This photo is 66 years old, portraying a typical street-side tea stall in Dhaka. Notice a couple of 'Murir tins' (puffed rice containers) are kept as snacks. The primary characteristic of the tea stall in Dhaka has not changed much since. Some of these tea stalls are...
A 'Boot-polish' stand is seen on the footpath of Dhaka, probably in the 1960s. Shoe-shiner or boot-polisher is an occupation in which a person buffs shoes, applies wax, and then polishes them with a brush or a piece of cloth to give the shoes a shiny appearance. Most...
We often hear of the famous Princess Jahanara and Princess Roshanara, but not much is known about a Princess, who true to her pen name, Makhfi, has been concealed from the public eye. This princess was unique in many ways. While most Mughal queens and princesses...
Giant Tortoises van only be found in two remote places in the world today - the Aldabra Atoll and Fregate Island in Seychelles and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. The Aldabra giant tortoise lives on the remote Aldabra Atoll one of the Seychelles group of islands in...
As we live in a world that puts a lot of stock in outer appearances, the scope of body shaming is wide and can include shaming for being fat, dark, stout, too thin, and the list goes on. Last week when I went to meet my Dadi after months, the first sentence she...
Coco de Mer, commonly known as the sea coconut, or double coconut, Lodoicea is a monotypic genus in the palm family. The only species, Lodoicea maldivica, is endemic to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse in the Seychelles. The coco de mer palm has separate male and...
Child marriage, a deeply rooted social norm, provides glaring evidence of widespread gender inequality and discrimination. In communities where the practice is prevalent, marrying a girl as a child is part of a cluster of social norms and attitudes that reflect the...
Almost 6,000 years ago originating in China, Feng Shui referred to as ‘Chinese Geomancy’ is a pseudoscientific traditional practice. “Feng” means wind and “shui” means water. The philosophy of feng shui is a practice of arranging the pieces in living spaces in order...
Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh is famous for its 18th century monuments build by the Nawabs of Awadh. Explore the story of an 18th century hidden heritage located in one of its dusty village of Maliabad Tehsil build by Raja Tikait Rai, the finance minister...
A ‘Mela’ in Dhaka (1960) captured by extraordinaire photographer and scientist late Dr. Nowajesh Ahmed. A mela is a wonderful melting pot for all types of people, their culture, and tradition. Its characteristics and objectives are identical regardless of whether it...
The Forgotten Women of 1857 Not just Begum Hazrat Mahal and Rani Lakshmibai but dozens of women participated in active fighting against the British. Their stories are largely unrecorded. History of Azizun Bai Azizun Bai left an excellent impact upon Indian History....
Almost 47 years ago, on August 11, 1972, the movie 'Ora Egaro Jon' was released in Dhaka. It was the first film shot and released in Bangladesh after the liberation war in 1971. The intriguing narrative of this movie mainly revolves around eleven freedom fighters and...
Maya Angelou once said, "Everything in the universe has rhythm, everything dances" As true as this saying is, not everyone has the potential to pick up these rhythms; be it the melody of flowing water or the sad tunes of gloomy moonlight. One's music resonates with...
When we talk about the 17th century, the name that springs up the most is that of Mir Jumla. A survivor and great tactician, Mir Jumla's story is one that deserves attention and great respect. Mir Jumla is the word for us when describing someone who started off from...
The inner workings of politics, treacherous mind games and vile layers of masks people wear to benefit themselves trace back to time of the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, paving the way for regional states. In the contest for supremacy, the English emerged...
Vasco da Gama's arrival in Calicut on the 20th day of May 1498 marked the beginning of a long and historic era as it opened the sea route from Europe to the far East. Immediately after the discovery of the newly found route, India boomed into a centre of attraction...
The British East India Company's relentless enemy, Tipu Sultan, was at odds with his attack on British-allied Travancore in 1789. Although he gave them a good fight, Tipu Sultan was defeated, and the East India Company eventually took many of his things by force. From...
All foods have history; where they originated from, what they looked like the first time they were seen as consumable and how they've evolved throughout the years. We take their history for granted because to us it's just food; we don't see it as something to have an...
The blatant oppression of women and their rights throughout history is no surprise and is very apparent from looking into events that have taken place ever since history has been documented. Women were thought to only be a man's possession with no ground of their own...
Tansen, also referred to as Tan Sen or Ramtanu, was a prominent figure of Hindustani classical music. Born in a Hindu family, he learned and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pradesh. He began his career and spent most of his adult life in the...
Among the great paradigms of Mughal architecture built in and around Dhaka, one of the more well-known ones is the famous Lalbagh Fort. The fort, though left incomplete, is adorned with an elaborate Mughal-style garden and stands by the River Buriganga in the old part...