LIFE AS IT IS

    রান্নাঘরে উঁকি দিলে ভেসে আসে ফুটন্ত তেলে পেঁয়াজু-বেগুনী ভাজার শব্দ। বাতাসে উড়ে বেড়ায় হলুদ-মরিচ-ধনেপাতা-ডাল-বেসন মিশ্রিত এক ধরণের পোড়া-পোড়া মুখরোচক ঘ্রাণ। পেঁয়াজু, বেগুনীর সাথে এক একদিন যোগ হয় আলুনী, কপিনী (ফুলকপি বেসন মেখে ভাজা) কিংবা মুরগীর কিমা দিয়ে তৈরি আলুর চপ। বড় সাদা কাচের বাটিতে পেঁয়াজ, কাঁচা মরিচ, ধনেপাতা, সরিষার তেল সহযোগে মাখা হচ্ছে মুড়ি। বুট ইতিমধ্যে চুলা থেকে নেমেছে। তৈরি হয়ে আছে জগ ভর্তি লেবু কিংবা তেঁতুলের শরবত, তাতে ভাসছে বরফের স্বচ্ছ টুকরো।  এখন বাবার জন্য অপেক্ষা - হয়তো অফিস থেকে ফেরার পথে আনবেন জিলাপি, হালিম কিংবা সুতলি কাবাব। আমার যতদূর মনে পড়ে বাবাকে কখনও সুতলি কাবাব ছাড়া অন্য কোন কাবাব রমজান মাসে আনতে দেখিনি! রোজার মাস ছাড়া সুতলি কাবাব আমাদের খাওয়াও হতো না। পুরান ঢাকার ঐতিহ্যবাহী এই কাবাব কখনো খেয়ে না থাকলে অবশ্যই খেয়ে দেখবেন - পরোটার সাথে খেতে দারুণ সুস্বাদু।  খাওয়া-দাওয়া দিয়ে শুরু করলাম কারণ রমজান মাসে আমাদের খাবারে একটা ভিন্নতা আসে। রোজা রাখার আনন্দটা বৃদ্ধি পায় ইফতারে কি খাব তাই ভেবে! ছোটবেলায় ইফতারের বিশেষ খাবারগুলি ব...

Another Ramadan has arrived riding on the wings of time. Another Ramadan has come amid the pandemic. No religious congregations, iftar get-togethers in 2021, just like it was in 2020 - a quiet Ramadan for me and my family here in the US. My husband and I got our first COVID-19 jabs the day before Ramadan. My body tolerated it very well, but my husband was down with mild fever and body ache, although well enough to fast. We were planning on visiting Bangladesh in June to see our parents - we even bought the airline tickets. But with cases rising in Bangladesh, the hope of traveling there now hangs by a thread. It is now more than likely that our flight will have to be canceled. It has been more than one-and-a-half years since I met my parents, my brother and his family. Those of us, who have chosen to leave “home” and make a new home away from home, have our own struggles. My life is better here in the US in many ways, but no one place can make you absolutely happy. There are opp...

Have you ever experienced an intense feeling of happiness washing over you after performing an act of kindness? If yes, then you are one of those who have felt what psychologists call the Helper’s High, an uplifting feeling that helps the mind, body, and spirit.  The Daily Star Google Images This is the month of Ramadan. Muslims perform acts of charity or give to charitable causes every year, especially during this month, in the form of Zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam. Although most of us give to charitable causes, the amount we donate are not always commensurate with our wealth. Therefore, it is important that we calculate our due Zakat before we pay it. I have often heard the elderly relatives in my family say, “If people paid their Zakat in full, the country would not have any poor people.” We often forget the importance of this third pillar of Islam. So even though many of us pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan, and have performed the Hajj, we ap...

The aroma of crispy lentil fritters, crunchy jilapi, flavoursome haleem and sweet-plump dates is missing in the air, so is the ambience of Ramadan. But life goes on; Bangladeshis living in different corners of the globe observe Ramadan in their own way, thousands of miles away from their roots.  The Daily Star link  June 20, 2017 While some manage to prepare spicy-savoury chickpeas, fried delicacies and fresh lemonade for iftar throughout the holy month, there are others who do not even find the time to eat a traditional iftar, except perhaps on the weekends.  Fasting in a foreign country is a different experience altogether. “We fast for nearly 17 hours here in Toronto. Being without food and water for 17 hours is not easy, but our bodies have adapted to the rituals here,” said Sabrin S, 36, a medical doctor and a graduate student who lives in Canada. “There have been many occasions when I missed my iftar because I was attending an evening class,” Sabrin furthe...