Good
Article
I
am very impressed with Mehzabin Ahmed's article titled
"Life Outside the Bubble” in the December 12th
issue of SWM. I honestly appreciate her statements
which seem like they come straight from her heart.
I agree with what she has written, comparing classism
to racism. Prejudice is a reality, which varies with
colour, class and religion. Most rich countries see
themselves as generous and open minded about different
races and backgrounds, but I don't see it as the truth.
Prejudiced people think they can do what they wish
because they are either rich or white, and all the
people in between fall victim to their discrimination.
M Rahman
Dhaka
Objections
I
am a regular reader of SWM and I have an objection.
Why does Mita only answer the letters related to love?
I realise we all have limited knowledge but I wish
you would answer questions about things aside from
love as well. We live in the most corrupt country
in the world. When looking at these problems love
centred issues don't seem to be all that important.
Catering to this love-sickness will only make us fall
deeper into inefficiency.
A Reader
Chittagong
Bad Printing
Why
is your printing so bad? You are a good magazine with
very good material and good writers but your printing
always (it seems) ruins your hard work. Your pictures
are all doubled up and your fonts are all blurry and
unreadable. I wonder what is the point in buying a
magazine if you cannot read half the contents in it?
This is something that you should really take care
of and look into in the future.
SKH
Sylhet
What
to do?
Nadia
Kabir Barb's "A Fair to Remember" was light-hearted,
witty and oh-so-real! It is funny to think that other
moms have the same problem as me. And my kids too,
wait until the last minute to tell me so that I have
to rush and almost get an ulcer. At the end of the
day, we moms always manage somehow (although I really
haven't figured out how just yet!) It's true, in reality
we really should say no, and teach them not to volunteer
someone else for a job without asking that person,
but how can you say no to your kids? And if you do,
their poor little minds will think it is the greatest
tragedy of their lives (even though it is far from
that). Where do we draw the line between protecting
their innocent minds and teaching them well deserved
and well needed lessons?
Tamarra Khan
Dhaka
SWM's
Changes
I
am a long time fan of SWM and have been witness to
its various changes throughout the years. I have noticed
that in the last year you have gone through a lot
of changes, such as making the magazine full colour,
changing people in your staff, having political cartoons,
etc. I like your newest editions to the magazine:
Voicebox and News Notes. I request the Quote Master,
Ahmede Hussain to keep up the good work and also if
he could, think of even more ridiculously funny quotes.
The ones in the December 19th issue were a little
stale.
Hamid Alam
Dhaka
Chintito
is making me chintito too
Chintito's
article really is a source of worry for me. Although
I was aware of the situation in our country I definitely
did not think it was this bad. I feel now that the
situation in the country is unbearable and we are
almost out of hope. How can we condone such gross
violence and disregard for human rights? Are our leaders
that selfish that they just don't care what happens
to their people? It is frustrating that nobody cares
about the masses. Perhaps I am naïve. Perhaps
I just don't know enough about the social, political
and economic structure of Bangladesh but I do realise
that this is not the way to live.
Sadia Kareem
Los Angeles
Unacceptable
Typos
Being
somewhat of a fan of SWM I am very particular about
the typos that I find while reading. Lately I have
noticed that there are some really obvious typos that
even a Class V student would have noticed. Have you
stopped being careful about editing? As a regular
reader I have always taken pride in the fact that
SWM has a very high standard of English which is a
rare phenomenon in this country. So typos in the headlines
and also inside the articles are just unacceptable.
Please be more careful about these things in the future.
J. Perrera
Banani
Pitiful
State
The
country's law and order situation has gone beyond
the realm of fiction. Everyday we have to read about
gruesome murders like brutal killings of fathers and
sons in front of other family members. But funnily
after a day or two we forget about them because there
is another gruesome murder to think about. When will
the government open its eyes and do something to stop
the killing of innocents? We would also like to see
more follow up stories on the victims so that they
are not forgotten as yesterday's news.
Shafiul Azam
Jigatola
Good
Website!
I
am very impressed with your internet version of both
the magazine and the newspaper. I live abroad and
used to always check the internet version of The Daily
Star in the past but I thought the internet version
was quite boring and mundane. Recently after a long
time I went back to the site and was completely shocked
at the transformation! Congratulate your web designer
for me -- he/she did an excellent job in making over
your web site!
HAM
Boston
Just
an Opinion
I
am a regular reader of SWM and look forward to it
every Friday morning. I like most of the articles
by your staff writers and contributors including the
columns by "Chintito" and Nadia Barb. I
also enjoy "Dhaka Diary" and the recent
"Newsnotes" and "Voicebox" which
cover the most important recent happenings and even
sayings. I look forward to even newer additions to
the magazine, perhaps a regular series of interviews
of celebrities as well as people who are trying to
contribute to society with their work but are not
very well-known. What does disappoint me, however,
is the physical and/or technical quality of your magazine.
The beauty of such good writing is marred by the paper
it is on and especially the rather bad printing. My
copy of the last issue, as was the case with many
others, had many pages of blurred print. Especially
with pages where pictures and illustrations are important
such as "New Flicks", bad quality printing
is a major setback. Please see if you can improve
the printing quality of SWM as well as make refreshing
changes in matter and style every once in a while
as you have been doing.
Shayla Rahman
Dhaka
Unfairness
in BCS Exam
I
was sitting for the 24th Bangladesh Civil Service
(BCS) Written Examination. I saw unbelievable things
happen there. During the English Written Examination
most of the candidates hid guidebooks in their clothes,
some took photocopies of the guidebooks and others
were going to the bathroom with their mobile phones.
It seemed to be a free market of copying in the examination
hall. The sad thing is that the duty teacher was standing
in front of the room. When the PSC visitors came,
he (the duty teacher) only said, "Be careful,
PSC visitors are coming?" Similar things occurred
during the Everyday Science & Mathematics examination.
I have always hated cheating and I felt seriously
disturbed when someone was dragging my answer script
or copying my answers. Those who lead our administration
are being unfair in the first class job recruitment
process! If this is how it is, what will our future
administration be? Our PSC should be more careful
about the unfair means exercised during the BCS and
other examinations under it.
Md. Zillur Rahaman
Dear
Readers,
Our New Year’s gift for
you is a revamped 40 Page issue with new items to
make your magazine more enjoyable. Please let us know
what you think about the changes in the magazine.
Your opinions will be highly appreciated.
--SWM Editor
