::: Star Insight :::

Editor's Note

Covering Bangladesh Better

The response has been extremely heartening. When we conceived of this publication we instinctively knew that we were on to something interesting but never did we think that we would get such an overwhelming response from our readers outside Dhaka.

We have been aware for sometime that a fundamental shortcoming of our journalism was that it was largely Dhaka centric. We really did not cover our district towns and their adjoining areas, as we should. Even when we did, it was mainly in terms of floods, cyclones or other disasters. Seldom, if ever, we wrote about our districts in terms of the positive developments that had and were taking place there.

That is precisely what we intend to do in Star Insight. As our second issue once again clearly shows that there are very interesting stories to write about from all over the country. We all know that things have changed dramatically in our countryside and we want to tell those stories in as much detail as possible. We especially want to focus on the individuals and institutions behind those changes. These people and institutions have worked silently over the years and have never been recognised for their contribution.

We request our readers to help us in this effort. We especially seek your help in discovering interesting people to write about. Help us to cover Bangladesh better.

God speed to “Star Insight”

Mahfuz Anam
Editor-Publisher

We thank our readers and well-wishers who sent us letters or called us welcoming the publication of 'Star Insight', and gave their comments, suggestions as well as some constructive criticism. We truly feel encouraged by the response we have received.

The cover story of our present issue is on some one who is not with us any more. It's with great love and admiration that we remember him today. Dhan mia was a true artist of our age-old traditional folk art, puppetry. He had not only travelled in the nooks and corners of Bangladesh with his puppet shows, entertaining the young and the old alike, but also represented this rich traditional folk art of ours in the world outside. We pay our homage to him.

In the Learner's Club section we will be focusing on areas where we feel the young members of our Readers' Club may have difficulties. Many of us often feel shy, inhibited or even totally at a loss about what to say in a given situation. The reason is there is a lot of difference between knowing the grammar of a language and actually using it in everyday situations. Keeping this in mind we'll give you some teaching/learning tips about the nature and function of English language in this section.

Finally, to our Readers' Club members, and also others who are interested, please keep writing about the people, places and events (for the time being from out side Dhaka) and send those to us. Remember that the success of this magazine depends on you. Send us your writings, we assure you we will continue to improve the quality of our production.

Shaheen Kabir
Advisory Editor, Star Insight