Letters
Here Comes Lunch!
Photo: Prabir Das
I want to thank the Star magazine for allowing us to take a rare look into the lives of Dhaka's tiffin-wallahs. The tifin-wallahs of Dhaka provide many office workers with a service that is affordable and efficient. I am grateful to my tiffin-wallah for providing me with healthy lunches and supper five days a week. I do not know what I would have done without his service. Most of the hotels in Dhaka do not maintain any health standards and their food is unhealthy and overpriced. The so-called fast food restaurants are even worse. They do not seem to have any care for or sense of quality and customer service. From my experience, I can say that tiffin-wallahs are an exception. They offer an excellent service at a reasonable price.
Mohammad Ferdous
Motijheel Commercial Area
Dhaka.
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I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the tiffin-wallahs are able to make a decent living out of their business of providing people with lunch and supper at an affordable rate. I am glad to know that some of them are even able to send their children to colleges and universities. These people started their business with little more than determination and hard work. From what I read in the article, it is clear that they have strong ethics and values that are rare among businessmen in our country. In any business, it is ultimately the people that make the difference. I hope the tiffin-wallahs will get some help from organisations that work to alleviate urban poverty and encourage entrepreneurship. We are proud of our tiffin-wallahs.
Rabiul Hossain
Badda, Dhaka
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The Many Hues of Happiness
I like the examples the writer presents in order to establish the hypothesis that happiness can come in little things in great measure. His essay reminds me of Denis Waitley who wrote “Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” According to Dalai Lama, the ability to be happy is in everyone's nature. Happiness is found through love, affection, closeness and compassion. Einstein said, “A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy? My favourite poet Kahlil Gibran wrote, “In the dew of small things, the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”
Shamima Khatun
Dhanmondi, Dhaka
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Photo: anurup kanti das
Strawberry Fields
I was fascinated to see the pictures of mouth watering strawberries being grown in our country. The cultivation of strawberries must be encouraged by the government. Farmers can earn a lot of cash by producing this high-demand fruit. Strawberry is also a very healthy fruit and other health benefits: cardiovascular support and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, improved regulation of blood sugar, with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, and prevention of certain cancer types including breast, cervical and colon cancer.
Khalilur Rahman
Nagarkanda, Faridpur
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Self-obsession ...or What You Will
This is a beautifully written piece. Deciding what we want to be when we grow up can be difficult. Most of us had no idea whatsoever about what we have become. This mystery of life makes life beautiful and exciting. Famous American actor Denzel Washington attended Fordham University to pursue a career in journalism before getting involved in student drama productions and being drawn into acting. He finished his degree and moved to San Francisco attending the American Conservatory Theatre for one year before pursuing acting work and later earning multiple awards including an Academy Award. I know a young man from Rajbari who wanted to become a cowboy when he grew up. Life has taken him to Sacramento California and now he is a programmer for Intel. A friend of mine who went to Yale Business School and worked for a top capital management firm in Seattle quit his job last month and opened his own restaurant in Denver. He says he found his true passion in cooking!
Shahidul Islam
Sacramento
CA, USA
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It's a Game
It is unfortunate to see the strategy the ruling party has adopted as far as black money is concerned. People now can 'whiten' their black money by paying a certain amount of tax on it. This is nothing but legalizing corruption. What the government could do is make provision for leagalising untaxed money. A lawyer, a doctor may pay tax on an amount that is much less than what they actually make. The amount that they are not reporting to the government is untaxed money. But it is not black money. If a businessman invests his untaxed money in an enterprise that creates jobs and is production oriented, he may be given some tax breaks initially. That will serve two purposes. Money will be invested into the economy and government will get tax on it.
Mohammad Zinnah
Shantinagar, Dhaka
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