A Pandora’s Box

By Shaina Hyder

Hi everyone! My name is Shaina Hyder, and I am a visiting English teacher at Nari Jibon this summer. I am working with the Spoken English 2 students, and I am really enjoying my time here. My students are already so eloquent and well spoken! We cover the basics, of course, such as interview skills, story telling, telling time, and giving descriptions and stating goals, but we also have discussions about the limitations that women face in Bangladeshi society and how to overcome them. The first couple days were certainly quite a challenge; though the students know English, adjusting to my accent (and me to theirs!) was a bigger barrier than I could have imagined. But we’re on our way now, with many gestures, a couple of pantomimes, and a lot of patience.

In the states, I am a Sociology major at Florida State University, and am most interested in gender and work. This summer, I hope to be studying the impact of industrialization and globalization on Bangladeshi women, and how the scope of women’s work has changed. More women are entering the Bangladeshi workforce than ever before. Most of the students in my classes are career minded women, while most of their mothers are housewives. I find this massive shift in a single generation to be very interesting.

I am having so much fun in Bangladesh this summer, and am so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with the Nari Jibon Project.

Some Pictures of my Teaching at Nari Jibon Project:

Some Beautiful Moments with My Friends in Cox’s Bazaar

By Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]

I like to spend my free times with my friends. We always try to enjoy any vacations or festivals together. Now I will share some pictures of some beautiful moments with my friends, Bina and Maria in Cox’s Bazaar. We went there in a summer vacation. The natural beauty of The Cox’s Bazaar is amazing. I think everybody should go to Cox’s Bazaar at least once in their entire life.

I am with Bina

I am with Maria

I am with Maria & Bina

Some pictures of the Sea Beach

Some Pictures of my Village

By Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]

My village name is Digrirchor. It is in the Dewangonj Thana in the Jamalpur district. Our village is near the Bangladesh-India Border. The scenery of my village is very beautiful. Whenever I go to my village I try to take some pictures on sceneries. Now I am sharing some pictures of my village.

Our Yard

Our pond

One of my cousins, name: Rashed

Some Villagers. They work on our land

Our land

Our land

Our land

Lambs

Cows

The Falgun Fair of Housewives

By Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]

Hello readers. I hope you are having a nice spring season. In our Bangladesh the spring season stays for two months [Falgun and Chaitra].

Yesterday when I was coming to The Nari Jibon Project then I found, a fair is held on Falgun. It is held near the Nari Jibon Project. I was very much attracted for one reason. I know that Bangladeshi people are fond of celebrating all the occasions. But the best part of this fair is --- it is arranged By ‘Dhaka Shatadal’ the organization of housewives. The word ‘Housewives’ attracted me a lot that I didn’t hear any organization like this.

In Bengali the name of this fair is ‘Griho Bodhu-der Falgun-er Mela’ [The Falgun Fair of Housewives].

All the sellers are housewives here. That’s why I went to visit the fair. The fair is arranged in a room. But there are many items to sell; those are: three-pieces, shawls, bed covers, skirt-tops, ornaments, Bengalese, sharees etc. Some dry foods and drinks are also sold in this fare.

I feel very happy that in this busy city Bangladeshi people try to celebrate some occasions. It can be arranged by locally or by the help of any organization or by personally. It may small but how many people try to celebrate and manage time to celebrate beside their official or other works. I feel very proud to be a Bangladeshi. Our people are very friendly and jolly minded.

I took permission of the Fair people to take some pictures. They were very happy. I would like to share some photos of this fair. Those are given below:

Eid Celebration with My Friends

Eid Celebration with My Friends

Written By: Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]

Hello readers, Eid Mubarak to all. Eid-ul-Fitar is a holy festival for us. I am Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]. I have two best friends. They are Kanta and Muna. In every year I celebrate Eid with my family and relatives. After three/four days I celebrate Eid with my friends. This Eid was special for us. Because we, the three friends had same results in Masters [we got first class]. So, we have decided to celebrate our Eid at the outside from our home.

From left, Me With Muna at ‘Boldha Garden’

Kanta & I at ‘Boldha Garden’

On 18th October, 07 the sky was very cloudy. In the morning it was raining heavily. Then we got afraid that maybe our plan will be canceled. But we didn’t cancel our plan. We don’t know, next year where we will be. So, anyhow we will have to get together on that day. Then we left our home in the rain and got together at a shopping complex. There we decided to go to the ‘Boldha Garden’. There are many kinds of trees and a beautiful lake. We sit there and spent some hours together. We took some pictures to one another. Always we don’t get time to spend together. Cause we all are doing jobs. That’s why we always try to enjoy together all the festivals, like: ‘Pohela Boisakh’, ‘Pohela Falgun’, any Fair, one another’s birthday etc.

