Star Diary

Socially Responsible 

Recently I was returning home from Dhaka University campus after finishing my classes. When I was crossing the alley between the Arts building and IBA, I saw some students crowded in a spot. It was 9:30 pm at night. I was interested to know what happened there, so I approached the crowd and saw a very old skinny woman was lying on the ground with a bandage around her head. As I talked to the students on spot, I came to know that the woman had been lying unconscious from 2 pm that day and some people had abandoned her. As some students of DU saw this scene, they just swarmed the place to help her. Some students suggested that she should have been hospitalised while the rest decided to send her to any old home. In the meantime the old woman got her sense back and told us that she was from Comilla and her family member had left her. Finally we decided to admit her into DMCH, and once she recovers she would be shifted to old home. I find the initiative that the students took was really praiseworthy. There were some female students as well who remained by the an old woman ignoring their curfew for entering the hostel. Seeing students' activities for this woman, I returned home really happy and satisfied. But just after two days, I was very surprised finding that the old woman was still there and asking for money. I was surprised thinking that even if we often think of doing something great, we don't continue to work on making it happen in the end. 
Md Zonaed Emran
Banasree, rampura, Dhaka

The global pacifier

These days it seems like everywhere I look, there are people staring at their smartphones. The other day I went for an Iftar party with my family in a restaurant in Gulshan. As I looked around, I found most of the people sitting in their respective group drifting into their own world and completely zoning out when they are engaged with their smart phone. They are totally engrossed texting, scrolling through their Facebook, reading and what not. I know parents who themselves are addicted to smart phones and also use them as a pacifier for their kids. I don't understand why we need it, back when I was a kid, we never really needed one. Our parents used to give us some toys to keep us quite and at peace. These days, people just seem like a group of zombies with their heads down mostly into their smartphones and tablets. They are training their children as well to turn into one.
Sharmin Chowdhury
Mohakhali, Dhaka