Measuring the ‘White Elephant’ Curse - dissemination seminar which discloses that mitigation of domestic violence against women costs 2.10% of Bangladesh GDP

Measuring the ‘White Elephant’ Curse

Faizul Khan Tanim writes on a dissemination seminar which discloses that mitigation of domestic violence against women costs 2.10% of Bangladesh GDP

Domestic violence against women has accelerated to such heights in the country that these incidents have ceased to shock us. It not only became a social epidemic but as disclosed at a recent dissemination seminar in the city on September 25 – Preventing Violence Against Women: Lessons From Innovative Practices in South Asia, a project by CARE Bangladesh – that 2.10 percent of the country’s national GDP is spent to mitigate different issues of violence against women (VAW). This is the first time; such a thought-provoking initiative of putting a price-tag on VAW, funded by USAID Bangladesh was structured in the country.

Moreover, the combined cost of violence to the nation in the amount of Bangladesh Taka is 14,084.56 million. This amount is almost equal to the total government expenditure for the annual health and the nutrition budget. These informations were revealed from the presentation made by Dr Kaniz Siddique, Consultant of Care Bangladesh.

Importantly, VAW harms both the victim and the perpetrator and both their families and again, both financially and as well socially. The direct economic costs for the victims include loss of productivity, loss of potential income, cost of medical care in case of injury, disability and disease; transportation cost and similarly, for the perpetrators, hiding causes loss of income while, if punished, monetary penalties and court costs are huge.

The direct social costs as pointed out for a victim is huge - humiliation, fear, negative impact on self-respect and confidence and increased sense of physical and mental insecurity, increase in school absenteeism leading to dropouts, early marriage, derangement of women from various social and developmental activities and more.

These have severe harmful impacts on victims, children of the victims and society as a whole, which includes increased sense of physical and mental insecurity and tension in the family, divorce, suffering of the children, women becoming burden to the society, children becoming susceptible to violent behaviours and more.

Dr Siddique’s paper was prepared based on a survey conducted upon 483 victims of VAW that took place in 24 villages of Sunamganj, Dinajpur and Tangail districts.

The study disclosed that the reasons of VAW are dowry, ill-tempered husband, conflicts with the in-laws, instigations, negative provocation by male members of family and polygamist husbands.

Assistant country director of Care Bangladesh Jamie Terzi in her speech mentioned that this project is just a start and that it should encourage others to do more interesting and in-depth researches.

Meanwhile, other speakers emphasized on grave issues like marital rapes, domestic violence during pregnancy, and inclusion of men in the VAW resisting movement. All the speakers unanimously agreed on the fact that this silence has to be broken and women should start speaking up instead of taking abuse, tell and teach young boys and men at home to be more respectful to women. The very fact which is very alarming is that, speakers repeatedly told that not only rural but urban upper-class women, who are educated and financially independent, are subjected to domestic violence as well.
Citing about the social cost of violence against women, the chief guest of the event, state minister of women and child affairs Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury noted that violence against women during pregnancy causes far more severe consequences for women and that its impact on the society is far grave.
She further said, during pregnancy the mental trauma a mother goes through affects the mental and physical development of the child she is carrying.

According to an Amnesty International Bangladesh Annual Report 2011 published on May 13, violence against women topped all crimes reported to the police in the first six months of the year. Of the 7,285 complaints made, 1,586 were rape cases. The Parliament passed the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill in October last year.

The causes of domestic violence have been identified as sexual inequality, poverty, women’s lack of knowledge about their right to justice and very importantly corruption within our judicial system. It is said that many cases of domestic violence go unreported and a majority of them are not even brought to court. Unfortunately, we tend to treat domestic violence in our society as a regular and acceptable part of everyday life.

While voices were raised that our media has to emphasize more on this burning issue, an alarming study on men’s attitudes and practices regarding gender and VAW, presented in the seminar disclosed disturbing facts that 60 percent of urban men and 62 percent of rural men think that women deserve to be beaten and that women should tolerate this violence in order to keep her family together.

