The brand that revolutionised the cosmetics industry by pioneering the ban on animal testing, and known across the globe as the ethical cosmetic brand, has launched its first ever Bangladeshi store in Jamuna Future Park in partnership with Quest Holdings Bangladesh Ltd.

Durga Puja has been for centuries an occasion to rejoice, a festival celebrated by the masses irrespective of religious beliefs. With everyone preparing the most traditional platters throughout the days that mark the final homecoming, there is plenty of scope to go for slight deviations.

With the festive mood of Durga Puja in full swing, there is no better time than this to try out the following recipes, straight from the kitchen of Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort, by their Director of Food & Beverages, ATM Ahmed Hossain.

This Durga Puja holidays, Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort is celebrating diversity by extending its buffet dinner at the hotel's all day dining outlet Grandiose Restaurant with a special Sharodiya Corner.

These nine days across the world are charged with spiritual fervour as it is a time for worship, festivities, fasting and spiritual enhancement. The nine days of fasting and prayers culminate in Bijaya Dashami or Dussehra, the tenth day, which marks the victory of good over evil.

As possessive as we are of our culinary heritage, temple food is an excitement at a whole other level and definitely a notch higher in our domineering attitude to every dish in the roshui-ghor!

The impression of red in our prehistoric psyche is conceivably what we carry today. No child is born with a blank slate, or a palette. What we see, what we observe, and differentiate are based on footprints on our cells through thousands of years of evolution from a bestial existence to an intelligent form.

For the typical eye, it is easy to picture crowds of devotees lining up and crowding around Ma Durga during the auspicious autumnal festivities. A glimpse and a prayer to the divinity that visits this mortal plane once every year to cleanse off the dreadful, the dreary, and the disturbing — the figure that stands in all her ten-armed glory, riding the lion with a defeated Mahishashur.

Durga, the goddess who symbolises shakti, or power, is worshipped in this season as she visits the mortal plane to bless her followers. Yet, this is not her only form. From the legends and words of scholars, we find there are nine avatars of Durga, better known as Navadurga. These nine avatars are worshipped over the nine nights of the Durga Puja (aptly named Navaratri) mainly in various regions of India.

My birthright was to become part of a faith that could trace its roots back to the earliest civilisations known to man, yet it always felt heavy on my shoulders. What my family constantly recounted to me as a privilege always made me feel like an outsider to the rest of the world, but it had less to do with being part of a minority community in this country and more to do with my upbringing.

Hymns, camphor-lit invocations and venerations of Durga followed by the immersion of idols in the river — Durga Puja is an electrifying carnival of a religious festival. Rooted in our very own Bengal, and dating way back to the 17th century, Durga Puja has evolved to mean a glorified community affair with lights, fireworks and colours. However, the main tableau of Durga herself is an overlooked story and one for the ages. And, it is here where the spirit of Durga Puja is tethered.

This week is all about the celebration of Durga Puja. Star Lifestyle showcases the many facets of Durga and her avatars, the goddess as a symbol of a valiant woman, the mysticism of the colour that is red, and much more.

EMK Center presents a solo art exhibition by Farhana Yasmin titled 'Evanescence'. Yasmin is an artist drawn to the energy around her — the force of a pounding surf, the motion of air, the smell, the light, and the way objects in space talk to one another. In the paintings she expresses a concern for interrelationships of the world around her.

International tourist numbers grew 6.0 per cent in the first half of 2018, with southern Europe and southeast Asia posting the biggest growth, due to the upturn in the global economy, the UN World Tourism Organization says.

Hey, what's your star sign?

Whether it's a quick morning breakfast or a midnight snack, who doesn't love to find a bunch of ready-to-heat/fry/frozen goodies in their refrigerator.

Biting into one of these during meals has to be one of the worst feelings ever, yet it is found in pretty much every dish, sweet or savoury.

Fabrics include handloom cotton, linen, half-silk, endi-silk, endi-cotton, voile etc. Base colours are off-white, white, magenta, red, orange, golden yellow, blue, purple and many more.

Nothing turns a bad day into a happy one like a refreshing drink in a quiet corner of a café. Whether you want to spend a serene afternoon with your best friends, or whether you want to spend some quality time with yourself and a book on a rainy day, cafés are the perfect place to be.

Arbab Musa fell in love with food when he was only in second grade. He started spending more time with his mother in the kitchen than anywhere else.