Star Diary

Help?
My cousin and I were on our way to Nilkhet for some Kacchi biriyani one fine February afternoon. From our rickshaw we noticed a group of university students marching along the street. At the same time I heard a car pass by with loud music blaring; couple of kids enjoying their youth. A few seconds later I heard the scream 'Dhor Dhor!' coming from the marchers and the car speeding off. I turned my head to see the mob of university students chasing after the car. The car made it to a couple of blocks and got stuck in traffic. The next scene frightened me out of my skin. The mob of students vandalised the car to shreds and beat up bloody the occupant of the car, a kid. We all watched as it happened; a couple of guys went to help but were also beaten up by the mob. I sat on the rickshaw and wanted to dial 911 only to realise that I was in Bangladesh. There is no help.
Sami Haq
New York
USA

A Sympathetic Thief
One of our friends living in Rampura recently lost her cell phone. When I heard the news I was trying to empathise with her because I too had lost my cell phone. My cell phone was not an expensive but all my numbers were saved on the sim card and I had not copied them anywhere else. For the next few months, my friends would scream at me whenever they would call and I would be unable to recognize their numbers. Of course they would understand once I would explain about my stolen phone but it was just too much effort and would become tiring at one point. My friend, however, was not as upset as I had expected her to be. It seems that the person who stole her phone, left the sim card lying around! I am sure the thief himself or herself must have gone through a similar experience of getting screamings from his or her friends!
Rana D Mazumder
AIUB
Dhaka

To Celebrate Culture
The Independence Day of Bangladesh was celebrated in many different ways, this year, by people of all ages. In the evening, I had heard a loud noise, which probably belonged to a rock concert happening in the area. At first, I thought that the music was coming from next doors, but I was seriously puzzled when I discovered the open air very near to my place. This was being done to celebrate the day in public. Most of the music being played at the concert was of the heavy kind, hard rock and very western. I could not understand why these kinds of music were being played to celebrate our culture. If we fail to check this unexpected cultural encroachment, it is obvious that a different cultural platform will be formed sooner or later.
Barnali Talukder
University of Dhaka
Dhaka

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