At 3:00 o’clock we went to have lunch in a restaurant. We had there ‘Kachchi Biriani’ and ‘Borhani’. It was great to have these in a rainy day. After having lunch we decided to visit at any ‘Temple’ to watch ‘Sharodio Durga Puja’ [The Veneration of Hindu religion].

Then we went to ‘Shri Shri Kali Mondir’ and ‘Shri Shri Ram Shita Mondir.’ There we spent time for 30 – 40 minutes and took some pictures there.

From: Shri Shri Kali Mondir

From: Shri Shri Ram Shita Mondir

From: Shri Shri Ram Shita Mondir

We had a great fun for 7/8 hours. We really enjoyed a lot. We hope all the time we will remain as best friend as present. To me without a good friend our life can’t be full-filled. I am very lucky and proud to have them, Kanta & Muna as a best friend.

The Rainy Day

Written by Mahfuza Parul Tania

Pictures taken by Mohtarimun Nahar Bipa

In Bangladesh there are six seasons. Rainy season is one of those. It comes after summer season. On this day the sky remains cloudy. When the rain fall stars everything looks very beautiful. Trees get very fresh and look green. I like rainy day very much. Now I would like share with the readers about a rainy day of my life.

One day it was a rainy day. It was raining heavily since morning. On that day I sit quietly beside the window and I was hearing the sound of the pattering of the rainfall. I saw the trees and houses were bathing in the rain. Street people were running to get shelter from the rain. Some street children were enjoying in the rain and playing football. I wished to go to the street and play with them. But it was not possible for me. So I was to watch them only. But I was enjoying by watching them. Beside that I was hearing music.

After raining people feel so comfortable and the weather becomes fresh and cold. People like this season because they can get relief from the excessive heat of the sun. After raining sometimes we can see rainbow.

Rain is very useful for our agriculture. Our agriculture is mainly depends on it. If the rain comes in time, our farmers can harvest well. After raining all dirty things get washed. Everything looks very fresh and clean.

After raining the lands remain under water for some days.
These pictures were taken from Jamalpur after heavy raining.

Some time the rain creates many problems. Student can not go to school and college timely. People are to suffer very much. They can’t get any transport to go to their office. Traffic jam occurs in every where.

Rainy season is my favorite season. On rainy day I pass my time by reading story books, magazines; watching TV and hearing music.

Bangladesh is full filled with many Natural Beauties

Written by Nurunnahar Islam Munni
Pictures taken by Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]

Bangladesh is full-filled with many natural beauties. She is very beautiful in every where. The vast Bay of Bengal is situated in the South of Bangladesh. The Meghna river is situated in the East. Green trees, birds chirping, yellow corn crops etc make our mind fulfill. Green trees fill up our eyes and birds chirping fill up our ears and mind.

Every day we wake up by hearing birds’ chipping. The natural scenery of village draws a general picture of thrilling. A little Jonaki Poka [one kind of insect that has natural lights in her body] helps us to see our way in the bamboo garden in the dark night. Our eyes are charmed to see many natural beauties all around us. When we go near to the Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Cornofuly rivers then our mind become fresh and we forget all of our sorrows. The water lily blooms in the canal. White Lily is our national flower.

The local area of the East is decorated by tea gardens. A large number of green parrots come to these tea gardens and that makes the scenery more beautiful. Specially the guest birds make the scenery more beautiful. The Seasons get changing after every two months. During the summer season the whole nature remains ‘kha kha (Heated badly by sun light). The village people suffer a lot in summer season. During this time the thousand of juicy fruits are found in our country. People can fill their mind by eating different kinds of juicy fruits. Like;-Mango, Jack-fruit, pine-apple etc. After the summer season the rainy season comes. In the rainy day, some girls wear blue sharees and they remember their favorite person. In the rainy day the village farmers get together to gossip. The girls sew Nokshi Kantha (traditional blanket) on their own mind. They draw their hidden dream in this Kantha. All village old men and women pass their time by gossiping. After the rainy season, the autumn comes with a fine and clear sky and the sheuli flowers. All time the white clouds remain in the sky in this season.

In the late autumn the villagers get rashi rashi [a plenty of] golden paddy in their houses.

The villagers arrange a party for getting new crops. This party called as ‘Nobanno Utshob’(Festival of foods made by new paddy). In this party the villagers welcome their neighbors and guests by chira, murri and many kinds of pittha (home made cakes). In this way they celebrate their ‘Nobbano Utshob’. After this season the winter comes with the dew drops and trees without leaves, various kinds of pittha (home made cakes) and date juice etc. when the dew fall on the grass and the morning sun light shines on it; it looks like diamonds. The spring comes with cuckoo’s singing. Many flowers bloom in this season. I think all people like the spring season. It is called the king of the seasons. In every season Bangladesh is been decorated by different natural beauties. To me Bangladesh is the most beautiful country in the world. I love my country very much.

A Stranger came beside my window!!!

