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May, 2007 @newagebd.com Main Page « Front Page « Metro « Business « International « Sports « National « Editorial « Op-Ed « Home « Timeout « Letters «

A golden age A Golden Age By Tahmima Anam Publisher: John Murray ISBN 978-0-7195-6013-2 Price: Tk 1,204 Available at: Etcetera, Dhanmondi A remarkable first novel, Tahmima Anam’s ‘A Golden Age’ is an emotional and evocative narration of events that led up to Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence and the birth of a nation.    The story revolves around Rehana, the mother of two college students, a brother and a sister who are heavily embroiled in student politics against the backdrop of 1971.    Anam’s voice as a writer comes out strong, as she builds her characters, each very unique and lifelike, and the stories she tells are the ones that every Bangladeshi has heard over time in pieces and fragments and whispers from the war generation. But she tells the story with warmth, with beautiful imagery, in a way that invites both pride and compassion. I am not ashamed to say that I cried all through it.    On a bigger scale, the story is about the war the nation has to fight. The smaller theme, but an equally powerful one, is of Rehana’s personal war, of letting her children go, especially as she had struggled so hard to get custody of them after their father’s death. The first line, ‘Dear husband, I lost our children today,’ makes a dramatic introduction to what follows in their lives afterwards, when every decision is based keeping the war in mind, when Sohel, the sensitive son, fights his intuition and ideologies to go fight in the war, when Maya, the headstrong daughter, takes a radical and dangerous decision of her own.    A war, especially when it’s for one’s own country, cannot fail to leave an impact. Anam’s novel leaves the reader teary-eyed and nostalgic, about a by-gone era. An era of public battles and private conflicts, of courage, of determination, and the ability to stick to a cause and fight for it. It is an epic tale to be read and treasured for all the future generations to come, of a time they had not witnessed, of a time that comes alive with the simplicity and honesty Anam writes with.    - MRH Nepal at the crossroads A kingdom under siege By Deepak Thapa Publisher: The Printhouse ISBN:184277-571-5 Price Tk 550 Available at: New Market, Dhaka A year after a popular uprising toppled King Gyanendra’s dictatorial regime and effectively ended the decade-long Maoist insurgency, why is Nepal still at the crossroads?    The devil is in the detail – and that is exactly where Deepak Thapa’s remarkably well-written book A Kingdom Under Siege, gains an edge over most of its counterparts. As Thapa right points out, the events we have witnessed in Nepal over the past decade must be understood in a wider context of Nepal’s political and economic history. Thapa’s story starts in 1768 with the formation of the Nepali state and traces how a historical abuse of power by the Nepali monarchy, and the caste divide that separated the rich and the poor in the modern Nepali state may have provided the tinder for the Maoist insurgency. He also points out all the warning signs of the coming insurgency that the Nepali government of the time had ignored nearly half-a-decade before the ‘people’s war’ was launched.    Thapa analyses a raft of economic, social and political factors which shaped the insurgency and goes on to show that the government’s perception of the insurgency as a law and order problem was one of the principal reasons it grew in popularity and in ambition.    In yet another respect, Thapa’s book stands out. It is important that he is after all a Nepali, trying to make sense of this conflict, rather than commando-journalists and commando-academics who make a living by being parachuted into whatever conflict is currently in vogue and masquerading as ‘experts’. Thapa’s book is antithetical to the idea that reasons behind a conflict can be summarised in 5-minute television interviews by aid workers and country ‘specialists’. The reasons are many and they are complex. A kingdom under siege accounts for that complexity.    - MH The new social network Social Networking is the buzz word of the new Web 2.0, or as any self-respecting web junkie will tell you without a second thought — it is the web now. And mind you, Dhaka’s upwardly mobile urban class is hooking up fast, well, on the web that is. Linking up complete strangers, or those within a common interest group (same school, college, workplace, motoring-junkies), friend circles, local communities, social networking websites are doing what was missing in the web: people-to-people networking based on interest. This year for the US-based Webby Awards—the industry’s Oscars—five social networking sites were nominated. While each has their unique functions, each serve the core objective — connecting people. StumbleUpon (http://www.StumbleUpon.com) is one of my favourites. It’s like the pick-of-the-day from 2,258,036 ‘stumblers’, who put up links to their favourite ‘websites, videos, photos and more’ based on their interests. It’s actually an intelligent network as it ‘learns what you like and makes better recommendations’ from millions of choices. You let the others know what you like, and they will let you know theirs. And so share.    