Chairperson of Ain-O-Shalish Kendra Hameeda Hossain chaired the inaugural session.

This article was first published in The Independent's Weekend Magazine Friday Sept 28 2012 - http://www.theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=53&date=2012-09-28#

CARE Bangladesh launches the economic cost analysis report titled 'Domestic Violence Against Women: Cost to the Nation' at a dissemination on "Preventing Violence Against Women: Lessons from Innovative Practices in South Asia" with Honorable State Minister Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury MP of Ministry of Children and Women’s Affairs, Richard Green of USAID, Hameeda Hossain of Ain O Salish Kendra, Shireen Huq of Naripokkho, Nick Southern and Jamie Terzi of CARE Bangladesh present at the event on 25th of September, 2012 at Lake Shore Hotel, Gulshan, Dhaka

Glorious coffee from Gloria Jean’s Dhaka

Glorious coffee from Gloria Jean’s

Faizul Khan Tanim is mesmerized, sipping on a hot cup of warmth and satiating the fruitilicious brain-freezing chillers from Gloria. Every sip reminds of how good coffee tastes and keeps us awake

Around 450 to 500 drinks are sipped each day – be it the classics cappuccino, café latte, espresso, macchiato; specialties Irish nut crème, white chocolate mocha; the classic hot chocolate with marshmallow glace or the espresso and fruit chillers like Voltage or Mango - the glorious Gloria Jean’s Coffees(GJC), conveniently located in Gulshan-1, is brewing plenty of coffee aficionados along with good cafe. And not so long ago (even five years back), it used to be the lounge decor overpowering the aroma of roasted black beans but that has changed with the soothing love affair between water and coffee beans, the right amount of steaming milk, with or without saccharin but plenty of affection is poured while preparing...they make sure that the drink don’t burn your lips and each quaff is smooth and worth cherishing.

Gloria is an Australian franchise since 1996 in Sydney and October 2012 in Dhaka. Till date, it has opened a mammoth figure of more than 900 coffee houses across 39 markets worldwide, including more than 400 coffee houses in Australia. Anyone walking in to GJ’s Dhaka outlet would know that they have had dynamite baristas on board to give you the maximum coffee moments and capuccino kicks.

Now, we Bangladeshis love our adda (informal chit-chats) over drinks, hot or chilled, full cream or decaf, and we love our cups be served with munchies, sweets or hard-core main dishes. So speaking to Irin Islam Chowdhury, executive-marketing of Navana Foods Ltd/Gloria Jean’s Coffees Bangladesh, “We specialize in brewing true coffee from honest and hand-picked beans but we started featuring food, along with our cakes and pastry due to the immense demand of the concept - drinks over food. Our menu changes quarterly but of course keeping the most popular items intact and one specific coffee blend – hazelnut latte, which did not start as big as our regular drinks but now is a complete hit. If we had a small auditorium concert called the ‘hazelnut lately’, i’m sure we would have all tickets sold out but fortunately, GJC is not a gig and we have immense supplies of this profound brew”.

“And what was there as a basic menu comprised of sweet items like Tia Maria cake, brownies or tarts...had to be negotiated with the wholesome arrangement of entree like tomato bruschetta, grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinegar, smoked chicken sandwich, Futtuccine Alfredo pasta, lamb cutlet up to mushroom rice with hot and sour meat ball to name a few, and to be honest, these items were interrogated, verified and validated from the land down under before we liberated them for South Asia’s Dhaka”, Chowdhury added with a grin.

The decor of Gloria is quite chic, atmospheric and most importantly, coffee friendly. It is one of those places you can sit alone, follow your favourite author or just be your spontaneous-combustion self and until and unless you are breaking glasses or littering floors, the friendly wait staffs will be persistently smiling and ask – would you like to have anything else?

http://theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=37&date=2013-05-10

Superheroes United in Dhaka

special issue on superheroes - collectibles
Superheroes United in Dhaka
Faizul Khan Tanim writes on theeccentric evolution of superpower in Dhaka,which comes in diverse size and shape of action figures, merchandises andaccessories

One of the saddest things in my life ensued on the day when I was pushed to believe, and I abhorred it – my well-known and earth’s mightiest superheroes stay behind the silver screens or their spirits preserved in action figures and that they are only residents of comic books and graphic novels.It was a doom… a life-shattering statement because, not only do they save ‘good’ from the ‘evil’ but they respite us from the mediocrities of our mundane life.

