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Scent of spring: Songbirds, cherry blossoms, and warmer days

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    Spring, perhaps the most awaited season of the year, is about to grace this region of the world with its presence. I know spring is about to arrive in Delaware because after a series of unusually frigid mornings, which lasted from December through February, cheerful chirping of red-breasted robins, blue jays, and chickadees has now filled the morning air. In contrast to spring mornings, winter mornings are so hushed and uneventful that one may even question if birds exist in this land at all. To me, birdsongs are the harbinger of spring.  With the first sight of a bluejay perched on the backyard fence or a cardinal dancing on a leafless cherry branch, I know that my wait for spring is almost over, for I’ve learned from past experiences that an increase in bird activity signifies the approach of spring!  In this part of the world, during spring, nature comes alive with an abundance of activity. Everywhere I look, I witness signs of life. I witness new life in the ...

Boys should be boys! But really?

When will our society stop raising boys with the idea that only if they suppress their emotions and act macho, they will be considered "men?" It is unhealthy for these little boys, the women they will love when they grow up, and the world at large. I was reading, probably in TIME, that a suppression of emotions actually makes men weak and vulnerable - it even pushes some into dangerous practices and habit-forming behaviors like smoking, drink and substance abuse. I was also reading Dr. William Pollack's work yesterday - parents, who have sons, could use his book, Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood.      style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px"      data-ad-client="ca-pub-1412858923217987"      data-ad-slot="2221625556">

Thought of the day (6)

It's not about what you have, it's about whether you are happy with what you have. Some people have a lot and are still unhappy, whereas some are happy with the very little that they have.

Thought of the day (5)

এই শীতল সময় কবে শেষ হবে? পাগল হয়ে যাচ্ছি তো!

Thought of the day (4)

We see what we want to see - we exclude the visual details that inconvenience us. -Wara

Falguni Days

I was just reading a write-up by a friend on Falgun (the Bengali month that marks the beginning of spring in Bangladesh) where he compared the season and the festivity around it with Vincent van Gogh's "Wheatfield with Crows." A prolific writer, my friend's writing carried me back to the Falguni days I left behind in Dhaka. Years come and go but I do not get a chance to watch and enjoy the Falguni festivity, something that I so looked forward to in Dhaka. I would always wear something yellow, never a sari though. I am still not comfortable in a sari. I would just wear a yellow salwar kameez and a dozen or so glass bangles. No, no flowers. I cannot recall tucking a flower ever in my hair. Don't get me wrong - I love flowers! I like to give and receive flowers. Anyway, I used to see girls on my college campus and on the streets wearing a yellow rose or a strand of marigold, or just a single marigold in the hair - they looked beautiful! Young men would wear orang...

Thought of the day (3)

I don't want to be judged by you or anyone else. You took your journey and I took mine - I do not know what your journey was like and you do not know about mine. So, let's not judge each other! -Wara