Shadow's Desk

Bangladesh just hosted the opening ceremony (or BCB aka India’r dalal ceremony?) for the ICC T20 World Cup. But it did not feel like Bangladesh was in the driver's seat. If a person did not know the geographical location of the ceremony, he would have guessed it was taking place in Mumbai or Delhi. Indian performers. Indian culture.  And at one point, it seemed Indian audience. Shame. I decided to collect a couple of reviews from people who went to the ceremony. I wanted to get the inside view.  So, here they go: Mastura Tasnim, 21st Batch, Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka. "Arrived two hours late because I had some work at the time, but the lines seemed to be longest right then, with people literally fighting to get in. By the time I entered, it was all AR Rahman and his group of dancing, singing musicians, and I was told Ayub Bacchu, Fuad and a number of other Bangladeshi musicians performed before I arrived. My mother naturally did not like ...

I was asked the aforementioned question while I was talking in Bengali (!) with my parents. I put down my phone, smiled and turned towards my friend and said to him: "Oh! Everyone in my country does it.We mix a couple of English words here and there with our language". With a quizzical expression, he said: "That's weird. Why don't you speak in fluent Bengali? Isn't that your mother tongue?" His questions stopped me on my track, because the answer shocked and shamed me. I realized that the reason we don't speak in straight Bengali is because we don't know how to. That we are too much used to speaking in English with everyone back in our country. That we focused so much on English that we forgot our own mother tongue. I didn't want to tell my friend that there are people, students of my age, who preferred English over Bengali, preferred to write essays in English than in Bengali. Heck! I know people who can't even count from 1 to 100 in ...

Rock music is seldom listened to for their lyrical charisma. It’s almost always about the music: the riffs and the solos! There are very few rock songs whose words touch your soul; you feel a strange connection with them. 'Angel' by Judas Priest is one of the songs that just got into me. I listened to this masterpiece in loop for two straight freaking days without ever getting tired of it! But when I asked others, some  didn't  share my enthusiasm. And I thought, ‘Maybe they  didn't  get it’. Therefore, I decided to write down the meaning of the song as I understand it. "Angel- out sad wings around me now Protect me from this world of sin So that we can rise again." The song is the lamenting of a virtuous man who is ill fated. This song depicts an honorable man whose honor has been rewarded with backstabbing and betrayal. Losing everything, he has nothing but hope. And with this hope he is calling out his ‘ Angel’ , the symbol of a Guardian...

Dreams and reality are like the Yin-Yang. Opposite, but intertwined. You will find them mutually inclusive in extreme rare cases of extremely fortunate people. But, for normal people like us, we have to sacrifice one to get the other. Why, you ask? Picture your dream; where do you see yourself? Relaxing in a beach in the Bahamas with a cold drink in hand, with the gentle breeze caressing your tanned fit body? Now imagine the cost of such a vacation and all the other horrendous logistics that go with such a vacation. You get what I’m getting at? So, which one should we give more priority to? Should we open our mind gates and dream the wildest of our dreams? Or should we force our brain to be calculative and practical? After all, be practical and rational will pay your bills. Being an IBAite, I can give a firsthand run down of my experience regarding this issue. Let me start saying that I’m a science person. From a very tender age, I dreamt of wearing a dazzling white lab...

The cynosure of the world right now is the video, made by Sam Bacile, an American-Israeli Jew, named "Innocence of Muslims" which depicts the holy Prophet of Islam,Muhammad (PBUH), as philanderer, womanizer and child molester. As a result, the whole Muslim nation all over the world has erupted;violent protests are being carried as a response to the vile video. What I gathered from this is that the world is full of utter idiots. It is full of people who have shit instead of brain! The people who made and sponsored the video are idiots and hatemongers, the American Govt is idiot, the people who are supporting the video are idiots and the Muslims protesting violently are idiots! The video was a grave and demure insult for all Muslims. It is a colossal abuse of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is absolute ONLY when it does not impede the freedom of others. This video not only vilifies the right of the Muslims but also creates a spark for confrontation among the people.Th...

I do not know what inspired Jonathan Levine to combine comedy with CANCER, out of all things, but it was aesthetically done. 50/50 explores the life of Adam(Joseph Gordon Levitt) who has a rare form of spinal cancer. The plot revolves around the way he deals with it with his friend Kyle(Seth Rogen) and his constant battle to choose between himself and the people he holds dear;it is based upon a true story. The Pros: The best thing about the movie is the cast. Gordon-Levitt is a hugely talented actor and he provides his best stuff in 50/50. His portrayal of the humble,gentle and affable Adam is done with astute perfection and I cannot name any other cast who could have done a better job. He gives the 'good guy' vibe like no one else with his angelic, innocent smile and halfway through the movie you will be thinking " Can a guy be so naive?" Seth Rogen is a born comedian, and this stage comedian turned actor lives up to his expectation. His expressions are timed ...

Just finished my high school and my last public exams. The feeling is.......quite weird actually. On one hand you  feel quite liberated and it seems that a huge chunk of rock named burden is lifted off your shoulders.But, on the other hand, the time where your career and life is shaped has come. The decisions you will be making at this point will mold your future. I read somewhere that people only make seven extremely important decisions in his/her life, and the first one is taken at this time period; the prospect is downright scary. A2 is the hardest thing that I have ever come across in my life. Its so hard that I don't even remember doing any other difficult thing! So I have decided to help out the future students who will be tormented by this psychotic killer. Here is my HOW TO PREPARE FOR A2 EXAMS: 1) Unlimited supply of caffeine. Neither fate nor determination will mold your future.But caffeine will. Make sure that you have an ample supply of caffeine in my...