Feature

Star Campus and I

Dr. Faheem Hasan Shahed

On a rain-clad lazy mid-June afternoon in 2006, I was casually browsing the net when I decided to check an old email account of mine. I hadn't used that account for a long time, and by then it was on the verge of deactivation. However, I landed on the inbox, and to my sheer surprise, there was a mail from Shahnoor bhai (Star Magazine editor Mr. Shahnoor Wahid)!

We were very close during his 'The Independent' days when he had been successfully running the 'Panaroma' and 'Free for All' pages every Friday. Aided by his generous support, I used to submit my whatever-mind-wishes write-ups every now and then, which he used to publish without question. And those articles were frequently followed by his phone calls of encouragement and fresh ideas. That was the time when I started believing that I could, and should, write.

Then he left that newspaper, and thus I quit writing. We lost contact with each other. 'Journalistic' contact, of course. However, we occasionally used to meet at premium buses or stairs of busy office buildings.

So, that email after a long time thrilled me. On opening it, I came to know about his association with 'The Daily Star', and more importantly, about the concept of an upcoming campus-related weekly magazine that'd be under his charge. He asked me look for a group of energetic boys and girls, university students preferably, who would work for that magazine. As he had given his mobile number at the end of that mail, I rang him up. He enthusiastically explained everything about that magazine ending his conversation with, '…Aar, apni to achheni amader shathe!'

That was the beginning of my relationship with this magazine, a flamboyant identity filled with news and views of young hearts.

What has made me love it? Justified query. Neither I am a student, nor am I 'young' like the students. Then? Let me tell you.

I have always enjoyed the company of elderly personalities as well as youngsters. While senior citizens teach me wisdom and ethics, juniors provide me with vibrancy and novelty. One of my teachers tells me why he never looks at the mirror. 'The reflection on it is that of an outdated old haggard who terrorizes me! And I feel 'down and gloomy,' he says. 'But when I'm in my class, I look at the faces of the students, and discover the radiance on their eyes, freshness in their thoughts, and exuberance in their attitudes. And that is what makes me feel young; that is what makes me live my life. I realize, I still have lots of things to achieve from the world through my next generation.'

My teacher's words remind me of Franz Kafka's words: 'Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.'

Well, by now you all might have understood my point. I've loved this magazine for the 'happiness' it bears in it. For the 'beauty' it reveals for all.

Since its first issue, Star Campus has activated itself as a campus beyond the campuses. Of course, it needed quite some time to open up. Owing to the lack of manpower in those early days, news-reports-features didn't cover most of the campuses. And so it created several foes besides its admirers. Shahnoor bhai, the solitary fighter, had to depend on the scattered write-ups on diverse issues by writers who would never turn up for their second article.

The most crucial problem was, however, the absence of a dedicated team of personnel who would do the reporting, composing, editing, and pasting under his guidance. It was only when Arif Ashraf Nayan joined Star Campus as a reporter that things started changing drastically. Nayan was my student in AIUB; indubitably one of the exceptionally talented, creative, and dynamic students any teacher proudly dreams of having in the class and beyond. He entered the scene as the right deputy for the editor of Star Campus who relieved him from all the frenzy of pressure. Star Campus found its way on the track.

Soon, Shahnoor bhai and Nayan created a team of talented contributors like Shoily, Shamma, Arghya, Mahmud, Tausif, Nion, Yameen, Nazia, Sabita, Naomi, Farhan, Hammad et al, who have been equally outstanding in their endeavour to popularize this magazine among readers of all age groups.

It was over a sizzling kabab-parota in front of my PC that I was introduced to the about-to-be-born Star Campus. After one long year, it is over an ambiance of satisfaction that I am re-introduced to this adolescent magazine, which is thriving to grow up to its fullest potential.

Hey Star Campus, time is certainly on your side!