LIFE AS IT IS

P eople have now resumed international travelling, although cautiously. With the emergence of a new, more contagious variant, Omicron, however, countries are placing new restrictions on travellers, making international travelling even more uncertain, more hectic. If you are planning on going abroad, plan well and plan well ahead of time.  The Daily Star link I have recently been to Bangladesh on a two-week trip to see my family. An earlier summer travel plan had to be canceled because of a COVID-19 lockdown that was imposed on Bangladesh to stem infections and deaths. In our case, it cost us a cancellation fee at the time. Because change is the only constant now more than ever, bear in mind that your travel plans may have to be changed or cancelled in the fluid situation of the world we live in today.  COVID-19 test You need show proof of a negative COVID-19 test to travel internationally. Please check with your airline and also read the entry requirements of the country you a...

I look out the window and what I see is a stark contrast to what I saw two months ago. My little garden is perishing; my little backyard is strewn with brown, amber, and butterscotch-coloured fallen leaves from nearby maple, sycamore, oak, and birch. The buzzing bees, hummingbirds, goldfinches, doves, and blue jays are all gone. The season has arrived.   I smell the fragrance of fall in the air. The morning air is crisp, the leaves are turning, and the temperatures are dipping. The quilts are out, the comforters are in. Sweaters, jackets, and scarves have been pulled out of the closet in preparation for the cooler days ahead. While the aforementioned things are easier to adjust to, it is my garden and its changing appearance that asks me of my patience, for it is going to be a long wait before my garden dresses up in a myriad of colours afresh.  My vegetable plants have nearly stopped producing. The Italian eggplant is still bearing blossoms, but which dry out and drop to the...

C lear azure skies, cotton-like fluffy clouds, fragrant night jasmine, and kans grass swaying to the autumnal breeze symbolise the advent of Durga Puja in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi diaspora spread across the world miss not only the Durga Puja \"vibes\" at this festive time of the year, but also their friends and family, the sound of  dhaak , the smell of  dhoop , the food stalls at puja mandaps, the shopping spree, and the pandal-hopping experience. "I miss the  \"puja-puja-bhaab ,\" which is felt in Dhaka\"s air at this time of the year," said Puja Karmakar, a Bangladeshi American who now calls Delaware, USA her home. "We look forward to celebrating Durga Puja every fall, but the energy, vigour, and grandiosity around the festival that you witness back home are missing here". The festival, which symbolises the triumph of good over evil, is not an elaborate five-day affair abroad. Durga Puja organisers generally choose a weekend to celebra...

Ask anyone who has grown fruits, vegetables, or even culinary herbs if homegrown produce savour better in comparison with store-bought varieties. A gardener's answer will be an unequivocal yes. Even simple green chillies or coriander leaves taste so much better and fresher when they are grown at home. I have a small backyard, most of which is dedicated to flowers. However, we have been growing edibles for the past two summers. Although not a seasoned vegetable gardener, I can still vouch for the freshness homegrown produce add to my meals. This year, we have grown Malabar spinach (pui shak), red amaranth (lal shak), lemon cucumber, Serrano pepper, two types of eggplants, and three varieties of tomatoes in our small space. We shared our harvest with friends and neighbours, too. Growing fruits, veggies, and herbs at home gives you the freedom to choose the varieties you love to eat. When you grow your edibles from seeds, the options are even wider. Although it does take some ti...

T his fall, schools around the US are welcoming children for face-to-face instruction despite a new COVID-19 surge. My daughter was six months into her first grade when a state of emergency was declared and our schools were closed down. From her bedroom, my daughter completed her first grade, began her second grade, and finished that, too. Now after one-and-a-half years at home, she has gone back to school to start her third grade. She could not contain her excitement when I gave her the news of school reopening in person! If you are a parent, you know how much you and your child are waiting for schools to reopen, because being away from school and their friends has been tough on our children — the pandemic has left their little world in a disarray. Many children, who have started school in this pandemic, do not even know what a school really is. "I can’t wait for the COVID-19 to go away! My son, who is in playgroup, attends his school online. He does not even know what an actual ...

