Shop special

Casually Classy

Sarah Zermin Huq

Casually classy is one shop that promises its customers to find all sorts of necessities under one roof. It is created by keeping the concept of a mini shopping mall in mind. The brightly lit mall is wonderfully designed. The occasional use of spotlights also gives the mall a very classy look. The mall consist of various interesting sections. I was personally very attracted to see the saree section where customers can get a variety of sarees according to their individual tastes. Mostly they are supplied from Mumbai and range between Tk. 2500 to 85000. The names of these are also as attractive as their colour, some of which are Tulsi, Kolam, Gitanjali, Reshmi katan, Pochompoli, Thakkapoli, Pallipatli, Kutnama and many more. Even the shalwer kameez section offers its customers various sorts of material, starting from cotton to satin. You also can get gaudy kameezes in case you prefer to wear them in parties and these range from TK 1500 to TK 6000. There is a special section called the Gift box where the customers can get a variety of fragrances and other interesting goodies to choose from. The gift box is at the center of the mall and is skilfully created by the use of glass and wood. For the ones who love products made of natural ingredients, this is the perfect place. In the Body Shop corner you can choose from a whole range of herbal products. There are products like hands and feet butter, lime shower gel, cucumber cleansing milk, hydrating freshner, peppermint foot lotion, cocoa butter, white musk, henna wax and even herbal coloured shampoo. The floor of this corner is made of wooden plank and all the skin care products are kept on frosted glass shelves.

The mother care section is equally impressive. The whole room has a wonderful smell of sweet baby lotion. Actually this is the ideal place to shop from for newly expectant parents. There are soft sleeping suits available at TK 2030, cotton waffle blanket at TK 3170, small subtle coloured tees, t-shirts, thick wipes, colourful bibs and even feeders. It also has an extraordinary collection of baby lotions and creams. Various sorts of toys are also available in this section which are imported straight from the famous Toy Town . The cosmetics and the toiletries section is also very amazing. Perfumes such as Calvin Klein, Davidoff, Gucci, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Hugo Boss, Boucheron , Dunhill, Escada, Nina Ricci , Drollina Herrera and many more are featured at the shop. In this shop there is also a kid's corner where you can get shoes, socks, shirts and even tees for the age group of 5-10. The shop also offers you watches and sunglasses of good brands like RayBan, Gucci and what not.

There is a special gentlemen's corner where you can get zardosi work sherwani, panjabi, chundri pagri, blazers and trousers and many more garments that are in very much into fashion. Men can even find belts and sleeping suits here which come at TK 2900. These garments come in blue and grey cheques. So all of you who want to try something new, Casually classy happens to be the ultimate store for you.

CWS (C) 18 (IST FLOOR) , South Avenue, Gulshan -I , Dhaka-1212 casually classy

Shop talk

Portable memory sticks for computers
In movies you will see the hero carrying a floppy disk filled with classified information while crashing cars, fighting villains, swimming, jumping over trains and all other kinds of strenuous activities. At the end of the day his floppy works perfectly when inserted into the computer drive. In reality a floppy disk is the most unreliable portable storage device. A sneeze is often enough to render it unreadable. Sony's Microvault is a portable memory stick that easily plugs into the USB ports in your computers. They are built for Mac and Windows platforms and do not require additional drivers. These are slim, robust, have a smooth look and are about the size of a 5-piece chewing gum pack. You get storage capacities of 32, 64 and 128 megabytes. Prices are Tk 2400, 3000 and 4600 respectively. It's available at the Sony showroom in Rifles Square.

Book of records
The most expensive toilet in the world is made of gold. All that money is literally thrown down and on the drain. Sure, it defies common logic but that is what makes some people tick. It's in the 2003 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. Among other silly records you get to find out about the loudest burp and the greatest distance traveled by a pea after shot from an ear. Serious records include the longest car and greatest time spent under water among many others. The book costs 1000 taka at Gyankosh in Subhanbaagh. You get high quality print and color pictures.

Brass Cleaners
Brass has an annoying habit of turning green and then black. The metal almost rubs your nose into the saying 'all that glitters is not gold'. Think of showpieces, staircase bars and chandeliers. Of course to get it glittering again you need to use a lot of elbow grease. You can buy the cleaners at Agora in bottles of 250 and 500 ml. They cost taka 70 and 90 respectively. The cleaner isn't magic but it does brighten up your metal in a short time.

Jell-O
Kids have an inherent affinity toward this cold and wobbly dessert. It's light and sweet and is perfect for adding flavor to custard and ice cream. Just throw in some chunks along with your ice cream helpings. Packets cost 30 to 40 taka depending on the brand. You get grape, raspberry, banana, mango and all kinds of crazy flavors. A particular banana flavor even has the 'halal' sticker on it. You just pour it out of the packet into hot water, stir and cool. Available at all the departmental stores. A good thing about this is that it has a calming effect on most crying children.

Window wipers
Drivers in Bangladesh are not very good. Just look at the condition of the cars. Add to that the drizzling rainy season and you have poor visibility increasing the risk factor. The wiper blades are made of rubber and after a while they wear out and bend out of shape. This leaves all the water on the windshield reducing visibility. The cost is 300-400 Taka so get a new pair when the old ones are leaving drops of water on the glass. You will also save your glass from circular scratches that never go. Avoid the fancy wipers with chrome and multiple blades.

DVD collections
DVDs offer a lot of space compare to dot conventional CDs so you can have the entire movie on one disk. That way you can lazily watch the whole movie while munching on your munchies without having to see the annoying "Insert Disc 2" message. The electronics stores in Rifles Square, New Market and Eastern Plaza offer these at 120-130 per disk for English videos. You can get excellent print of your favorite TV episodes like Friends, The Sopranos and The Simpsons.

ByEhsanur Raza Ronny

 

 

Essentials

Avoiding peak hours
While installing new lines or fixing old ones, utility service providers' block busy roads during peak hours. Blocking streets like this creates traffic congestion which sometimes takes several hours to ease. Dhaka City is the worst case scenario regarding traffic jams and blocking roads can only worsen the situation. By choosing off-peak hours to work, like those of the night, can give the inhabitants of Dhaka a little relief.

Immediate attention required
A large number of vans used by the police department are in a very poor state. Emissions from them are so bad that they blacken the road and choke people who are around. High-ranking officers use the vehicles that are in best condition. While personnel running around get the unfit ones. Immediate attention is required here.

Clean air for all
Other than the yearly Traffic Week, emissions are not usually punished in Dhaka. Unfit vehicles ply all over the city. Drivers are doing their job without knowing about the damage they are causing. Owners do not show any anxiety about it either. BRTA is happy as long as its pockets are filled. This has to stop if we want to keep the air of our tillottoma city breathable.

Criss-crossed Dhaka
You must have noticed how electrical wires criss-cross over Dhaka. Go to the old part of the city, things are in a hazardous state over there. The wires form a net all over the area. Buildings are so close to electrical lines that one can easily touch them from a balcony or window. Leaks here and there are frequent and if these wires become exposed to rain water, fatal accidents might occur but no body seems to care. Not the authority and not even people living in the area.

No garbage picking
at daylight
Dhaka City corporation's garbage trucks usually pick garbage at daylight. Imagine stuck in a jam where you find a garbage truck right beside you. Being the perfume factory, these trucks can be felt miles away. It would be wise to pick garbage at night so that this problem is simply avoided.

By Shahnaz Parveen