Digg (http://www.digg.com) is also a ‘user driven social content website’, which concentrates more on the written (or rather typed) word. Submit a story (news, personal rumination, jokes of divergent natures) and if, as Digg claims, ‘the story rocks and receives enough Diggs’, it gets a higher ranking. Soon millions will be reading it. Another site takes things quite literally. Throwing niceties out the window, LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) does what the old school reunion is supposed to. They have nearly 10 millions professionals ‘linked’ on their platform by providing their contacts, their web profile and some other important ‘connectivity’ parameters. Having randomly jammed the database with too many contacts, they might have damaged their credibility, but then again, on the web, the number game means something: 10 million! And finally, Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) needs no introduction. It’s a commonly recurring question these days, ‘Are you on Facebook?’ With the dizzying speed of growth that it has experienced among Bangladeshis, both non-residents and Dhakaites alike, social networking is no longer up-and-coming. It is here!    — MS Lost cities, and new ones This site, a page (http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Highlights/LostCities.htm) in fact, probably will not grab you with its sheen. It’s the decrepitude of the ancient and the lost that will stir you. If ever, you looked at photographs of ancient ruins of lost cities and got distracted, then this site is that El Dorado that your heart, or rather eyes, were looking out for all these years. With personally selected images of some of the most iconic and some lesser known ancient lost cities, it is an exercise in legacy. Makes you wonder, whether all cities are meant to be lost? A contrasting site focuses on avant garde architecture in The Coolhunter (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/architecture), with images of the most futuristic architecture from across the globe. Chances are many of these building blocks of the urban ‘concrete garden’ will make up the new cities of the future. They are truly magnificent structures. A sight to see!    — MS 300 Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart Directed by: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor Genre: Action /Crime /Drama /Thriller Runtime: 87 minutes    300 is probably what a themed Halloween party at Quentin Tarantino’s house would look like if filmed in slow motion. It is violent; it is blatantly, systematically, beautifully (almost poetically) violent… and that’s about it. The story follows the three hundred Spartan soldiers who had the task of slowing down an enormous Persian army in a narrow valley called Thermopylae. Those familiar with the history behind the conflict won’t be surprised at the ending; and those who have no idea about the history of the conflict wont really be surprised either.    Zack Snyder attempts to adapt another graphic novel, and remains true to Frank Miller’s original version, but probably a bit too much. Unlike his last project, Sin City, 300 just ends up being cut piece scenes of violence and destruction seamed together with contrived drama... it is a lot of fun though. The movie’s greatest weakness is that the dramatics are overplayed, and they pretty much follow what usually happens in ancient war movies. Every time King Leonidas raises his spear and shouts “For Sparta”, you half expect to see Mel Gibson dressed in a kilt raise his sword behind him and yell “Freedom”.    — Naeem Huque Crank Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey Directed by: Zack Snyder Genre: Action /Drama /History /War Runtime: 117 minutes In Crank, Jason Statham plays another of the only roles that he seems to be able to pull off — a hard but surprisingly likable hit-man. But this doesn’t even border on the monotonous Transporter franchise; no, it’s got far more to it than that. Chev Chelios is a hit-man who wakes up drugged and finds a DVD where his former partner tell him that he’s been poisoned and has only an hour to live; the only way he can stay alive is if he keeps his adrenaline up. Naturally, his only imperative becomes revenge, and he goes on a rampage across the city looking for ways to keep his heart beating faster… which includes having sex with his girlfriend in the streets of Chinatown. It becomes like a hyperactive version of “Run Lola Run” meets “Speed”, but without any limits and without political correctness. It breeds a type of violence that is neither aesthetically pleasing, nor held back… it’s whatever any of us would do to try and stay alive really. And if we happened to be a druggie, wisecracking maniac with a British accent, then it’d be a hell of a ride.    — Naeem Huque Tragic carpet ride From the screenplay for Chuchoi Qhalin, or the Adventures of the Little Carpet Boy, a puppet-based short film warning Afghan children about the dangers of land mines, produced by No Strings, a British non-profit that uses puppets to educate children.        