News Flash

Adventure at Nijhum Deep

Bangladesh Astronomical Association every year arranges 'Shurjo Utshob' (sun festival) . Over the last few years the festival has been held at locations like Shundarbon, Saint Martin's, Bandorbon and on the highest peak of Bangladesh, Keokradong. This year the 'Shurjo Utshob 2004' will be celebrated at Nijhum Deep.

The island is full of mangrove trees. The water surrounding the island is so shallow that the ship might have to anchor few miles away. The rest of the way is covered by trawler and then finally by wading in the water to the shore. Ever had an excursion like this? If not, then here is your chance to have the best outing and 31st ever.

A team of 100 adventurers will set sail from Shadarghat on 30th December. The festivity arrangement includes quiz competitions, trekking in the mangrove jungle, bird watching, star-gazing through telescopes, cultural programmes and more. The ship will end its voyage on 2nd January 2004.

This year the charge is Tk3000 per head. The last date for registration is December 18th. To know more about the arrangement and for registration visit 1 Shiddheshawri Lane, Shantinagar, or the Guide Tours Ltd., Darpan complex, plot 2, Gulshan 2 circle.

LS Desk

Check it out

Mouth watering winter delicacies at Adda

The chilly winter is finally in the air. It made special by the mystic foggy sky, the light warm sun in the afternoon, and the cosy-comfy quilt. What else is special about winter? Why the mouth watering pithas of course. Steaming bhapa pitha or the tempting patishapta, who would not want to taste the divinity of these deshi munchies? I bet I've got your mouths watering already. While it's nice to dream about these oh-so-sweet savouries, making them is a big hassle. With the mad rush of daily life, it's hard for city folks to find the time to go through all the motions of making pithas.

Adda at Probotona can make life a bit easier. They have a wide array of pithas. Shundori pakon, chitol pitha, phool pitha, aangti pitha, tiler pitha, naarikel pooli, kua pitha, dolla or moothi pitha, and of course bhapa and patishapta. Once upon a time, these names were familiar to us but nowadays they have become rarities. Prabartana is one of the few places, if not the only one in Dhaka, where you can get all these delicacies at reasonable rates, under one roof. Most of these pithas are from the southern part of Bangladesh and the price range varies from Tk5 to 10 per piece only.

Now for a few things to remember. Firstly, you have to be a female to enter Adda. Men can also go, but only as guests of female attendees. Secondly, pithas are sold on order basis only, as they easily lose freshness. You can order the day before and you can also reserve your table with 50% advance. All these troubles are worth taking, something you'll agree with once you taste the scrumptious pithas.

Adda was founded in 1990. Since then, they have been trying to reintroduce people to the traditional food of Bangladesh. They only serve deshi food. Their lunch menu is full of bhortas and fish curries. If you happen to visit the place this winter, don't forget to try their sherbet with tamarind, lemon or yoghurt.

There are some extra attractions at Adda. Every Saturday at 4pm, Adda arranges folk songs. Mainly baul and lalon songs are performed. The program is open for all. That's not all; spectators get free treats on Adda. Adda also arranges a Pitha mela every winter. This year the mela will be held in the Bangla month of Poush.

Adda is open from 10am in the morning till 9pm at night and situated above Probortona at 2/8, Sir Syed road, Mohammadpur.

By Shahnaz Parveen

Simple solutions

Getting rid of dandruff
With all the pollution in the air, proper hair-care has become that much more difficult. Of all the hair hassles that exist, dandruff definitely tops the list as the most annoying 'hair scare'.

You must have noticed that with the beginning of winter, the dandruff has become more irritating than ever. Many of you must have tried products worth thousands to get rid of this itchy unwanted element. Sometimes all the efforts end up in vain. Did you know that ordinary household materials can get rid of dandruff for good?

All you need is to make a paste with the following:
1 tablespoon of glycerine,
1 tablespoon of coconut oil,
1 tablespoon of vinegar,
1 egg

Make a paste with these materials, apply on the scalp, keep it for an hour and finally wash it off with shampoo. Apply the paste once a week.

That's not all. There are other elements that can also free you from dandruff. It only requires sugarcane molasses and tamarind.

Dampen the tamarind in water, and then mix with molasses. Apply the resulting liquid on the scalp. Shampoo after an hour. Repeat once a week.

Zap those zits!
It is tiny but it makes its mark…on the face. It taxes your wallet when you try to buy your way to freedom from its oppression. Who said a pimple was simple? You don't have to grow a few more just worrying about it. Just gather up some simple ingredients, and follow these instructions, and you could kiss those spots goodbye!

Generally when you drink tea you boil it for only a few minutes. Instead of throwing the used tea in the bin store it.

When you are getting ready to sleep at night, give only half an hour of your time for this task. Pour some more water in the used up tea and boil. Keep it on the stove until the water becomes very black and looks almost like crude oil.

Cool off the potion a bit, wash your face with water and apply the potion on the pimples with cotton. Leave on overnight, and in the morning wash your face with cold water. Repeat the method for several days.

