MAILBOX

Photo: Prabir Das

A Philatelic Passion
I do not know how many philatelists are there in the country, but I am surely glad to learn about one named Abdus Salam. He is  living proof that if you have a passion and the perseverance to go with it, you can make a profession out of anything. His wide collection of stamps from all over the world, some of which are really rare, is simply fascinating..
Urmila Kabir
Circuit House Road, Dhaka
***
This has reference to the cover story published on April 25, 2014. It was fascinating to learn that Abdus Salam was able to collect many stamps through his pen pals. It made me nostalgic. Our desire to reach out others on the other side of the globe was there long before the invention of the internet and social networking sites. People were warmer and more passionate. I may sound like a grumpy old man (which I am), I miss those days when people used to write letters. A lover would pour out his heart on a piece of paper and send it out to the one he/she loved. Can there be anything more romantic than that?
Ehsan Qadri
Mohammadpur, Dhaka

A Lesser Remedy
I would like to thank the Star for the cover story titled 'A Lesser Remedy' (published on 11 April). In our country where most of the people live under dire poverty and cannot afford expensive medical care, homeopathy can be a safe and less harmful method of treatment. The government must do more to promote homeopathy education in Bangladesh.
Rassel Iqbal Rumel
Rampura Banasree
***
In our family we always seek homeopathic remedies whenever someone is ill.  I am past eighty now and I always carry Nux Vom 30 and 200 with me everywhere I go. I know someone who nearly went through amputation of a leg due to unbearable shooting pain. The patient sought homeopathic treatment from a physician in London. She became well within a few weeks. In her later years my mother operated a service centre in the nearby school where a homeopathic doctor treated the young and old of the vicinity in the morning every day before school hours. A lot of patients got relief from there. Homeopathy is inexpensive and it works. There is no harm in trying.
Zeba Rasheed Chowdhury
Via Email

Photo: Anisur Rahman

Pahela  Boishakh
It seems that we become Bengalees only for one day of the a year by eating 'Panta-Ilish'. It is unfortunate that we are forgetting our cultural roots and adopting the western and Indian culture in all aspects of our life. If we want to be known as a proud and dignified people in the world, we must learn to respect our cultural heritage.
Md Foyjul Islam
Student of Business
Administration
East West University

Strange History
This is indeed an interesting addition to the already rich content of the Star magazine. I look forward to reading it every week and I thank the Star for it. Items like this and Quirky Science which are fun and educational at the same time make the magazine interesting.
Sofia Khan
Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Beautiful Photos
Two photos in the April 25 issue of the Star caught my attention. First one is the snapshot of the amazing sun through what looks like a roofless building. And the second photo I liked is of Daroga Ali, a volunteer in the Rana Plaza disaster (From Under the Rubble). Ali should be proud of what he did—saving the lives of others risking his own. And yet he is feeling shy to show his face to the camera. He does not want publicity or money. He did what he felt was the right thing to do. And he wants to be faceless and nameless. That's humility at its best. My deepest respect for the man and I hope we find a thing or two to learn from him.
Azaml Chowdhury
Mintoo Road, Dhaka

Rwandan Nightmare
A 2001 survey conducted by BBC highlighted ethnic tension as one of the top ten problems of Africa. The photo story on
Rwandan genocide of 1994 [Published April 11] clearly depicts the horror of racial hatred. Before European colonisation ethnical conflicts did not exist in that part of the world—the Hutus and Tutsis lived in harmony for 600 years. But the colonisers introduced slavery and created artificial divisions among people as they had done wherever they ruled, including the Indian sub-continent.
NazninSultana
Dhaka University

Faking it!
I found the item in Quirky Science titled “There's no faking it: Your partner already knows” [April 25] a bit hard to understand. We all know about women faking it. But how on earth can men fake it? Is that biologically possible? I am requesting the Star to shed some light on the issue.
Noori
Uttara, Dhaka

Surviving Love
I wonder what couples should do in their 'together time' that remains after  the man has been given 'space' for several hours,  besides the regular 9-5 job, eight hours for sleep, two for bodily functions and one for joint socialising. Any suggestions, anyone?
Sabih Akhter
Aligarh Muslim University