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Moments with Bangabandhu

Dhaka International Trade Fair 2011has already begun. This, over the years,
has become one of the eagerly awaited events in the city's calendar.
Beginning this week, for the entire duration of the fair, Star Lifestyle will bring you highlights of the show. We start off the proceedings with the stall with a difference-- a homage to Bangabandhu, his life and works.

Bangabandhur Shongey Kichhukhon, or Moments with Bangabandhu, is a unique stall running at Dhaka International Trade Fair this year. The stall was opened by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself.

“Moments with Bangabandhu” is a stall that portrays the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his activities. It is a first-rate endeavour to remind and teach all of us of the larger-than-life, charismatic leader our country has ever produced.

"The trade fair strives and promotes commerce to enhance the trade and finance of Bangladesh; and we want to remind people of the person who first led us to that economic freedom," said Nasirul Haque Khokon, CEO of Creations Unlimited- the organisation that put the whole thing together.

The stall is designed in an interesting way, owing to its hexagonal shape, where the outer circle of the stall houses still photographs of the leader whereas the inner circle is a theater playing a light -and-sound show.

The walls of the stall portrays photographs, portraits, etc of Bangabandhu, arranged in a chronological order: the stall shows a young and rebellious Sheikh Mujib, who, eventually, through time, led the struggles, revolts and uprisings to become a revolutionary leader.

Not just political, some of the pictures also portray Sheikh Mujib as a private person- having a meal with his family, spending free time, etc. Also included in the exhibition are enlarged, old newspaper cuttings of some of the most important historical and political events that took place during that time. A personal letter written by him to his daughter Sheikh Hasina is also exhibited.

But the main attraction of the stall is the twenty two minute show, named Shurjodoyer Dicke, on the life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that is played continuously. The video tells the story of the rebellious Sheikh Mujib- his endeavors and sacrifices, his love, and his leadership- to liberate our land.

It ends with the current developments made in our country and the vision of the current Prime Minister. But some may argue that the video is a propaganda used by the present government to publicise its values and mainly its political party at large.

The video is highly dramatic and extremely inspirational, complete with patriotic songs and poems. The video is an awe-inspiring, lager-than-life multi-screen presentation: five of the six walls of the hexagonal room are used to show the presentation, with sometimes each of the walls showing different video clips. By intelligent lighting and a sound system, the video evokes the rebellious, passionate and patriotic side of people, while teaching us of the great leader and the liberation war.

For example, during the scene where Sheikh Mujib gives his famous speech on March 7, 1971, on one wall was the video of the leader, whilst the others showed aerial and other views of the massive audience. So, when you stand in the room surrounded by those projections, you get the feeling that you are actually there in that event among those numerous people, listening to Sheikh Mujib live!

It is thus of no surprise that the reception among the visitors of the trade fair have been impressive. "The traffic in the stall is very high, with many enthusiastic people crowding at the place"

A trip to this stall arouses the passion with which our land was liberated. And it reminds us of the rebellious and strong hero this country has produced. One of the visitors of the stall opined, “It is a good way to let the new generation know about our history and how we earned our independence.”

By M H Haider
Special Nasirul Haque Khokon for providing the photographs.

LS EDITOR'S NOTE

Sweet surrender

If you have a restless night your sugar level is bound to shoot up the morning after; at least that's what I think I heard a doctor quip once. While trying to sleep if your hyperactive grey cells are jumping from one thought to another, plotting ploys, conniving against people who gave you a hard time during office hours, your ulcers will act up in the morning; this, even a layman understands.

Having said that you know that these are not healthy health signs either, lack of proper sleep will play havoc with your BP once you hit your forties. An adult needs eight hours of sleep without any kind of disturbance, come what may. And for this if you need to shut off the world, just do so without an ounce of a guilty feeling.

I am off to bed by ten and I don't care if I have an important phone call to attend to after that hour or whether my hubby dearest has dinner alone once again; I am not compromising my precious hours of sleep for anything.

This tough lesson I learnt the hard way; my daughter laughs at me saying no “cool” person goes to bed at this ungodly hour, my friends make fun of me saying that I am still afraid of Wee Willie Winkie, but to all this my simple retort is -- whatever.

I don't want to snore through the alarm every morning, then kick-start myself with strong caffeine (and often migraine tablets due to a pain behind my eye). And of course I don't want my mind in a permanent tired-yet-over-stimulated fog.

There was a time when I was in a constant tired and lethargic state of mind, always exhausted, knackered, overworked and sleep-deprived. I've been through living that half-dead kind of existence long ago when life revolved around all-night phone chats with some equally good-for-nothing lazy person. Those were the days when I could sleep through the entire day without a care as to what the menu would be for the day, or how much to budget for daily groceries, or who would baby-sit. That was life when the word responsibility held no meaning.

Now being in bed till 9 a.m. is an unthinkable option. It's as if life at my home comes to a standstill if I am not working from 6 a.m. It's almost sacrilegious to think that a mother, a wife, a homemaker and an office goer can even consider such luxury, let alone afford it. So if I am to slave away from 6 in the morning then it is only natural to shut off by 10pm with that devil-may-care panache.

I came to my first conclusion early. The main reason behind this was sleep hangover and not getting enough sleep. We all seem fully aware that we need, for example, eight hours, but always get five, yet we do nothing constructive about it. I think the reason for that is that getting good sleep requires sacrifice, strong willpower and some very awkward conversations like telling your loved ones, “The party is over and I am going to bed."

I've got much more energy now, and can spend it organising my calendar and improving my life in a multitude of manners.

What works best, I realise now, is trying to find a balance. Living perfectly gives you energy, and when I've exhausted that vigour, I go promptly back to bed thinking that I will wake up bright and happy with a cup of my mint tea.

-- Raffat Binte Rashid

TIPS

Winter dusting

Winter is the season when dust accumulates in corners, on lights, ceiling fans, bookcases and tabletops. Keeping these clean is essential as the spread of dust is unhealthy and can cause illness.

Light fixtures and bulbs collect dust -- especially during the winter -- that can mute their brightness. To bring back the light in your home, take down the glass ceiling fixtures and wash them in soapy water. This is also a good time to vacuum the lamp shades and give all the light bulbs a good dusting.

Ceiling fans do not get used at all during winter, which means that there is a film of dust on top. Before we start using them and spreading the dust all over the house, take a stool or a ladder and with a wet cloth wipe the blades.

When cleaning tabletops, it is important to use a tool that captures dust instead of merely relocating it. If the table is made of expensive wood, a wet cloth might do more damage than good. In that case, assuming the absence of a vacuum cleaner, its best to use brushes to gather all the dust in one place and then sweep it onto a basket. The same can apply for bookcases.

In general it is a good idea to have a cleaning routine whereby the floors are swept everyday, or every other day. Dust is a constant visitor to our homes, which is why we should be vigilant day in and day out.

-LS Desk