ of vehicles derived from the phrase ‘v for vandalism’ and what follows is ‘c for chaos’ and ‘m for mayhem’ in and around the campus areas making commuters and pedestrians in that area suffer mainly. It seems ‘b is for breaking rules’. Most importantly, it is citizens from the middle and low income bracket ...

Book Review - The Mystic Inferno  by Faizul Khan Tanim T he first subliminal effect that I bumped into whilst reading this book was experiencing verses of a writer Obaidur Rahman who is both an ‘optimistically pessimist’ and again a ‘pessimistically optimist’. And he manages to strike a fine balance explaining his many earthly, cosmic or hallucinating situations where the glass is half full and it would have been better if it was totally full and sometimes he believes in the glass half empty with a sigh of relief that at least it’s not completely empty. The fifty poems in this book also take me in to a wild ride of sea surfing and gives me loud kicks contemporary thoughts once intrigued by the chorus of a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains – Like the coldest winter chill, heaven beside you…hell within . The words of his poems will make you feel that there is emotional conflict within everyone and that these feelings are terrible, and you would li...

The Perennial Eid Woes Attaining transport tickets every year during both Eid festivals is of Great Expectation and then Great Frustration as well due to the non-availability. and what starts as a general quest to congregate with family at home, transforms in to a drama and often, melodrama. Writes Faizul Khan Tanim Photos: Focus Bangla The spirit of Eid festivals start with acquiring the transport tickets and very often ends with grave tragedy. Jhuki’r cheye jibon er mullo onek beshi (The value of living is much more than taking risk) – this much-ignored popular saying probably sports and is tattooed in almost all bus, train, ferry and flight counters all over the country. But the signposts with these words are most often broken, in shabby conditions with a mix of betel nut leaf chewing extract and crow excrement on them or plain and simple disregarded since the mad home-goers will not stop at anything to go to their home states and enjoy Eid fest...

Bullets of Bollywood Fariyah Nazneen Premaa and Faizul Khan Tanim writes on media imperialism of Hindi culture and tries to find the answer to the cardinal question - do we want the bullets or the palettes of Bollywood Twenty-first century is much smarter, organized, less cocky, less arrogant and much more shrewd and vicious from the times when Alexander tried to capture the world with muscles. Cultural or media imperialism is one of the greatest tools that developed countries use to dominate the developing ones and if we are to trace the origin of this theory, maybe a grand ‘thank you’ is long due for mother England, directly ruling South Asia for more than 200 years but indirectly ruling us till date. I’m not saying the British Council, USIS as cultural hubs, advanced education like the Cambridge system, Edexcel O/A levels, International Baccalaureates, the American school system elsewhere in the world or the Western Media or Hollywood are necessarily ...

Dhaka’s Traditional Iftar gone Awry Faizul Khan Tanim takes a stroll down Chawkbazar and realises that the spirit of Iftaar still remains although the Iftarii got skewed Inflation, diminishing food taste and worth and even less variation than last time were amongst the prime reasons why I could not indulge in the spirit of Iftarii this time. Since one of the cardinal activities of Ramadan is to break the fast at the Iftari capital, Chawkbazar of Old Dhaka, no Dhaka foodies want to miss this opportunity. Loud thumping of spoons on aluminium dishes and lids, 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. According to the thousands of Iftari connoisseurs, this is supposed to be the sweetest lines or catch phrases one listens and experiences with pleasure while at Chawkbazar Iftaar market but thi...

cover story BOTOL BHOOT [1948-2012] Storyteller, novelist, film director, academic – Humayun Ahmed was so many things to so many people but, above all, he was a great human being– emotional, entertaining, enterprising having a great sense of humour. Faizul Khan Tanim and Fariyah Nazneen Premaa goes beyond the usual retrospectives to explain why he is the most successful writer of contemporary Bangla literature. A pall of gloom descended over the country last week, when on July 19, 2012 Bangladesh time, this ailing prodigy lost his battle to the ruthless onslaught of the dreaded disease cancer while undergoing treatment in the United States just like his fictitious character Tuni from his drama serial Eishob Din Raatri . In his book “Botol Bhoot” ( Spirit of the Bottle, Genie in a Bottle ), the captivating story surrounds around a homeopathy vial, rumoured to contain a ghost which fulfils desires, and is bestowed upon a group of carefree boys by an eccentr...

endeavor   The Boats of Life Faizul Khan Tanim returns from Narayanganj, fascinated by the Lifebuoy-Friendship, a floating hospital, which is considered a breakthrough in medical services for the marginalized population and which inspired to build an even bigger ship - Rangdhonu   Pictures provided by : Friendship The first sight of the ships Lifebuoy-Friendship Hospital (LFH), Emirates-Friendship Hospital or the Rangdhonu-Friendship Hospital (Rangdhonu is Rainbow in English), can very easily be deemed as elements of peace, love and understanding. Bearing the colours green and crimson, on bright sunny or even dull and cloudy days, the ships basks in the glowing light or bathes in the beautiful rain and looks like institutions of happiness and care. Wrapped with the energy mesh of the phrase ‘get well soon’ and the big hulls and deck, it spreads an over powering message for the distressed population of our coastal belts and beyond. Even at night, wh...