Baking Tips

Nasreen Sattar , Head of International Sales, Standard Chartered Bank

Q.1 I want to ask a few very ordinary questions! What is ra|e of interest in Savings Account, in our Government Banks? If it varies from bank to bank, then please write me the range! My second query is about fixed deposit: I know, one can draw an interest at 3 months interval. Is it right? If so what is the rate of interest? Finally, can you please let me know the procedure of money transfer from bank to bank; within and outside of the country?
- Dr. Lailun Nahar

Dear Dr. Nahar
A. Thank you for your queries. Every Private and Government commercial bank fixes up the interest rate in savings account as per it's own pricing policy under the guideline of Bangladesh Bank. In this regard it is not possible to advise you the applicable interest rate in Saving Account of Government or any other Private bank. Banks can change their rates after declaration to Bangladesh Bank.

Referring to your second query we would like to inform you that we have a product named EzeeFD where customer will get option to withdraw the earned interest at monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly interval. You can get these rates from the Customer Service of any Standard Chartered Branch in Bangladesh. Please note that interest rates are subject to change as decided by the Bank from time to time without prior notice. Some other banks also have similar products.

Within the country money can be transferred through deposit of cheque, pay order or demand drafts. Beneficiary's bank will get the funds through clearing or collection. Some banks are offering online banking services where funds can be withdrawn from an online branch of the same bank at a place other than the branch where customer maintains account. Telegraphic Transfer (TT), Money Transfer (MT), etc. are used to transfer funds from one branch to another branch of the same bank. A combination of TT and pay order is u{ed to transfer funds to another bank at a different location than the originating location.
Telegraph Transfer/Draft is common method to transfer money outside the country.

Handy hints

Beauty Talk
Sadia Moyeen Beautician, La Belle

Q. Ma'am,
My heartiest felicitations to you for your excellent "Beauty Talk" column which, has not only benefitted myself but also all comrades in our "Adda" as we follow the relevant "tips" with enthusiasm so, loads of thanks to your sweet self.

I am approximately 50 years of age and have been suffering from a massive attack of mini sores resembling mosquito stings and they are quite itchy. In my sleep I scratch them in the mornings I find that they have turned to patches quite similar to what you get from drinking arsenic contaminated water. This has been going on for the past few months and I have practically used up all medications. So, kindly advice at your earliest convenience. I have ano|her question. It is for my daughter.

My daughter is around 14 years of age. She has black spots throughout her tongue for the past few months. These are not itchy nor do they cause any unpleasantness, but she is practically traumatised, refusing to speak. She has also started losing her eyebrows so, kindly advise on these matters.
Aakyna Jamal

Ans. Thank you, it's always a great pleasure to know that people enjoy reading the column as much as I enjoy writing it. I would immediately advise you to consult a doctor about the sores. I would not advise any kind of cosmetic remedies without first ruling out medical reasons.

The black spots on the tongue are quite normal and as you long to get it examine, explain that this is quite a common phenomenon. Believe it or not falling hair or even eyebrows are some times stress-related. Communicate with your daughter and deal with growing pains.

Q. Hello Sadia,
I am Sia a teenage schoolgirl. I am really tired of my regular hairstyle, which is a ponytail or something like that. For that reason I am losing my hair at the front as I tie it high and hard. I don't want to cut my hair. Can you please suggest some regular hair styles and hair removers that will be good for me? Sia

Ans, Dear Sia,
You don't have to cut your hair short. You could style it maintaining its xresent length. Or you could cut a few bangs on the forehead, which would release the pressure on your hairline and prevent it from receding. Using a hair-band and leaving your hair open is also a good option.

As for hair removal, waxing is the most efficient and long-lasting option for the hands and legs.

Hair removing creams and lotions are also freely available for those having a low threshold of pain.

Finally there's shaving if you're truly in a lazy mood and are not fussy about a coarse re-growth.

Q. Dear Sadia,
I am a 14-year-old boy. My hair is very rough. I have lots of dandruff in my hair and although I use ALL CLEAR anti-dandruff shampoo regularly, it doesn't work. Can you tell me what kind of anti-dandruff shampoo I should use and of which brand? And what should I use to make my hair silky? Secondly, I have some pimples in my cheeks. Please suggest a way to get rid of the pimples permanently. Thanks.
Nayeem Islam

Ans . Dear Nayeem
Are you using a lot of hair gels and mousse? Excessive use of these items sometimes causes dandruff. Please use Selsun Blue anti-dandruff shampoo, but before that, apply a little oil to your scalp and massage for a few minutes, then rub a lemon rind all over making sure the juice gets to the scalp. Keep on for 10 minutes and shampoo with Selson Blue. Use a conditioner regularly to soften and condition the quality of your hair. Don't burst the pimples on your cheek{; apply neem-leaf paste to control them everyday. At 14 pimples are inherent problems, but as you grow older, your skin will automatically clear up.

Q. Dear Sadia,
I am 18(guy). My hair is very dry and coarse. I want to make it softer and moisturised. Please name the products and places to find them.
Rupo

Ans. Dear Rupo
Ask mum for weekly oil massages and apply a mashed banana as a hair pack. Keep it on for 20 minutes. Use Vidal Sassoon Shampoo followed by the conditioner regularly. If you can use a deep conditioning treatment cream once a month instead of a conditioner, you'll find a great change the quality of your hair.