And thanks to the management of our first high-end movie theatre Star Cineplex at Bashundhara City Mall, for trusting in the strength and significance of the thousands of superhero and comic book followers and fans all over the country. This Cineplex showed quite a few blockbuster titles in big screen, like Iron Man, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Amazing Spider Man in 3D and of course, one of the biggest hits in the world - The Avengers. But it stopped right there. There were no Dark Knight Rises, or Iron Man - III. But the great thing is, it is due to these exhibitions that movie lovers started thronging to movie theatres again and a sudden rush to buy and the urge to collect comic books, action figures, movie thematic accessories and merchandises sprouted like never before.  

And thanks to the expected releases of Iron Man-III (already released), Super Man: Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World, The Wolverine, G I Joe...the whole city is moving in superhero frenzy! The above-mentioned shops are putting up all the armours, shields, claws and more to kick in the adrenaline of super soldiers within us. If one recalls our childhood days, every single day, we wanted to believe in ourselves. We took the leap of faith and wished that someone will come with enough power to save the world and helped us trust that we will be bestowed with supremacy like Logan/Wolverine’s Adamantium, Tony Stark/Iron Man’s Arc Reactor, Thor’s Hammer, Super Man’s ultimate power, Captain America’s Shield, Bruce Wayne/Batman’s Vision or Bruce Banner/Hulk’s Rage and relieve the phrase – ANGER is a GIFT! Why should this be a fading contemplation as we grow up? Many elderly individuals believe that if their ‘Wanting to be Super Man’ notion continued to wave as they grew older, they would have been much more triumphant. 

And one such initiatives which helps us – the younger ones and elders as well - reverie our moments of glory to assemble the Avengers/ Justice League or wear the Guy Fawke’s Mask from V for Vendetta, and round neck t-shirts of all the well-known superheroes are couple of exciting stores in town – the biggest merchandise shop SRK ShowTime Shop Hollywood in Banani; the biggest comic store Jamil’s Comics JCC at at Shop 39, UAE Market, Banani; Dhaka Action Figure Shop at 3rd Floor, Annanya Shopping Complex, Baridhara DOHS. These places have the original Hasbro, Marvel and DC products and therefore the prices are a bit high but not insane – the collectibles start from Taka 1,800 and goes up to 7,000. A very well-detailed action figure over 12 inches may cost Taka 14,000 plus, but those are that detailed and are that damn good! The superhero roundneck t-shirts prices vary from Taka 250 in Dhanmondi to Taka 450 in Banani.

Now, there are quite a few other shops and toy stores, who are daring to bring action figures or superhero toys, which were not very popular items before. Few of these shops are New Fortune Toys with branches in Banani road 8 and in Dhanmondi Orchid Plaza; Toy & Gift Gallery, shop # 22, Dhanmondi Orchid Plaza; the toy shops of Rupayan Centre between Gulshan 1 and 2, beside Agora Departmental Store and some more. They keep both the original action figures but mostly replicas making it easier for couple of us aficionados who are mostly low in budget.

(Drumbeats roll…) The first impression one would get upon reaching the realm of these superhero action figures and merchandise joints of mega madness are – you are untouchable because the forces of good will save you. Not only action figures and clothing merchandises, shops like SRK sports superhero movie posters, round neck t-shirts, bags, wrist bands, rings, masks, fridge magnets, USB sticks, swords, notebooks, wall clocks, mugs, dog tags and many other effects. The positioning, the display, the whole superhero ambience will definitely kick in a lot of power in you and one would want to buy the whole shop! Be it the latest Wolverine comic books, action figures of Iron Man-III armours and even Thor’s Hammer and Captain America’s Shield key chains, they have it all and for all age ranges.

