Hrishik Roy

While many applicants work their fingers to the bone to present their best selves on paper, the reality remains that some individuals are inherently positioned with better odds right from the start.

Participants, including the show’s hosts and guests, picked up discarded pebbles, photo frames, children’s artwork, and other knick knacks—all fragile things collected and displayed by the author. 

The deteriorating transportation situation in Dhaka has made commuting a daunting experience.

Through his simple and coherent scientific explanations for “supernatural” events such as the practice of witchcraft or the sanctity of religious sites, he challenged the dogmatic belief system which exists throughout much of South Asia.

"Without the practice of literature and study of history, no civilization has progressed much", Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury said in his closing speech.

The verses remind us that a withering, war-torn Earth can still birth new life and hopes of freedom.

When Coke Studio Bangla released Meghdol’s Bonobibi, their second song of season 2, listeners found themselves torn between loving the song and questioning it. Questioning as to why the song was done under the banner of Coke Studio, a project funded by an American-based multinational corporation; questioning what qualifies Meghdol, a band known for singing about urban life in Dhaka city, to sing about tales originating in the Sundarbans; and why the song didn’t delve deeper into the history and background of the stories they were trying to tell. It has raised a wider question about how music plays a role in storytelling.

Novels from India, the Caribbean, Ukraine, Spain, Bulgaria, Ivory Coast, France, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, China, Norway and South Korea in the longlist.