Pictures taken & written by: Mohtarimun Nahar [BIPA]

Hello readers, I would like to share a funny moment of my life with you. One day (24th August, 07) I was working at office. Beside my window there is a roof of another building. Suddenly I found that a monkey was sitting on the roof.

It was a strange feeling to me. I have never seen a monkey in such a close way. I saw in the zoo before in a case. That’s why I tried to call him to take some photos of him but he didn’t listen to me. Then I gave him some biscuits and chanachur. After that he thought for a moment and came near my window. At that time I took some pictures of him.

He stayed for 30 minutes. After that he left the roof. But I couldn’t know how did he come here and where did he go? It is not possible to know where he lives. So, he is been a stranger to me.

Some people show different street games with monkey. This monkey maybe that type of performer. Or he can be a member of circus party. Maybe he had lost his way to go home or maybe he left his home. I will never able to know these questions’ answers.

In South East Asia Bangladesh is one of the few countries that remain to be explored-[2]

Written by Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]

Hello readers. I hope you all knew about our Bangladeshi beauties. If you would like to visit in Bangladesh, the following few facts and fingers about Bangladesh might be some use to you...

History:
Bangladesh lies on the Eastern fringe of the Indian sub-continent and its people have always been great lovers of freedom; As a result, the area has almost always enjoyed a fair degree of sovereignty during its entire history, sometimes as one state and sometimes as several, with only perfunctory allegiance to the central ruling powers. It became a part of the British Empire in the 18th century. In 1947, when the sub-continent was divided into Pakistan and India, It became apart of Pakistan , When the Bengali Nation separated from Pakistan through an armed struggle in 1971, Bangladesh Became an independent and sovereign country.

Location:
Bangladesh lies in the North Eastern part of south Asia and is surrounded by India on the West, North and East. To the South it has the Bay of Bengal and Myanmar to the South- East.

Ethnic Heritage:
The population of Bangladesh is a mixture of Dravidians, Aryans and Mongolians, belonging to the black-haired, dark-skinned and short featured Austro / Mongoloid group. Hill tribes have their own distinctive racial features.

Culture:
Our culture is rich and intermingling; Aryans, Hindu, Mughals, Iranians and colonial Europeans have left their marks in the cultural identify of the people.

Climate:
The climate of Bangladesh is subtropical and tropical with temperatures ranging from an average daytime low of 15 º C in the cold season to a top of 35 º C in the hot season. Annual rainfall varies from 1000 mm in the west to 2500 mm in the South–East and up to 5000 mm in the North - East where tea is grown.

There quarters of the annual rainfall occurs between June and September. The 90% to 95% humidity during this season is almost unbearable for some travelers. The humidity remains high all year round producing thick logs in winter and making chilly nights in the North feel much colder then they are.

Seasons:
Bangladesh has three main seasons: the monsoon or wet season from late May to early October; The cold season from mid October to the end of February; and hot season from mid-March to mid-May. There are two cyclone seasons – May to June and October to November.

Best season for a visit:
October to March, when the sun is mild and pleasant, is the best season for a visit. The ‘Monsoon’ season (June to August) also has its own charms.

In South East Asia Bangladesh is one of the few countries that remains to be explored- [1]

Written by: Mohtarimun Nahar [Bipa]

Hello readers, I would like to write something about our Bangladesh. Because all know that Bangladesh is a poor country and also known as a corrupted country. But Bangladesh has natural beauties too. So, I will try to write on some Bangladeshi places and their natural beauties. If I do any mistakes and can’t express my feelings then I hope and pray that you will consider me as a new writer. I will keep writing on many Bangladeshi places. Now I am trying to introduce Our Golden Bangladesh.

In South East Asia Bangladesh is one of the few countries that remains to be explored,. It has a delicate and distinctive attraction of its own to offer and it is definitively not a tourist haunt like Nepal or India, It is like a Painter’s dreg come true with a rich tapestry of colors and texture. The traditional emphasis of the tourist trade has arrayed been on the material facilities offered by a country rather than on its actual charms. This may be a reason. Why Bangladesh has seldom been highlighted in the world’s tourist maps.

In reality, Bangladesh made up not entirely made up reality, Bangladesh is not entirely made up of dirty slums and starving children, as the world has been taught to perceive. It has many unique features to offer. The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and the natural habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Lush green lands cope interspersed by a network of vast rivers, the longest natural beach in the world, the history and culture of the land, possibly the most complex ethnic mixture in history, hospital propel -------all these and many more will contribute richly to your experience as a tourist .

The facilities offered are really not as poor as often pictured by the media. We have five star hotels in big cities, clean and comfortable accommodation in practically all towns on tourist traffic routes. A wide Tran’s potation network of air, rail, road and waterways connects all places conveniently. Being of the crossroads of South East Asian Traffic, Dhaka the Capital is easily an accessible from any crones of the globe.

If you are planning a trip to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mayanmar, Thailand, or Singapore; then please come & visit this beautiful country with very little extra effort or means.