My husband and I are urbanophiles, so it was little wonder that for our first getaway in nearly two years, we chose the City that Never Sleeps. New York, which was the US epicentre and a global COVID-19 hotspot, has lifted most of its pandemic-induced restrictions after having hit the vaccination mark. At the time this was written, more than 70 percent of the New Yorkers aged 18 and above have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. We spent three days at the Big Apple as it was swiftly returning to life after more than a year under lockdown conditions. I felt alive the moment we crossed the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River. The 1.5-mile long tunnel connects Weehawken, New Jersey to Midtown Manhattan, New York City. After having spent most of my time at home since March 2020, the urban cacophony of construction, traffic, honking, ambulance wailing in the distance, and chattering of tourists and locals was music to my ears. I felt like myself after a long, long time, for I...

Ratul Hasan,  6, lives on St.  Martin’s Island, the southernmost point of Bangladesh. On a nighttime magical journey with “the Old   Man of the Winds,” Ratul sees two kinds of possible future of his country and the world - - one bleak and one bright.  In the bleak future, he sees lands inundated by rising waters, displaced people migrating to the north of the country for refuge, widespread poverty, crowded cities, and illnesses caused by pollution. However, the bright future shows a prosperous Bangladesh, where imposition of additional taxes on fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, oil) and subsidies for renewable energy sources (solar panels, windmills) have created new jobs and made the country once again green and livable.  The Daily Star link ‘Tomorrow’ is a 26-minute 3D animated film on climate change directed by Mohammad Shihab Uddin and produced by the entrepreneur-climate activist duo Kazi Zahin Hasan and Kazi Zeeshan Hasan of Kazi Farms Group....

We all love to shop. Some of us are shopaholics while others are not, but we all, from time-to-time, purchase things we do not need. While it is not always possible to make a shopping list every time we go shopping, it is a good idea to make a grocery list before you step inside a food mart or a kitchen market. Why? You will find out in a while. Saves money No one is asking you to be stingy, but wasteful spending does you and your family no good. Sticking to the shopping list when you go grocery shopping can keep your impulsive buying behaviour in check. When we do not have a shopping list, we often end up buying food items that we already have at home. Because food is perishable, buying more than you can consume is a bad, bad idea. Saves time Yes, you save time when you are armed with a grocery list. You know exactly what you need, so you do not roam about aimlessly in a supermarket, trying to remember if there is enough cooking oil at home to last you one more week. Reduces food wast...

The items arrived in DHL’s famous red-yellow mail bag. I had been receiving notifications on my phone and email that the package was going to be delivered on April 26, two days before the original estimated delivery date!  I was eagerly awaiting a DHL delivery van to pull up in     front of my house.     So what was so special in that package that led to so much anticipation? A shalwar kameez set and a kurta straight from Dhaka!   The Daily Star link When I first found out that Bangladesh’s largest fashion and lifestyle brand, Aarong, now ships to the United States, I said to myself, “Now I can conveniently place online orders for  deshi  attire  at any time of the year!” For Bangladeshis who live abroad, the announcement of Aarong shipping overseas was worth big smiles. In the past, I always got my kurta and shalwar kameez from Dhaka. Most of the time, I would pick out an unworn dress from my closet to wear on Eid. However, there is a differ...

If you are like me, someone who jumps at the idea of exploring a new place, but have not travelled in the last one year, you will understand my plight. On some days, I so want to catch a flight and visit another state or country, inhale the air of a new place, and try a new cuisine. A year without a \"vacay\" has not been easy, but when endless hardship and suffering stemming from a pandemic continue to affect so many millions every day, planning a holiday is not a priority. However, on lazy afternoons, I daydream about happy times of the future when we can travel far and wide, when I will not have to wear a mask or remind myself to practice social distancing in public places. I have not been on an airplane in more than a year. While flying was something I never eagerly looked forward to, in these days, I wish to catch a plane and swoosh to a holiday destination. I have kind of forgotten what it is like to go through security checkpoints, answer an immigration police officer’...

I wanted to order some food from a local café, so I Googled to find their phone number. The search result took me by shock, it said that the café was “permanently closed.” Scrumptious was a favourite local café, where I often went to relish a hearty breakfast over veggie omelette, toast, and coffee. My daughter loved their froyo (frozen yoghurt). Scrumptious is one of the thousands of small businesses that have closed down during this pandemic. Small businesses around the world have taken a hit during these challenging times. As citizens and consumers, it is our responsibility to support small businesses wherever we live, because they are the backbone of an economy! The Daily Star link: Nowadays when I go grocery shopping, I try to buy locally produced fruits and vegetables. When I order food online for delivery or takeout, I opt for a local restaurant instead of a nationwide chain. No, I do not exclusively order from local restaurants, because the national chains are just everywhere! ...