In Memoriam: Smaran and Palataka: Tagore’s Elegiac Poems

Tagore has remained ceaselessly relevant to us not just for his contributions to Bengali literature but also for issues relating to society, politics, gender, education and even environment.
26 February 2021, 18:00 PM

The Tree

Doctor Mahtab Uddin looked at the luminescent hands of his watch: 9 pm. Not that late, he thought and sat down on the circular cement platform not far from the patient’s house.
26 February 2021, 18:00 PM

The spirit of sharing defines the end of February 2021

In this last week of February, a shared sense of optimism, however cautious, is pervading much of the world and indeed our own. Slowly, and now safely, more and more events and programmes are opening their doors. Book enthusiasts can enjoy the following events this week:
24 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Prelude to a national disintegration

After half a century from where we began, Daily Star Books will spend all of this year—the 50th year of Bangladesh—revisiting, celebrating, and analyzing some of the books that played pivotal roles in documenting the Liberation War of 1971 and the birth of this nation.
24 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Serajul Islam Chowdhury speaks about the state of Bangla education

Language and education are prime markers in identifying one’s participation in society and politics. Having just commemorated the International Mother Language Day on February 21, that too on the verge of our nation’s silver jubilee, it is perhaps a unique opportunity for us to question, reflect, and make changes to our politics on language, education, and social identities.
24 February 2021, 18:00 PM

In death, he became visible

Vivek Oji, the titular character in Akwaeke Emezi’s second novel, is dead; this is stated in the title, the first line, and throughout the book. However, in every chapter, Vivek keeps coming alive, images of him rising out of the text’s surface only to dissolve again.
24 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Lyricist Gazi Mazharul Anwar launches book, ‘Olpo Kothar Golpo Gaan’

Olpo Kothar Golpo Gaan includes 200 of these iconic songs.
23 February 2021, 16:26 PM

Tahmima Anam, Monica Ali, Leesa Gazi, and Nasima Bee discuss ‘Sultana’s Dream’ for The British Library

On February 22, 2021, The British Library hosted “Sultana’s Dream: Contemporary Fiction of Bangladeshi Origin”, a free virtual session on Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s feminist utopian novella.
23 February 2021, 16:26 PM

Sister Library participants read Ferdousi Priyabashini’s ‘Nindito Nondon’

Fuleshwary Priyanandini recounted the stories she was told by her mother.
21 February 2021, 16:02 PM

Hossain’s Mother

We reached the crematorium on the riverside that takes a mischievous turn near a local market. The hushed night was deep and dark.
19 February 2021, 18:00 PM

The Spirit of 1971 – The Beginning

The intellectual killing had left the country with severe brain injury in December 1971. We were devoid of cultural, moral and professional leadership all at once.
19 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Hope springs eternal

The natural and political world bloom to life in the pages of Ali Smith’s Spring (Penguin Random House, 2019), the brilliant third installment in her seasonal quartet of books.
17 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Where folktales meet social commentary

I stumbled across a short story written by Aoko Matsuda called “Quite a Catch” in the Wasafiri literary magazine last month.
17 February 2021, 18:00 PM

The (D)Evolution of the Paranoid Android

To write of Radiohead’s 2000 album Kid A is to add to the palimpsest of its criticism, at this stage a glowing, impossibly effusive set of texts.
17 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Razia Khan: Life and Literature Archived

For anyone looking to immerse themself in the literary culture of Bangladesh, Professor Razia Khan Amin’s name and presence are unavoidable.
17 February 2021, 18:00 PM

YA Books to Read on Valentine’s Day

Be it the classical enemies-to-lovers trope, the fake dating trope or the infamous, and endlessly intoxicating, love triangle, the stories below have covered it all.
14 February 2021, 12:55 PM

Vignettes of a Guitarist

As the guitar strikes And we enjoy its dulcet tunes, My mind wanders someplace else, slowly jamming.
12 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Infraction

The police flagged down our driver, who ran a red light on the flyover one cloudy December afternoon. “Didn’t you see the STOP sign?” one of them yelled, as soon as the driver rolled down the window.
12 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Megasthenes’ Grin

You are stuffing gunpowder into the silent cannon All by yourself. Now that the winter is over
12 February 2021, 18:00 PM

Khwabnama: The Bangladeshi Epic

A few months ago, during the height of the pandemic, my teacher and mentor who is now a UGC professor called me up one morning to convey to me that he has finally finished reading Akhtaruzzaman Elias’ novel Khwabnama.
12 February 2021, 18:00 PM