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FRIDAY
pLANNER
Make a date with Mango
Last
week we had introduced the Friday planner and as some of us know, it
gives all of you out there different ideas about spending the long awaited
weekends. We concentrated on activities at home rather than out of the
house, mainly due to the floods that have engulfed out country. So this
week we suggest something simple yet enjoyable and not exactly outwardly
as such.
Keeping all of this
in mind we recommend that this Friday, Café Mango is the place
to be with a loved one or even with a group of friends. Enjoy the solitude
and the ambience, and utilise this to work those conversations up at
Mango.
Café Mango
over the years has been a very popular place for people of all ages.
People call it a great spot to hang out and on top of it all a great
place for a date. Situated beside road no.32 in Dhanmondi, this café
has good food, and its surroundings are well planned. Outside the café,
on the ground floor, Mango has all the makings of intimate conversations.
They have nice seats blended with the patches of greenery outside. The
two-storey café has a great terrace on the upper floor, and can
be suitable for lengthy adda's within friend circles. The terrace has
innovative seating arrangements and a well lighted atmosphere.
The one thino that
stands out about Mango is the great music, unlike most of our conventional
food places. Try to catch up with friends or family here, and the atmosphere
at Mango can be used for |hat 'dreaded' relationship talk. Having a
weekly talk about normal day |o day issues can definitely help straighten
up |hat extra tension with a loved one. For the more food oriented mind,
be sure to try out their variety of teas and their famous brownies.
Mango has the whole deal when it comes to food, with items ranging from
kebab rolls to shingaras and varied breakfast menus. You could just
treat yourself out and make it a refreshing feeling for the week.
By
Mishel Ali Khan
Check
it out
Angel
World day care centre
Leaving
behind your precious angel while you work can be very painful. All the
worries usually gathers inside the head about what evil might fall upon
your child and there goes all the work. But in this fast track world
mothers have to work.
Good day care centres are the only solution for a little peace of mind.
In Dhaka, however, this facility is rare. Even so, there is reason to
hope. Recently a day care centre named Angel World opened at 3/2, Block-E,
Lalmatia offering the child care that you need. The place has learn
and fun facilities at the same time. It is open in weekdays from 8am
till 6pm. Special arrangements can be made on holidays on request. Phone
0189-214812.
Fast track kids
FasTracKids
offers a new educational system designed to enrich the knowledoe of
pre-school kids and junior young learners aged 3-12.
Visit their website
http:www.fastrackidsbangladesh.com to know more about their activity
and get answers to simple queries regarding education, their curriculum,
faculty etc.
Moreover, parents
can visit their campus at road # 104, house # 2b, Gulshan Dhaka (behind
Manarat School) for a demo class on every Wednesday.
Their 96-hour curriculum,
based on the research of famed educator Dr. Johann DeBeer, is designed
to increase children's thinking and reasoning ability, while simultaneously
enhancing their communication, speaking skills and self-esteem. These
advanced technologies allow students a better foundation at a very young
stage in life, so check this unique venture out.
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LS Desk
Diary
of a food obsessed person
By
Sam Q
Dearest
Diary,
I am so sorry … that I have been so tardy in logging in |o you. Life
sommtimes races on ith such speed |hat I, with my stiff joints havm
a tough time lumbering after it. Anyway my driver is sick at home, so
I thought that it was a good opportunity to relax with a hot cup of
tea and write to you and get philosophical. Only last night diary my
husband came to pick me up straight from work to go see off his niece
(who is going to America for higher studies and by the way, is a full
fledged doctor with a MD already attached after her name.)…so where
was I??…Oh! Yeah!
So there he was
after a full days work, in front of our gate, twenty minutes and I,
in a typical, stereotype wife mode, sulking, frowning and making my
displeasure over his being late pretty obvious. And the poor chap, as
usual with full of patience trying to make me understand the priorities
of our lives. He tried to make me understand how, even if he tried to
be on time, the unexpected long distance phone calls, the sudden appearance
of buyers, machinery breakdon could hamper ones life plans.
But in my clouded
vision, I tried to explain how I could maintain my appointments with
my beautician at Labelle or my shalwar kameez fittings with my Sole
to Soul boutique designer or my innumerable lunches at Thai house. If
I could manage all of that (and all this really needs management) why
couldn't he manage his side with my kind of aplomb?
He really needs
to hire me to manage his life at the office. I do it for free at home,
and I do a good job (if I say so my{elf) so why shouldn't I try to manage
that part of his life. I can actually see him shuddering with beads
of sweat crowding his forehead.