Now here is another simple method that you can apply. It only requires some bay leaves. Grind the bay leaves perfectly, mix a little water, and put the paste on the stove until it is warm enough for your face. Apply on the face, when it is dry scrub them off.

By Sadya Afreen Mallick

LifeStyle roadies

The New Eskaton Road....

When I am at home and thinking of going out for a walk or when I want to be traveling, I want to explore. A feeling engulfs me that maybe you have felt too -- the urge to be somewhere else, the urge to know more, to be away from things familiar or things that keep us bothered all the time.

Not being the most adventurous thing one could do, having a walk down a road may be monotonous for some. Even then I have an immense loving for walking down and exploring this tiny one-track road called The New Eskaton Road.

This road would have bored me as a kid. There is nothing much to see; just a long ribbon of blackness if one starts walking from Ramna Thana. I always loved walking in peaceful roads with no big cars to bother you. Dhaka, however, has long run out of such narrow long roads where you can walk alone and talk to your loneliness. This road smacks of high official personnel; thus I guess the road is not open for a silly traffic mess.

I have never understood this love for these roads filled with solitude. My guess is the road is so different from city roads (though it is located well inside a busy area) that it somehow refreshes me. A busy city bores my mind, and much of the reason is the stress: traffic lights, frequent stop lights and rude drivers. Walking a lonely road like this one cleanses my clogged mind. I feel refreshed, invigorated and ready for anything. The most wonderful thing about the road is it is just beside my house. I take a walk any time I feel suffocated or when my workload drives me up the wall. At night, you may only see a distant light or two, a tired rickshaw puller returning home or a party-lover coming back home with upbeat music playing in his car. If you look up, a vast universe awaits your gaze. It will leave you wondering why all the roads of the city are not as pretty as this one.

There are small semi-roads, which were derived from this main one. Starting from Ramna Thana it continues till the Navy Head office. The semi roads have huge establishments. Big apartment buildings and one or two storied houses with hundreds of people living in all those houses. Also the Government quarters are filled up with people. The not so big nursery of nice fern and small plants has clogged up the road up to a certain level, but is still okay as it has added beauty to that road. The house rents in those semi roads are high. Why won't it be? The place has always been considered a posh area. People living there are also from all backgrounds, starting from 4th class government officers to Ministers, although the social classification doesn't bother the dwellers. It is a peaceful road with peace loving people.

Sadly, at both the ends of the road, it meets up with two gigantic multi-lanes, which are much preferred by a society preoccupied with speed and busy traffic. Who cares, though, as long as you can take a long walk or enjoy the summer breeze in a rickshaw without having to say much to the person next to you?

By Bohemian Soul

Tips

Stainless, still

With the holiday season kicking off, parties and weddings are pretty likely to become a regular feature in your schedule. This week, let's take a look at stains and how to deal with them.

For grease stains on saris, wipe the affected area with kerosene and turpentine, and then wash off with 'reetha' (soapnut).

If you've got lime stains on your stone kitchen counter, smear butter on the stains, and leave on for a few hours. Wipe off with a clean cloth. The stains should disappear.

Burn marks on aluminium…
the worst way to get the post-party clean up doldrums. Roll up your sleeves, grab that sandpaper, and give the stain a good scraping. Not only will you get a clean aluminium vessel, if you have any pent-up frustrations, this exercise is a good way to get rid of them.

You get your favourite outfit out of the steel almirah after a long spell, and what do you find? Rust stains. No time to send it to the laundry? Dampen the stained area with lime juice, and leave it out in the sun for an hour. Be careful with coloured fabrics, as they might lose the colour.

To win brownie points with your grandma by zapping the paan stains on her sari, follow the same procedure for removing rust stains, as stated above.

By Sabrina F Ahmad

---

Hanging Out

Lunch at Western Grill

If you ever get caught in the never ending traffic jam of Dhanmondi, just hop out of your vehicle and set foot inside Western Grill. This food outlet serves special lunch from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every afternoon. Each of their special lunch menus costs only tk.60. The items are simply delicious. You can try out their chicken nuggets or the chicken balls that are offered for lunch. Besides four pieces of chicken nuggets or gravy chicken balls, a bun, French fries, and tomato ketchup accompany each of these two menus. So instead of inhaling the toxic outside air, pay a visit to this impressively decorated and very hygienic food store when you are entangled in the traffic of Dhanmondi.

The attendants are smart, eloquent and dress up brightly and fashionably unlike the staffs of many other fast food stores. You can also throw a birthday party at this place. As a matter of fact, every time I stop by this place I witness packs of youngsters celebrating one of their friend's birthdays. So a few clicks of camera or a loud birthday tune is a pretty regular sight

Popular English numbers characterises this food outlet. The staffs are also choosy about the kind of music they play on the stereo. To tell the truth, there is always a party mood at Western Grill at any hour of the day.

So if any of your friends is ever spotted low-spirited or depressed, just drag him or her to Western Grill for a filling lunch. The very climate of the outlet would be enough to brighten up the rest of his/her day.

By Wara Karim