LIFE AS IT IS

  Feeling down? You think food might cheer you up? Well, certain foods lift our spirits and their aromas stir our appetite. We are certain that they do the same to most of you! We have drawn up a list of most beloved Bengali comfort snacks. While these snacks are available on the street and in restaurants, they can be quite easily prepared at home, too.  The Daily Star link Phuchka Is there a Bengali out there who does not love phuchka? Perhaps just a few, if there are any at all. Phuchka is a 365-day snack; you can eat it any day, it’s that good!  The very image of a plate full of crispy semolina shells filled with seasoned potatoes, white peas, diced onion, coriander leaves, and green chillies and topped with grated boiled egg makes our mouths water. Let’s not forget that sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce that brings an extra burst of flavour to this dearly loved gustatory delight.  Chotpoti This one is another beloved snack of Bengalis, especially Bangladeshis. Prepar...

  Resting in my favourite beige upholstered accent chair, I look out the window; it is a rain-drenched day of January. Although rain in winter is common here in Delaware, today it is both rainy and foggy. At this moment, the only sound I hear other than that of rain falling is the one of rain water being splashed by moving cars. As someone who grew up in a tropical country and enjoys warm weather, the first month of the year can be quite melancholic, chiefly because of the kind of weather the month brings along with it.  The Daily Star link December, although freezing, is a festive month in this part of the world and there are things to look forward to. Christmas lights and displays, holiday merchandise at shops, and holiday desserts at eateries and grocery shops add joy and warmth to cold December. In comparison, the month following December is icy-cold and icy-cold only, both in terms of mood and temperature. January feels like what you feel after house guests leave; your ho...

  From 2009 to 2010, I volunteered at an old age home in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Watching first-hand the plight of senior citizens in the world’s most affluent country was an eye-opener; till today, the experience is a constant reminder of how vulnerable and forlorn people can become in the autumn of their lives.  The Daily Star link Fast forward to December 2022, I was standing in front of Shailan Probeen Nibash (SPN), which is located about 45 km from Dhaka off Dhaka-Aricha highway in an idyllic village called Shailan in Dhamrai upazila. At first sight, the old age home’s newly built exposed red brick four-storey building with its long balconies and a courtyard garden might make you mistake it for a vacation resort. The home has a capacity to house 80 men and women free of charge, although at the time of my visit, only 17 men and women were residing at SPN. Muhammad Wahidur Rahman, a retired Master Warrant Officer of the Bangladesh Army and the superintendent of SPN, showed us...

  Is reading becoming a leisurely activity of the past? Perhaps not, but people most definitely read much less than they used to. In a life characterised by uninterrupted 24/7 visual entertainment, books compete for our undivided attention all the time. We believe, however, poems, short stories, and novels deserve the same amount of attention, if not more, that we give films, dramas, music, and YouTube content. Today is Ekushey February. On this auspicious occasion, we can make a resolution to enjoy some Bengali literature. It can be in the form of physical books or electronic ones — the choice is yours. As a matter of fact, the wide availability of e-books now means that poems and fictions can travel with us any time any place. In addition to all the cognitive benefits associated with reading, reading in your first language has plenty of other benefits, including knowing about your country and countrymen in the language of the land. Finding out about how you became who you are is ...

   Have you ever tried to work out the value of your investment in clothing, shoes, and accessories? Do you know if the money you spend on a dress, a pair of shoes, or a piece of jewellery is really worth it? What is the cost of wearing, for instance, a dress every time? Understanding Cost Per Wear (CPW) is important if you want to get maximum return on your investment in fashion.   The Daily Star link CPW follows a simple formula. You divide the upfront price you pay for an item by the number of times you think you are going to wear it.  CPW = cost of an item ÷ number of wears In a world dominated by fast fashion, most of us do not look past the price tag. Purchasing a cheaper item may initially look like a clever decision, but in most cases, the simple truth is, “you get what you pay for.” A cheaper item will not likely last long, look frumpy after a few washes, and will be discarded quickly. If you think deeply, it is never a good investment of your money. Y...

  The day is already here when consumers are increasingly doing research about a product and the company producing it before making the final purchase. Consumers are now more educated than ever, which leads them to buy less, but buy better. 'Conscious consumption' is the trend of the future! Impulse buying has dropped in this pandemic for a variety of reasons. People are visiting brick-and-mortar stores less than before. Impulse buying happens when we visit the mall to buy a pair of shoes, but end up acquiring a dress and a pair of fashion earrings as well. Impulse buying also takes place online when we watch targeted ads on social media, or simply when we see that something is being sold at a discount. We land up purchasing things that we do not need and perhaps will not use more than a couple of times.  The Daily Star There are occasions when an item bought online does not even meet our expectations, but we keep it anyway. Who is the loser here? You and only you. However, be...