LIFE AS IT IS

I t was the summer of 2013, I was strolling along Jamaica's Hillside Avenue and turning my neck every time I was hearing someone utter something in Bangla. It was my first time in Jamaica, a neighbourhood in New York city's borough of Queens, which boasts a large population of Bangladeshi Americans and is considered one of the most ethnically diverse places on the planet.  Jamaica is a slice of Bangladesh away from it. With 'deshi' men and women speaking Bangla on the streets in traditional garbs like panjabi, pyjama and shalwar kameez, streets lined with Bangladeshi-owned restaurants and grocery stores selling your favourite 'deshi' vegetables, halal meats, and foods ranging from shingara-samosa, chotpoti-fuchka, naan-kabab, doi-mishti, and halua-paratha to kachchi biriyani, tehari, Haji-r biriyani and bhat-mach-bhorta, Jamaica is an instant reminder of the country you have left behind.   For a second, you might even forget that this place is very much a part o...

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...

Location: Public park in Delaware Hubby, daughter and I have been at home since March 15, 2020. We left home on a few occasions, but those were to buy food and refill our water gallons. Oh, hubby also went out to get a new kitchen faucet, because it suddenly started leaking water. The timing could not be worse!   I went out for a walk with my daughter last week. We really needed some fresh air. There were other people at the park, too. Everyone needed some fresh air, I guess. People practiced social distancing, so did I.  Health experts say that it is good for your mental and physical health to go out for a stroll during this time of social distancing. One must avoid crowded places, of course. But this is definitely not the time to drive to Washington, DC to enjoy cherry blossoms, which some people are doing.  I don't know what these 'nature lovers' are thinking. These folks are not only risking their own lives, but the lives of others. The cherry blossom...

I felt I needed a break, a break from my routine life. I called up a childhood friend who lives in New York City and arranged a weekend trip to her place. However, my plan raised some eyebrows among friends and relatives, who thought that leaving a 2-year-old for two nights alone with her father was not the best idea.  My husband, however, did not object to my wish. He purchased my Amtrak tickets, helped me pack my bag, stood on the railway platform with our toddler, and waved at me for as long as I was visible. Like me, he also believed that a weekend away with an old friend would refresh me!  Since 2015 one my closest friends and I have been enjoying our "girls' weekend out" every year. On those Saturday and Sunday of the year, we eat, walk, laugh, talk non-stop, sing, dance, shop, pamper ourselves in spa, take photos, try out new eateries and do something that we have never done before. For instance, on our first girls' weekend out, we bought tick...

I heard that I would hear people speak Bengali in its shops, restaurants, roads and alleys. I was told that I would see women shopping in sari and shalwar kameez, and men discussing international politics over shingara and steaming cups of tea. How many Bangladeshi expats would let go of a chance to experience Bangladesh away from it? I would never!  The Daily Star link  Feb 21, 2017 It was the summer of 2013, it was my first time in Jamaica, a neighbourhood in Queens, one of the five boroughs of New York City. I had heard so much about it from friends and relatives that I was convinced a summer vacation in NYC was incomplete without one trip to this diverse neighbourhood.  So on one scorching afternoon of May 2013, my family and I embarked on our exploration of Jamaica. As we left the subway station and began walking along its Hillside Avenue with our then nine-month-old daughter, I turned my head to see anyone who spoke Bengali. No language ever sounded sweeter ...

Do not confuse the title with Jamaica, the island country in the Caribbean. This Jamaica is a neighbourhood in Queens, the New York City borough, which often claims to be one of the most ethnically diverse places on earth.  Jamaica is a neighbourhood where you spot 'deshi' men and women speaking Bangla on the streets, women wearing shalwar kameez buying grocery from Bangladeshi-owned stores, and where Bangladeshi restaurants sell everything from shingara-samosa to  naan-paratha, halua, kebab, and biryani. Also available are traditional sweets, 'bhorta-bhaji' and an incredibly wide variety of spicy and aromatic fish and meat preparations that are bound to satisfy the taste buds of any Bengali.  I first explored Jamaica in 2013 on a New York City trip with my husband and then nine-month old daughter. As I strolled along Jamaica's Hillside Avenue, I turned my head to see anyone who spoke my mother tongue. It felt like I was at home except that in Dhaka you do not...