Well-written piece
SWM is turning out to be the leading weekly magazine in our country because of its printing quality, brilliant graphics and first-rate write-ups. I especially enjoy its regular contributors and think they are worth reading. Of them, I really admire Mr. Shawkat Hussain whose column is witty, humorous as well as a bit satirical. At times, I wonder how he brings out so many crucial issues from such trivial topics. A fine example of this kind is his last piece "Dreams and Reality”. This shows his sheer writing brilliance. I am looking forward to reading more of his sharp, compact articles. I thank SWM for including him in their domain.
Md. Nazrul Islam Sumon
Dept of English
University of Dhaka

A national security nightmare
Recently a huge cache of arms has been retrieved in the commercial capital Chittagong. Arms smuggling, it seems, have been going on for years; while subsequent governments have remained blissfully ignored of such incidents. The most frightening thing is the government's indifference to these sorts of arms haul. Instead of forming a neutral inquiry commission the government has tried to politicise the event. Our national security has never become so vulnerable before. I hope SWM will make a cover story on it.
Bibesh Ranjan Bhowmick
On e-mail

Great Article
I really enjoyed reading the Travel article on New Orleans written by Samia Islam. I found the entire piece utterly fascinating -- it all seemed so foreign and other-worldly! I think the writer has a great style of writing and is very clear in her thoughts. It is nice to get a glimpse of other places and cities around the world from a Bangali person's perspectives. SWM should really continue their Travel page because it makes those of us who cannot travel very often, or at all, in fact, feel like we too have an open window to the outside world.
Irfana Alam
Lalmatia

March 26th Issue
The cover story of your March 26th issue was really well done and my sincere congratulations goes to all the writers, Aasha Mehreen Amin, Shamim Ahsan, Ahmede Hussain, and Mustafa Zaman. I think the concept of having various writers doing small features on different topics, and then compiling it into one cover story gives a very strong and balanced perspective on whatever you are writing about. Although some of the articles were stronger than others, I still feel that you were able to balance each other out. It is important to speak out against the problems we face in our society and government and analyse the harm we are causing ourselves by allowing these issues to go unsolved. Thank you SWM for giving us the opportunity to do so.
SAK
On Email

Cover Story
Although Shamim Ahsan's cover story on Noise Pollution was very informative and a great topic, I think that you could have definitely done more with it in terms of your photos. I didn't understand the relevance of half the pictures featured in the cover story. I understand that it is hard to show noise pollution in pictures, but I feel that a renowned magazine such as Star Weekend Magazine can make more of an effort.
Rafia
Mirpur

More Photo Features Please
I really love your photo features -- I feel like they add more colour and life to the magazine. Although I think your magazine is great, sometimes it is a little too heavy for a Friday morning. Having a photo feature sometimes takes the heaviness away from the rest of your columns and gives me the incentive to read more of your articles. Just to give some of us some eye relief for the weekend, can you please consider making your photo features a regular in the magazine?
A reader
On Email

English Language
English language is a huge priority for literate people not only in Bangladesh, but all over the world. With the rapid expansion of information technology and as citizens of global villages, the importance of the English language is increasing gradually. Nowadays, being fluent in English is important in order to get a lucrative job. Star Weekend Magazine helps us learn English by publishing its articles. It publishes various contemporary articles on many different topics such as events, travel, personalities and so on. Most of these provide us with valuable information and reading pleasure, which also makes us more resourceful people as a result. However, lack of proper and effective knowledge of English among many of us makes it hard for us to understand it all the time. If SWM published some reading, writing and speaking tips and strategies for beginners, it would be very helpful to the average readers. We are all enthusiastic language learners so on behalf of them I hope SWM will take this into consideration.
Siddiq Sohan
Savar, Dhaka

Cricket’s Greatest Year
After the World Cup '99, people all over the world, including Bangladesh lost their interest in the game of cricket to some extent. The reasons behind that might be the match fixing allegations against same famous players, lack of good cricket performance in the field and ban of bilateral series between teams like India and Pakistan. But the year 2004 brings with it the previous excitement of cricket in its full form. Aside from the good cricket being exhibited during the series between India and Australia, Bangladesh also performed remarkably well in the ODIs against Zimbabwe. After that cricket lovers had the opportunity to enjoy the drama of cricket between the two arch-rivals -- India and Pakistan. During the month of March, cricket reigned everywhere in Bangladesh. It has certainly made a comeback in this region. In addition it is just the beginning as this year also features the Asia Cup, ICC Champion's Trophy, and more. So cricket lovers, get ready for more action.