STORYTELLER: Here in Afghanistan stories are more remembered than written, more spoken than read. They are passed from one storyteller to another, growing and changing like living things.    Chuchi Qhalin is alone on a mountain road at night, limping along a low wall on a twig crutch. He has already lost one leg from stepping on a land mine. He now sees a sign reading ‘danger mines’, stuck in the ground just behind a wall. He starts to climb over the wall. A skull on the sign suddenly comes to life.    SKULL: Hey, you, Carpet Boy! Where do you think you are going?    CHUCHOI QHALIN: To gather some firewood.    SKULL: Are you kidding! Don’t you recognise me?    CHUCHOI QHALIN: I guess so, but I’m cold. I want to make a fire.    SKULL: So you’re going to collect firewood here?    CHUCHOI QHALIN: Yeah, but don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I won’t step on anything.    Chuchi Qhalin climbs the wall. There is a loud explosion. He flies through the air along with his twig crutch, his other leg, and much debris and smoke. He lands with a thud in front of the wall.    CHUCHOI QHALIN: I lost my other leg! Now I’ll never get home!    SKULL: I warned you!    CHUCHOI QHALIN: I can’t walk, and I’m so hungry and thirsty. I’ll probably just die here.    Now with Jaladul, his camel, Chuchi Qhalin walks using a fork and a ladle he has found as legs. He continues walking on the mountain road until he is stopped by a goat and a toad who are standing near a UXO, an undetonated bomb.    GOAT & TOAD: Help us! We’re starving!    CHUCHOI QHALIN: I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I don’t have any food, and I don’t know when I’m going to get back to my grandmother’s home.    GOAT & TOAD: You’re in luck. Right there is a nice metal thing. My friend and I are too weak to pull it from the ground. If you just pull it out for us, we’ll take it to the market, sell it, and buy a nice big, delicious meal for all of us.    CHUCHOI QHALIN: Okay!    Chuchi Qhalin starts to pull on the UXO. He takes off his ladle leg and whacks the UXO with it. There is an explosion and he flies through the air, landing on the ground with his fork leg bent and an arm missing.    CHUCHOI QHALIN: I don’t deserve to be a real boy. I have ignored my lessons about land-mine safety.    JALADUL: Maybe it’s good that you’re not a real boy, because your grandmother can fix you. She couldn’t if you were a real boy.    STORYTELLER: We hope that you have learned to be brave and wise and always listen to the lessons about land-mine safety, because you can never be repaired as though you were a torn-up piece of old carpet. Satire From a report that appeared in January, 2007, in the US-based satire magazine The Onion        Chanel develops durable, low-cost perfume for third world    PARIS—Fashion house and perfumer Chanel, famed for its iconic, $300-an-ounce No. 5 scent, announced that it has created a cost-efficient fragrance for the Third World.    ‘Smelling positively bewitching should be the right of everyone, not just a privileged few,’ said Chanel CEO Maureen Chiquet at the gala launch for the new scent, Chanel 3rd, in Paris' Centre Georges Pompidou Monday. ‘It is our hope and belief that this new fragrance will bring much-needed panache to the Third World.’    Chiquet said 3rd marks Chanel's first-ever attempt to appeal to a low- or no-income consumer market, and is part of the fashion world's desire to ‘give something back’ to developing countries that have offered much in the way of photo-shoot locales and labor outsourcing. After six years of trial and error, Chanel's 17-member development team was able to bring the perfume's cost down to a more affordable $100-an-ounce.    Chanel chemist Robert Geneau says 3rd has notes of cocoa, citrus, spices, and other things our customer sometimes raises and harvests for foreign export, but rarely gets to savor herself. Captivating, and for a fraction of the cost of high-end scents available in the West, 3rd is just the economic miracle developing nations need.’    ‘Normally, perfume should complement the wearer's own unique aroma, but with Third Worlders, obviously that's not desirable, so our greatest challenge was creating something that would linger on the body,’ said Chiquet, noting that in an average day, a 3rd wearer might be exposed to dirt, grime, polluted water, past-date U.N. powdered milk, blood, gun smoke, urine, tears, flaming oil, aggressively amorous warlords, land mines, and the effects of decomposition. ‘3rd had to show some serious staying power through all sorts of deplorable conditions.’    However, not everyone in the fashion industry has responded favorably to Chanel's effort. Some believe it is the U.N.'s responsibility to deploy fashion police to sartorially unstable Third World states. Others, like designer Michael Kors, say that couture, not accessories, should take top priority.    Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour agreed with Kors. ‘Developing nations lack the basic wardrobe infrastructure to appreciate a designer scent,’ Wintour said. ‘[Designer John] Galliano is going in a much more sensible direction with his cotton evening gown for Darfur refugees, though he's having trouble getting the cost below $1,100. It's a noble effort and a fine design—not that I'd personally wear it, of course.’