Howzzat!

The railway station was unusually crowded that day, and it was rather surprising for a sultry Friday morning in Dhaka. It had been nearly two hours since I arrived at the railway station, waiting for the train to arrive (which was, as usual, extremely late).

It was my sister's wedding, and I was destined for my village, Gobindopur. I had received a letter from my mother about the occasion only a day ago. Understanding the urgency, I lost no time in packing up and set for my village.

The surrounding environment seemed to have come to a halt in the railway station as the frustrating moments passed by. I did not have the slightest idea of how to pass my time. However, the matter was soon solved when I realised that I hadn't taken my breakfast that morning. I went to a nearby coffee shop with a newspaper, which I had bought recently from a peddler, folded in my hand. I ordered for a cup of coffee and a pack of biscuits to go along with it. Soon a rather shabby looking waiter served my food and went away.

I scrutinised my watch for the third time; the train was nearly an hour late and in the meantime I had scanned nearly each and every corner of the newspaper. Right then, an unusually tall man (approximately 6ft 5") with curly hair and reddened eyes entered the coffee shop and sat right opposite to me. His fingers were stained with nicotine and his shirt with grease. He gave me a sombre look and abruptly took my pack of biscuits tore it and poured nearly half the contents into his mouth leaving me in the most bewildering situation of my life. What was even more surprising was that he was acting as if nothing had happened and started reading a newspaper magazine, which he had brought with him.

I could not believe my eyes. However, I also acted as if nothing had happened and took one biscuit from my packet, dipped it into my coffee and ate it. Little did I know what surprise awaited me. The man suddenly erupted like a volcano and gave me the coldest look ever for no explicable reason (after all it was my pack of biscuits). Nevertheless, I did not care and took each and every one of the remaining biscuits and gobbled them up at once. Just then, the man abruptly threw his magazine away and stood up from the chair. I also got ready for the hostility. Without saying anything, the man went away. I thought he had realised his mistake .So, I took my newspaper and was about to leave and right then beside my cup I saw "my" pack of biscuits lying safe and intact.

By Fardin Humayun

Urban talkies-2

Hey! I'm back, guys with more ghetto-speak for you! I know(should I be bold enough to say) ingenious words have been conjured up by our ever so hard-working adolescents. To make our life a little bit easier for you, I have dug a couple of more words for you to get by:

1)Flossin' - This means to roll in an amazing ride with the general intent to enjoy ostentation and prestige.
2)ayyo- This means to say hi to someone. In others words its slang for "hey you".
"Ayyo,what you been up to??"
3) bangin'- This is a term used to describe a sexy or attractive person or something that is awesome, great, wonderful etc.
4) bennifer- This word is used to describe:
a) An attractive couple that have money, fame and beauty yet are still universally hated by everyone.
b)A horrible combination that may ultimately bring about the apocalypse.The combination of a Latino "actress"/pseudo-singer and her present victim/future ex-husband.
c) Any movie with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in the lead roles.
d)A combination consisting of 50% Benjamin Geza Affleck, and 50% Jennifer Lynn Lopez, referred to as a single entity: Bennifer. Also known as Bennifer Lofleck, or Bennifer Affpez.
5) cha' mon- Cha'mon' is a derivative of 'come on' .
6) chillax- To chill and relax at the same time.
7) heezie- To be 'off the heezie' is to be "radical" or "awesome".
8) holla- It depends upon the context in which you are using the word. It is a term that can either be used to try and talk or try to hook up with a female. It can also mean to talk to someone or telling somebody to meet up with you later.
1.) Ey mama can i HOLLA atchu fa a minute.
#2.a) HOLLA atcho boy b.)holla bak.

Its amazing how a meek species such as ourselves( if you're still guessing, I meant adolescents) could develop such an extensive language. Yes, it is something the great scientists have yet to unravel, but for now lets just stick to the how-to's of speaking such a foreign lingo. You getting' me?

By Slayer

Can you imagine you can make your Windows desktop in Bengali! Yes folks my desktops all icons names are in Bengali. Even my start menu programmes names are in Bengali. Yes by using Windows built in Unicode support you can rename all icons in Bengali. You can also make your desktop in Bengali by using some third party software (like Alpona). But with my tweaking procedure you don't need to buy those costly softwares.

First, you will need a Unicode supported Bengali font. You can download it from http://software.bdcomcom/bangsee/bsfp.zip To writing with this font you will also need Bangsee Word. To download trial version of Bangsee Word go to http://software.bdcom.com/bangsee/bangseeword/ Don't fear this trial software is only for writing some names and for this little tasks trial version works perfectly. After downloading install the font pack and software.

Then go to desktop and right click on it, select "properties" and then from the tabbed windows select "appearance" after that click on "item" (In Windows XP click on "Advance" then click on "item") and from the scroll down box select "Icon". Then from the font drop down box select "Bangsee Unicode" click "Apply". Run Bangsee Word's trial version and write whatever you want to see in your icons label. Suppose for "My Computer" icon first you have to write "Amar Computer" by Bangsee Word than copy the Bengali word and go to desktop right click on "My Computer" icon (in Windows XP Click start then "My Computer" icon) and select rename and paste your bangle name.

Now what are you seeing? Yes "My Computer" icon turned into Bengali "Amar Computer". Change your entire desktop icons name by this procedure. Now you can have a Bengali desktop. Now you can ask why we didn't use other Unicode unsupported fonts cause if we use those all windows font names which can't be renamed would became unreadable. If you have any problems doing this procedure just mail me at tanjinahsan@yahoo.co.uk

By I.M. Tanjin Ahsan

Poems

You are very special, mother

For mother, I have managed to choose
Some words representing my views
You're devoted and caring,
So loving and sharing
I hope this will please and amuse
With warmth have your eyes always glowed
Good will in your heart has abode
You're loving and caring,
Support you are sharing
Your love is a blessing bestowed
After you, they just threw out the mold
You're special -- more special than gold
You're one of a kind,
Your heart and your mind
Seeing you at a sale I'd be sold!

By Shafquat Huq

Jury Duty

A man was chosen for jury duty who really wanted to be dismissed from serving. He tried every excuse he could think of but none of them worked. On the day of the trial, he decided to give it one more shot. As the trial was about to begin, he asked if he could approach the bench.
"Your Honor," he said, "I must be excused from this trial because I am prejudiced against the defendant. I took one look at the man in the blue suit with those beady eyes and that dishonest face and I said 'He's a crook! He's guilty!' So, your Honor, I cannot possibly stay on this jury!"
With a tired annoyance the judge replied, "Get back in the jury box, you fool. That man is the defendant's lawyer.”

College Hall

A visitor to a certain college paused to admire the new Hemingway Hall that had been built on campus. "It's a pleasure to see a building named for Ernest Hemingway," he said.
"Actually," said his guide, "it's named for Joshua Hemingway. No relation."
The visitor was astonished. "Was Joshua Hemingway a writer, also?"
"Yes, indeed," said his guide. "He wrote a check.”