Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
In Bengali culture, like many other cultures in Asia, “eating rice” is synonymous with “having a meal”. The Sanskrit word “anna” and the old Bengali word “odan” mean both “rice” and “meal”. A standard Bengali expression – “Have you eaten rice?” – is a polite way to inquire, “Have you had your lunch or dinner?” This everyday language points to the overwhelming significance of rice in Bengali culture. All rites of passage in Bengali culture – from birth to death – are marked with raw rice, milled rice and cooked rice. Every traditional ceremonial feast has servings of aromatic rice delicacies such as polao
Celebrating the legacy of a chronicler
Syed Abul Maksud (October 23, 1946 – February 23, 2021)
Can journalists be activists? This is perhaps the most troubling question every journalist has to confront while dealing with issues of public interest. Journalism is about assembling and verifying facts, and conveying fair and accurate accounts. But it is also about speaking for the people who do not have a voice. And many of our predecessors, in both pre- and post-independence Bangladesh, came to journalism to do just that. It was something like a mission of their life. Their publications too had socio-political agenda. Sadly, such activism has increasingly become partisan and now it s driven mostly by narrow self-interests rather than the greater good.
Three killed in Tangail road accident
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killed in a head-on collision between a truck and a motorcycle on the
Tangail-Bhuapur road of Ghatail upazila in the district today.
The deceased were identified as Samad, 24, son of Lal Mia of Kagmari
Para village in Bhuapur upazila and his brother Sabuj, 18, and Abdur Rashid,
20, son of Yusuf Ali of the same area.
Officer-in-Charge of Bhuapur Police Station Rashidul Islam said the
accident took place in Singuria area at around 11.30 am when the cement laden
truck hit the motorbike from opposite direction, leaving bike rider Samad
dead on the spot and two others injured.