Welcome 2011

Happy New Year bloggers!

Another year went past. Another decade just slipped away. I hope the next year brings happiness for us all, and that the next decade brings prosperity to our lives.

Have a nice eve.

Cheers,
Arman Rahman Khan.

Smile of the Monotony

St. Gregory's School. Situated in the old parts of Dhaka, t is one of the most famous schools in Bangladesh. Many famous people have been students of this very school, such as Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. This school spreads light on the lives of many people. 

Two men walking down the narrow streets of the old town. The true essence of these building patterns made in the British era is reflecte in the narrow streets and roads of the cty. If the streets are widened, many of the people's problems would be reduced, but the flavour of "Dacca" would be lost.



Pedestrians infront of Manshi Cinema Hall - one of the oldest of its kind in Dhaka. It still is the centre of entertainment for many many people in the locality.



Men at Work - from the streets of the old town

A Goldsmith in his own shop in Taati-Bazar. He was welcoming and let me explore his lifestyle a bit. He lives inside this shop, you can see his clothes hanging in the background. When I went there at around 10:30 in the morning, he was just spending a leisure time reading newspaper - there was not much for him to do as it was a weekend.

A man in Shakhari-Bazar cutting wood to make bangles. The door beside him opens into his house - that is where he lives, and this is where he works. He informed me that this was his everyday routine. He proudly said that he loves his work, although he complained that his sole earning was very low to keep the family running. That being said, he invited me in for a cup of tea, which reflected his generosity and enthusiasm.

A boy making Bakarkhani inside a cramped roadside shop. Bakarkhani - a type of special Bangladeshi bread - is made and sold by this child and his family every day. We can see how the bread is prepared - flattened by a person and then put inside a furnace to be fluffed up, where it gets its texture and flavour inside that furnace. Bakarkhani is a very popular and is a common snack, specially loved by the people of Old Dhaka with a cup of tea.

The good old "Dacca"

I had a tour of the old parts of Dhaka yesterday. It was as if I had gone back to the age when the city was called "Dacca". I have not been there much, so the lifestyle and the traditions of the Old Town seemed pretty amazing to me. The people there were more than welcoming when I asked them if I could take a few pictures of their workplaces and buildings. I will soon be posting a few of the pictures here to share with everyone. I specially thank my friends Tushar Mahmood and Walid Piash for having been my guide in this short trip.

An appreciation of Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock"

I was going through a few of Alexander Pope's poems on the internet and came across "The Rape of the Lock". Unlike what I thought it to be, the poem came with a very interesting theme and underlying message. Hence I decided to put up my feelings after reading the poem on the blog.

Belinda - a beautiful upper class maid from London - prepares herself for a big party in Hampton Court: she puts on a pretty dress and wears a good perfume. Then she sets off for

Hampton Court. Once there, her beauty excites all men. They try to woe her, and she responds to them politely. But one of her admirers, a baron, had decided to steal a lock of Belinda's hair as a souvenir. He woes Belinda too, and she is flattered.

However, at one point, the baron ceases himself an opportunity and cuts a beautiful lock of Belinda's curls. Belinda is saddened and highly enraged by this. She fights the baron to gain her lock of hair back, and even though she wins the battle, the hair is nowhere to be found. The narrator then says that the lock of hair has risen to heaven and transformed into a star.

I had problems deciphering the meanings and motifs of the poem at first. After much hard work, I understood that the poet, Alexander pope, wrote this poem to undermine the fuss that the members of high society make over unimportant things, such as a piece of decoration.

However, we should also keep in mind that Pope based the poem on a real life incident as such in the high society of London. He shows, via another character, how funny it is to mourn and fight over unimportant and irrelevant things.

I appreciate the witticism of Alexander Pope for having written such a poem.

A review on "Athena Sees Good Things For You" (www.Granta.com)

This was a very entertaining story that held on to me till the last sentence, and yet left me wishing for more. The language used was casual American language, and the writer did not hesitate to use slangs where necessary.

   The story talked about companies that take unfair advantage of other people's beliefs, and make them buy a series of products, saying that those would be the tool of their success. I could closely relate to this concept, as I have seen such advertisements in the TV channels from time to time.

   I really liked reading it, although it was very long. In the end, I wished there was a bit more of the story to read - a few more paragraphs, a few more lines, a few more words.

Disclaimer : I am not the owner or author of the story "Athena Sees Good Things For You" and am not associated with Granta. I am only posting my own opinions on a light-hearted reading item.

1984 - an analysis

'1984' is a dystopian novel, where Orwell tried to show the possible negative effects of totalitarianism. Orwell projects these flaws from Winston Smith's perspective, the protagonist.

Orwell has set his plot in a negatively idealistic country of Oceania. The totalitarian government there, or the Party, controls every little thing in the country, not to mention the bigger issues as well. It prohibits free thought, personal relationships, and expression of thoughts in any form. In other words, it denies any individuality of the citizens. The Party eliminates any person or group that refuses to abide by the laws or tries to oppose the party.

Winston is an ordinary man who works for the government, but hates it. He does not like the idea of a totalitarian society, where even the thoughts of people are controlled. Human reasoning power, along with all other things, is in the hand of the government too. We see a point where the people are made to believe that 2+2 actually equals to 5, and nobody protests.

Winston never openly protests to the government, but writes his thoughts down on a diary. Along with his lover, Julia, he accumulates 'thoughts' against the government. However, he soon gets caught by the Thought Police. His brain is washed by the government on its support, and in the end when winston was to be punished, he pleads the government to spare him and punish Julia instead - all his love and affection for Julia are gone; he has now become a part of dystopia.

To me, the story line was very well set. The themes of the story are honestly to be praised. There were a few things that I could not understand at first, but Sparknotes served my interest there. For instance, I had little clue about what Big Brother represented; now I know that the name was impostered by the party to create a feeling of warmth and protection among the nation's subject.

I still am not sure how to interprete Winston. Many say that Orwell has named Winston from Winston Churchill, but his last name, Smith, represents the commoners. It might be true. Nevertheless, I appreciate Winston's tendancy to oppose the Party, and I don't blame him for his change in character towards the end - he was evidently brainwashed.

The story was a good read. However, I still prefer Orwell's "Animal Farm" to "1984". I personally would rate "1984" and 8 out of 10.