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Star Diary
A Curse of Modern Science
A few days back I was returning from Naikhongchari, a very remote area of Bangladesh, by bus. The place is so far away from Dhaka that it takes about nine to twelve hours to come from there by bus. Imagine the penalty of sitting in a bus for such a long time! It so happened that as I was sitting in the bus and trying to be in an oblivion, a person sitting at the back of my seat started talking on his cell phone loudly enough for all the passengers to listen to him. I thought that he would stop after some time but to my disappointment I found the man making another call and talking loudly again! This time he started scolding, swearing and shouting at the top of his voice. The man seemed so callous and aggressive that all the passengers only muttered to themselves not daring to say anything to him assuming that he would react violently. Surprisingly, the man made a phone call every five minutes and disturbed everyone. During the nine or ten hours he spoke like a psycho. I kept wondering that a cell phone which is a very useful thing for the people of the whole world suddenly seemed to be a curse of modern science just because of an inconsiderate passenger on the bus!
Sanjida Halim
Eskaton Garden, Dhaka
Skilled Thieving
I heard this incident from my friend. Last month, she went to Bangkok with her grand father to get him a medical check-up. During that period, one evening they went to the park to get some fresh air. They were walking along. After a long time, when her grandfather became exhausted he sat on a bench to get some rest. Meanwhile, she was wandering around and seeing people engaged in different jobs- some taking a good advantage of their leisure while others were just roaming around like her. Just then she noticed a small child crying out aloud. People were walking beside her but just paid no heed to the small, crying child. My friend felt very sympathetic and bent down to console the child. Instantaneously, she felt that somebody took something from her handbag. When she looked back, there was nobody was around but she found her purse stripped off with a knife and all her money was stolen. The child was gone too. All this happened in an instant and she was totally dumbfounded. She reported the robbery and within an hour she got her money back. What surprised me was the crude way she was robbed. Can the humankind be so harsh enough so as to use a small, innocent child for such terrible robbery?
Shifat Nazmee
Maple Leaf International School
 Grandfather-hood
Recently, I began walking and exercising regularly every morning at Ramna Park. In the last few months, I made many friends, some of them were as old as my parents! Very recently, one of my 'older' friends became a grandfather for the first time. He invited all his friends from Ramna Park to his place to celebrate. Unfortunately, my midterms had begun and I could not go. I also had to skip walking till I got done with my academic obligations. When I went back to walking however, I saw that the new grandfather was also missing his walks, as he had to be home to help take care of the baby as well. After a couple of weeks, he came back. “The baby is just a couple of months old, my friend,” said one of the old and experienced grandfathers to the new and tired one. “You can't get tired now. Wait till the child grows up and is able to walk and respond. You will have to start guarding your valuables!” The terror in the tired new grandfather's eyes was apparent. “It's time you kept some spare eye-glasses,” announced another one in the group. “And also watches. Shiny things always attract children.” Yet another grandfather piped in, “You might want to move all the breakable items and show-pieces that you have in your house. Keep them locked up in a closet for the next six years at least.” The new granddad seemed shocked. However, one old man was very positive. “Look at the bright side,” he says. “The child will bring back memories from your old days when you were bringing up your own children.” The new grandfather's face was a complete disaster and he did not know what to say.
Naimul Hassan
Baily Road
Dhaka
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