Any way diary, I
hope you can understand I am just being sarcastic at myself and trying
to apologize to my husband for being so immature and block headed. Maybe
I will leave you alone lying around casually so he can read this part
of my diary and accept my sincerest apologies. You know diary, what
the best part of my life is? Being a woman. I love being a woman and
a homemaker. I love being a stay-at-home-mom, arranging flowers and
having cookouts. I love being able to spread his money (well….if he
doesn't do it, someone has to) spend time with friends and basically
do whatever I feel like. Life can't get any better. So all you stay-at-home-women
out there, be happy, thank your lucky stars for all the good things
happening to you, every evening dress up for your hubbies as the Hindi
TV serial omen do, and cook one dish for your man. The stomach and
heart thing…it really works.
Batter
fried Prawns in Lemon Sauce
8 large prawns with tails intact (chicken or fish can also be used)
8-10 peppercorns-crushed coarsely
Batter
2 tbsp maida(plain flo}r), 1 tbsp cornflour, a pinch of baking powder
1 egg, ½ tsp ginger paste, ½ tsp garlic paste, ½
tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ¼ tsp red chilli powder
Sauce
6 tbsp honey, 7-8 tbsp (4 lemons) fresh lemon juice, 1/3 cup water,
1 tsp grated ginger, 2 tsp crushed garlic, 1 ½ tsp salt, 3-4
lemon leaves, 2 tsp corn flour, a few drops (1-2 drops) of lemon yellow
food colouring, 1 spring onion-sliced diagonally along with the green
part some fresh chopped coriander leaves
1. Mix all ingredients given under batter. Add 3-4 tbsp water to get
a thin batter of coating consistency. Keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Dip prawns, holding the tails, in bat|er.
Do not let |he batter coat the tail portion. Drop the prawns in hot
oil. Fry on medium heat till golden brown. Remove from oil and keep
outside.
3. To prepare the sauce, mix all ingzedients except the last 2-spring
onions and coriander
4. Boil the sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes till the sauce turns slightly
thick and starts to coat the spoon. Remove from fire. Add 1-2 tbsp sugar
if too sour. Mix. Add spring onions and coriander leaves. Keep sauce
aside.
5. Arrange fried prawns in a serving dish.
6. Heat sauce and pour on top of the prawns. Serve hot, sprinkled with
crushed peppercorns.
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Condolence
by
Farzana Shakil
We
condole Humayun Azad's death
Writer
Humayun Azad, grievously injured in a knife attack this February was
found dead in Munich in Germany on Thurslay morning. Azad survived
a brutal attack on the night of February 27 near Bangla Academy when
he was going back home from the Ekushey Book Fair. He recovered from
his critical injuries after long treatment at the Combined Military
Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka and Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok
His
family at the time blamed the attack on hardline Islamists believed
to be angered by his latest book "Pak Sar Zamin Saad Baad"
which was set in |he 1971 War of Independence. It triggered controversy
in and outside political and academic circles for his bitter criticism
about fanaticism.
The
57-year-old who was surviving with his wife, son Anannya Azad and
da}ghters Mouli Azad and Smita Azad, wrote more than 60 books of poetry,
novels, articles and comparative literature and was a hardline feminist
and a fearless critic of human rights violations. Azad received the
Bangla Academy Award in 1996.
Hundreds
of people representing a broad spmctrum of society gathered in and
outside Azad's house on Fuller Road in Dhaka, turning the area into
a dismal scene of mourners. Teachers, students, journalists, publishers
and other professionals found themselves flashing back to their days
with the scholarly writer. Along with all his fans we deeply condole
his death.
-LS
Desk
Tips
Relieve
yourself from stress
The life of a
working man or woman is full of stress in today's world. It takes
a basket full of good temperament to keep oneself cool and composed
when workload skyrockets. Relief from anxiety will energise you with
the new stamina to move on with your career and family.
Many people start
to panic long before a situation goes out of hand. Don't panic instead
maintain a daily schedule. Jot down the important appointments of
the day, office tasks, and household responsibilities in a notebook.
Take a look at the schedule after every few hours.
Take a break from
job at least once a year. \ake your family on vacation every year;
forget the earthly responsibilities for a week or two to revitalise
your soul and body. Keep office works at bay and enjoy any holiday
to its fullest.
You can also plan
for an outing every weekend; take your spouse and children on a long
drive outside the city, eat out in a nice restaurant or visit friends
and families |o drive away the depressing weekly boredom.
You can also get
enrolled in an aerobics or swimming course. Attend these classes after
work. A bit of physical exercise helps to keep body healthy and mind
less troubled.
Try to derive
pleasure from everything you do. Don't get involved in any activity
that you don't enjoy. Involvement in works that appear depressing
to you only results in stress and frustration. Make sure you are happy
with your current employment, boss and co-workers.
Maintain a healthy
diet. You have to eat well to keep yourself fit, energetic and stress-free.
Keep loads of fresh fruits, vegetables, and salad in your daily menu.
Dehydration is a common cause of fatigue and tiredness in this sticky
season. So drink a lot of water to drive away the presence of lethargy
from your life.
Learn the tricks
to relieve stress from life and you will see that this world is a
wonderful place to live.
By
Wara Karim
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