Shamsad Mortuza

Let’s admit it: the time for debate on school reopening is over. It’s time to stop treating education as an afterthought, as if it’s not a priority.

The mystery of nine dead zebras over a period of three weeks at the Bangabandhu Safari Park in Gazipur has been solved. Experts identified bacterial infections and infighting during the mating season as the causes of death of those striped animals.

Can the flapping of a butterfly’s wings here cause a storm elsewhere?

The thoughtfulness of my son-in-law in printing a personalised letter on a blanket as a paper-themed anniversary gift to my daughter enthralled me.

“Money can open every DoE door”—I read out the news heading in this daily only to trip over the last two words. The stuttering tongue-twister made me chuckle.

Will the Covid-19 masks finally come off in 2022? The ever-evolving nature of our little big enemy makes it difficult to say if the mask mandates will remain effective in this new year.

In October 2019, The Guardian featured an article titled “The rise and rise of Bangladesh” with a string attached in its title, asking, “But is life getting any better?”

Covid-19 deserves a trophy for virtually connecting many of us during these atrophy-ridden times.

The recent announce-ment and endorsement of the resignation of two high-profile figures have rocked the political boat. A mayor and a state minister have given up their offices—or should I say, they have fallen out of grace to fall on their own swords.

There was a 10mm glass wall at ULAB that separated Prof Rafiqul Islam’s office room from mine for more than three years.

Every time I pass by the Banani flyover area, I look at the worms that have come out of the deep to rear their heads to announce the underpass underneath, and ask myself why the much-hyped pedestrian tunnel has not been opened to the public yet.

“Do you know that you cannot die without being born first?”

The planning minister recently used an onomatope—a word that imitates the things signified. He referred to the economic growth of the country with the sound image of “shonoi, shonoi,” which can be literally translated to “by and by.”

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Is the Bangla word “porosrikatorota” really untranslatable? Does “envy” or “jealousy” fall short of denoting the condition of feeling down after seeing the success of others?

The sudden onrush of floodwater flowing into the country through the Teesta at a measured dangerous level—soon after the equally sudden disruption of peace and vandalism of temples and altars in different parts of the country—reminded me of the 1974 movie

I wrote this short poem a long time ago, inspired by a cemetery headstone. I was ruminating over the plight of a man who had transformed into a corpse, then reduced to a sign marked by dates. In the eternal existence of mankind,

Recently, while I was driving to my office, an SUV full of security men whooshed past me on the wrong side. I slowed down and let the car come to my lane near Ganabhaban.

“How do I cultivate freedom alongside discipline?” German philosopher Immanuel Kant asked in 1899. The question still remains valid in many sectors of life, especially in teaching.

You must have heard of the story of a fox who accidentally lost his tail to a trap, and later decreed that all foxes must lose their tails too.