LIFE AS IT IS

When I think with my heart, people like me, but when I think with my head, people do not like it. But I am trying to master the latter because I have come to realize that this world will be a better and more peaceful place if man does not always follow his heart but think rationally with his head.

This world now appears to be teeming with zealous and overzealous people. But our zeal should not override our common sense.

My motherland has just turned 42! I love you and miss you, my homeland. I wish you peace, progress and prosperity now and always. I feel guilty, for I have not served you the way I wanted to. Living 10,000 miles away from you, I live a safe and comfortable life but a feeling of guilt gnaws me everyday. Maybe one day, I will do something worthwhile to make you feel proud of me. Long live, Bangladesh!      style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px"      data-ad-client="ca-pub-1412858923217987"      data-ad-slot="2221625556">

You cannot tell the true potential of a child until he matures, for I saw kids, who barely passed exams in schools, went on to become PhDs.

One of the earliest teachings of life was, I should not waste food. It was not only because God does not like people who waste, but also because there are millions out there who do not have food to eat - I should therefore count my blessings. I have not forgotten my childhood lesson but in my present situation, I am compelled to waste food. In Bangladesh, I never saw food go to waste because there were always people around to eat food, fresh and leftover alike. We could give excess food to domestic helps, building security guards downstairs, and homeless and hungry people on the street. Guests would come and empty our refrigerator. I mean there was no way we could waste food - what a blessing! Here in the U.S., however, I have to waste food. In a family of three, where one member is only a year old, food goes to waste almost every other week. When I go grocery shopping, I try to buy foods in small quantities. But in a country where food portion sizes are big, I always have a diff...

Statuses eulogizing the contributions of Nelson Mandela to humanity flooded my Facebook newsfeed last night. These are people, who are not Africans. These are people, who are not Black. These are people, who never saw Mandela in person. But these are people, who always respected this world figure for his courage, tenacity and love for the mankind. Mandela will always be alive in the hearts of millions. When I think of great men like Nelson Mandela, I think that that was the  kind of life I should have led - a life that after I died would be remembered by people around the world, not just with regard but also affection. Sadly, my contribution to this world is nada. I hope my daughter grows up to a human being, who will do things to make this world a better place to live. His presence is so large that even people, whose lives he never affected directly, are sad about his demise. We are lucky to have witnessed a man, who is/was an inspiration for millions. The world would not be t...

In our part of the world, where chubby children are considered healthy and adorable, parents often fret over the physical appearances of their children. There are parents who routinely feed their children burgers, fries, pizzas, pastries, etc. from the belief that these will make their children appear healthy. Unfortunately, the term, healthy, is often associated with fat or overweight; chubby children are not necessarily healthy children. In a country, where malnutrition has always been a problem, the high economic growth of recent decades has introduced a new but starkly different kind of health concern - childhood overweight and obesity. In the preliminary results of a nationwide study conducted by the icddr,b on obesity prevalence and physical activity among children and adolescents in urban areas of Bangladesh, it was seen that of children aged  5-18 years, 10 per cent are overweight while 4 per cent are obese. The figures are alarming, considering the size of our young ...

Facebook's "Like" button seems to me one of the smartest virtual inventions of recent times. It has  saved its users' time and the trouble that they used to take in the past to comment on a photo, status or post. Today, a click on the "Like" button is enough to convey your feeling toward a post, but really? These days people "like" anything and everything. If you "like" my photo, I will "like" your next photo, even if you look like a lost witch in that picture. It is a give-and-take virtual relationship that people seem to have established on the Internet. Although the "Like" button saves us time and energy but I still like the old Facebook more, where if someone really liked your photo they had to scribble at least one word - pretty, beautiful, nice, sweet, hot or whatever - to express their feeling. Today, the click on the "Like" button does not really convey a friend's feeling - you will never kn...

Last August, we moved from Minnesota to Delaware, from America's Midwest to its East Coast. The move was exciting but exhausting at the same time. Coming from Bangladesh, such a relocation was like møving from Dhaka, the capital, to say, Bangkok, Thailand!  It was our third move in 5 years. But the first two relocations were inside Minnesota and therefore, less hectic. Our last move would have been super-hectic if my husband’s new employer had not agreed to provide and pay for professional movers, who packed everything for us. When I say everything, I mean everything. The movers packed our clothes, shoes, toiletries, crockery, pots & pans, spices, non-perishable food items, my child's toys and books, and what not. They even transported my husband’s car from Minneapolis, MN to Wilmington, DE. We never had a car transported before.  Considering the high costs of flying to and staying in Delaware for a few days to find an apartment, we depended solely on apartment-fin...

I was in Dhaka after four years for nineteen days. I was super excited about my trip. I was hoping to see positive changes — the new Mirpur-Airport Road flyover, the Hatirjheel project, etc. But it was something else beside the above-mentioned that caught my attention and made me fearful… the mushrooming of restaurants in Dhaka city. Growing up, fast food was something we ate only a handful of times every month. We would go to a Chinese restaurant on special occasions like birthday, parents’ marriage anniversary and own or sibling’s satisfactory performance in the yearly school exam. Dhaka did not have fancy fast food restaurants at that time. It was probably Helvetia and Dominous Pizza, which brought about a revolution in the fast food industry of the country. But before that, most of us would eat burgers, vegetable rolls, chicken or beef patties and sandwiches from local fast food shops that were neither chains nor franchises. Then slowly, days began to change and new restaurant...

When you are taking someone to your home country for the first time, you cannot help but be careful. You try to make sure that the food and water are safe and the weather is not too hot and humid. In September 2013, we took our daughter with us to Dhaka, Bangladesh on a short vacation. But who knew that taking her to my homeland would demand so much extra work! My 12-month-old daughter was traveling with us to Dhaka for the first time. The preparation for the trip began weeks ahead. Veteran moms advised me on food, water and weather of Dhaka city. I was going home after four years and I wanted to spend good time with friends and family - nursing a sick child was the last thing I wanted to do. Beside gifts, it was my daughter's foods, clothes and diapers that took most of our luggage space. I took four tins of baby formula for my three-week trip. I thought that would be enough but it was not - I had to go to Kids & Moms in Uttara to buy formula for her on the third week of ...