Jazz up your Valentine's

Tired of the usual tedious Valentine's Day? Wondering what to do that would be different? Fear not, RS will show you how you can make this 14th February your most memorable experience.

Valentine's Day is all about expressing love, be it to your significant other or anybody else. So leave those cheap cards and poems of “Roses are red, violets are blue…” aside and try Haikus instead. Haikus are 17th century Japanese poems which have a special format. The fact that makes Haikus so cool is that it requires no deep meaning or symbolism. They can be interesting, light and humorous. The basic rules for creating one is simple you need three lines. The first one should have syllables, the second one seven and the last one again five. Before writing one you can brainstorm with words that relate to Valentine's Day like love, heart, sweet etc.

Explore! Just do not venture out on boring dates. Instead do something totally out of the blue. If you've ever bought those Bangla cinema purses from Jatra then this is the perfect occasion to use them. Dress up in the snazziest of clothes preferably bright pink or flashy red in colour. If possible get those pair of heart-shaped shades! Hire a rickshaw and roam around the entire Dhaka city. Take pictures in weird, funny poses and locations. Apt locations, we figured, would be the Mohakhali fly-over, the new Banani bridge, the new road from Mirpur leading to Cantonment. Make sure you don't leave out the victory sign while saying cheese!

Last Valentine's, yours truly had the wackiest experience as she was part of a girls' night out. Select an eatery that suits your budget and taste. Head out with same-gender pals and trust me your evening will not go wasted. You can crack jokes about anything and everything, get high on drinks as simple as Coke and enjoy good music as most venues have live performances.

Some say cooking is a necessity but we say cooking is a terrific time-pass. Get your significant other with some friends together in your house. Bring down your mother's cook-book and if you want you could download online recipes as well. If it's your first try then you guys might wreck havoc in your kitchen so make sure you take all necessary precautions and permissions! Since V-day's all about love try your culinary skills on sweet dishes.

For those who really want to spend the day in a mushy way can bring home DVD's and watch movies together. This may not seem as unique but it's way better than other typical means. You could also play word games and quizzes. Okay it ain't boring as it sounds; a little brain enhancing does not hurt much does it? For pure entertainment play other indoor games like hide-and-seek and tag. The plus point you can get to hide together in dark corners!

Here's wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day!

By Faria Sanjana

The beginning of the concert, as stated was horrible. There was a lot of negative feedback from the crowd and continuous booing. Afterwards the atmosphere picked up became livelier once Scarecrow entered the show. Their original covers consisted of had good vocal skills, and the music had was of good quality! RCC became more crowded at this point, and the people started to engage in the concert more.

Mechanix then came on to perform, and as usual the stage was on fire with their feisty performance! Their own compositions are always a treat, and their new guitarist performed Joe Satriani's 'The Extremist'. That was when they took everyone's breath away! I swear they made RCC shake! Powersurge took over the stage after their performance and they covered their new album's songs, which were anticipated by almost every soul in the venue. This was the point where I lost my eardrums due to the continuous cheering of the crowd.

As it was not enough, the last treat of the show appeared. Artcell came on stage and the elation of the crowd was to be seen. My friend started jumping and everyone beside me went up towards the stage! I was personally happy when they performed the instrumental track from Oniket Prantor album, and 'Ghune Khawa Rodh'.

All is well that ends well. Even though the concert started with a shaky start, the performances later on were brilliant!

By Raida Kifait Reza

V day myth

As we have seen in St Valentines Day symbols pairing birds in February were associated with the St. Valentine's Day traditions of young men & women pairing up. However, a St Valentines Day Myth evolved whereby on St Valentines Day, if a young girl saw a particular bird then she would marry a particular type of man! So for the ladies on St Valentines Day, the following birds held a wide spectrum of choice:

Blackbird... A Priest
Bluebird... A man of laughter
Crossbill... A man of argument
Dove... A man of kindness
Goldfinch... A man of wealth
Robin... A man of the sea
Sparrow... A man of the country
Woodpecker... No man !!!
Yellow Hammer... A man of wealth
Yellow Wagtail... A man of wealth

By Nishita Aurnab
Source: www.stvalentineday.com

Kidstars

Living in space

Once there was a girl named Alisha. She loved studying about space. When she went to bed she dreamed she was living in space. Next morning when she woke up she wished it came true. The following night she dreamt the same thing except when she woke up the next morning, --- she wasn't in her house any more. She was in space! Alisha couldn't believe it! Her wish came true. She was so excited but who would take her home!? This was a big problem. She began her life in space. She lived there for a month until it was a year! The next day she saw a fairy. She said, “Would you like me to grant a wish you'll make?”

Alisha answered back, “Oh yes please!”
“What do you wish for?” asked the fairy.
What do you think Alisha wished for?
Do not write your answer here.
The answer is; she wished to go home.
She got home safely in just one second! She was sleeping on her bed when she got home.

By Sarina Karim

Flowers

Flowers will bloom
Flowers will die
But we will be together
We fight and argue
But we will be together.
By Seemon Sitara Siddiqui

Meandering footsteps

I glance back to find you right behind
Your footsteps crossing over mine;
Our strides are same but different.

The world beckons us
We hardly turn, oblivious to the rest
Heading towards the unknown,
We take the path leading to nowhere.

Yet we walk;
Our strides are same but different
The crunching of gravel under our feet,
Shadows falling on the broken asphalt.

I listen mesmerized
To your velvety voice; you speak
With a twinkle in your eye
My heart skips a beat
That I can't deny.

The scorching sun is about to set
Our strides are same but different
Not looking back we keep on walking
Waiting for the hearts to connect.
By Faria Sanjana
*Inspired from a certain “walk”!

Notice
From the RS Desk
After sorting through hundreds of applications, we are pleased to announce that we have finally selected the new RS team of staff writers. The calls and interviews have already been made, so those who had applied but hadn't received the phone call, please don't lose heart. Our inboxes will always welcome your writings.
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Make ds.risingstars@gmail.com the place you send all your RS-related correspondence to. Write to us! We'd love to hear from you.