Q. Hey Sadia,
I'm 15 yzs old and so far the biggest problem in my life has been my hair. My mom won't let me cut it any shorter than my waist-length no matter what. It's very dry and rough, straw-like, reddish, full of split ends and completely damaged. So basically everyday of my life is a bad-hair day. I am hoping you would come up with some magic potion, which can transform it into something less shocking to the eye. Thank you.
Ms. Bad Hair

Ans. Are you oiling your hair regularly? Using conditioner? You don't have to chop your hair off, but you must regularly trim your hair to remove the split ends. Apply hot olive oil and wrap hair in a hot damp towel. Keep dipping the towel in hot water, squeezing the excess water and wrapping it on your head until it cools again. Repeat 4-5 times, then shampoo off using a product designed for dry-damaged hair. Use conditioner. Towel-dry your hair then apply Livon silky potion sparingly and comb your hair.

Momentary stay of the Night Queen

The flower Night Queen as the name reveals blooms only at night. The marvellous event of blooming commences in the early hours of evening and it dies out only after a little while. Night Queen is a milk-white flower, which spreads a very light pleasant fragrance. This short-lived moment is very precious to many. Mr Maleque is one of the enthusiastic people who waited long for this precious moment. In his 161/2A, Paikpara, Mirpur residence on the night of 10th August, the queen of flowers made a short visit.

 

UNDER A DIFFERENT SKY

Impartially Prejudice

I hated it when people told me stories of discrimination; I hated it when they complained about the consequences of being the color brown. Blind to racial discrimination and neutral towards Americans or Bangladeshis, I had less sympathy for illegal immigrants huddled up in the streets corners of Queens, New York or Los Angles, California and bashing America, not just Bush. When I got into a conversation with one of them I often told them to go back home. If it really is as bad as they portray it to be, America and its system and the American people, why do they need to be here, I asked them. Those arguments never ended happily or with solutions…I actually liked it best when I stayed 100% non political and 50% philosophical and 50% oblivious. Perhaps it's from the teaching of my parents about politics and the negative connotation it carries, that it is food not meant for superior minds. I mistakenly thought I was part of that better half and worried about my inner struggles and got irritated when people complained about politics, the dirt, the finds and the blame…

So last year when on my way to DC getting in the subway I saw some getting stopped by police troops and their two Belgian Malinois I took it as a necessary routine check that must be done. The nation was under orange alert, and like me many who took the metro every day feared a suicide bomb would go off, so the dog and his masters didn't seem threatening, not as threatening as the invisible suicide bomber with any face and any name, so I was glad random searches were being done. Then the day came when I was picked to be searched randomly. It was bound to happen; my non-threatening submissive face was obviously not a giveaway. I could be a female terrorist, so they went through my belongings, my office bag, my gym clothes, my box of tampons, and after I came out clean and they let me walk away, I wasn't sure if I had all of myself, all my odds and ends tucked in with me, did the Belgian Mallinois chew away a few strands of my beliefs? Did the strong police palms mush a few nods of my confidence? I wasn't sure what I left behind…but there was something amiss…

Few days passed, I tried to get over the incident, tried to move on, slept semi-well during my nights in my home 15 minutes away from the Pentagon. Sudden helicopters and airplanes which fly at dangerously low levels ({o it seems from my unprofessional eyes) around our area woke me up at night sometimes, or distracted me during quite Saturday afternoons, but that's the price you pay for living in an area close to the happenings, or suspected happenings, or where happenings might take place?

So when someone asked what is the affect that 9/11 has left on me, I look at them ith a blank expression. I was not one of many who got laid off, or my family was not interrogated, I was not given stares of disapproval/discrimination, I and my blue passport felt safe, safe as I can living under color coded security alert system. I wasn't pro anything neither was I against. I wanted to stay impartial, that's what my parents taught me, to worry about the non-materialistic, imaginative, spiritual side of life. So when Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 made me a stronger democrat, or Robert Fisk's speech made me furious about the power under which I currently reside, I wasn't sure who I was, how can my non-political soul be upset about dirty politics and games? Was it because it was touching humanity, touching real people in a level I never thought it would, was it because I had just as much chance of being interrogated, discriminated and hurt? Or was it because politics no longer drew a circle and stayed limited affecting only those who were involved and it affected all of us, the ones who wanted to stay blind and live life selfishly, as long as my backyard was not getting bombed, I didn't need to worry.

Without knowing, sometime between 9/11 and today my spirit has turned a bit political, my oblivious mind has turned a bit more opinionated, so the affect on 9/11 in this Bengali might not be a drastic one or a one that confidently sip{ out, but like all naive turned aware minds my mind has lost a bit of it's peace and in turn borrowed a bit of the burning fire from Iraq, a bi| of insecurity of middle class Imericans and a lot of courage to write this piece and recognize, discrimination exists and the those who receive do give, negative, positive and bitter.

 

By Iffat Nawaz
*You can contact the writer by emailing nituta@hotmail.com