7th International Conference on community-based adaptation to Climate Change

7th International Conference on community-based adaptation to Climate Change

Faizul Khan Tanim writes on the recently concluded CBA conference in Dhaka and how climate change today is regarded as one of the greatest human-induced environmental threat which affects a very significant aspect of Bangladesh's

development

Bangladesh is a riverine country and despite having only seven per cent land mass of South Asia, it drains 90 per cent water of the region into the Bay of Bengal. The country also happens to be an active deltaic region literally criss-crossed with rivers and canals which play a significant role in the livelihoods of millions of people. Given its population density, climatic changes will have serious consequences on the people of the country which has about 150.5 million with around 60 million living below the poverty line. Over half the population of the country depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and even minor changes in the agricultural calendar are having a devastating domino effect on the rural economy.

The impacts and changes in weather patterns and physical systems have severe impacts. Speaking to a farmer from Manikganj, Shahid Anwar said, “The most disturbing thing that agonises me is that kal baishakhi storms (Nor’westers) are no longer arriving from the usual ishan kon (northeast) direction. This is how our ancestors have known it.”
To answer these questions and more, Bangladesh centre for advanced studies (BCAS), international institute for environment and development (IIED) along with the government, UN and development agencies including IUCN, DFID, EU, Oxfam, Christian Aid, Care International, Action Aid and more are promoting community based adaptation (CBA). CBA highlights innovative and participatory methods to help communities analyze the causes and effects of climate change at local contexts, identify the level of risks and vulnerability, integrate scientific and community knowledge in planning appropriate local adaptation strategies and measures.

Considering the growing interests of the actors and stakeholders about the emerging approaches of CBA and how to promote it within the communities, BCAS, IIED and partners organized the first CBA conference in 2005 in Dhaka. Following CBA1, there were six other CBAs in Tanzania, Vietnam and the last – seventh one held in Dhaka last week from April 22-25 with participation from 45 countries.

This correspondent from The Independent spoke with one of the key individuals of CBA7, Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of BCAS to get a sketch of how CBA would help mitigate climate change disasters. Rahman is a prominent environmentalist, scientist, development expert and a visionary thinker in South Asia. He is well-known worldwide for his pioneering role and contribution to environment and nature conservation, climate change, Poverty alleviation and sustainable development. He was honored with the highest UN- Environmental Award - Champion of the Earth - for the year 2008 in recognition of his work for the protection and sustainable management of Earth’s environment and natural resources. Another outstanding achievement was the National Environment Award (Poribesh Padak) for the category of innovative environmental research and technology development from the Government of Bangladesh. He is as well a long standing lead author (LA) and convening lead author of (CLA) of intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC). As a lead author of the IPCC fourth Assessment, he was a co-recipient of the “Nobel Peace Prize” of 2007, jointly awarded to IPCC and Al-Gore.

Faizul Khan Tanim / The Independent (FKT/Ind): What was the biggest highlight of the CBA7 Conference and how would you sum it up from the Bangladesh perspective?

Dr Atiq Rahman/BCAS (AR): The highlight was to gather both the national and international practitioners, scientists, researchers, communicators, financial agents and our Government coming on the same platform using integration of knowledge, experience, scientific methodologies to discuss issues and capabilities of organizations both in and out of the government like NGOs, civil society and more in regards to CBA. The core theme of this event was: Mainstreaming CBA in to national and local planning. And since there is need for the knowledge to be transmitted properly; with transferring of knowledge from one ecosystem to another, country or region, and for that, the whole system has to be systematised. In the national level, CBA has to be integrated in to the national planning and implementation process and it is very difficult since it involves multiple ministry like water, fisheries, finance, planning, livestock to name a few. So we have discussed those issues and have already decided on the main theme of the next CBA-8 in Kathmandu, Nepal, which will be ‘Financing of CBA’, where we will discuss the amount of funding required for effective CBA in vulnerable areas and places from where we can expect funds so that poor people get the real fund and it does not get filtered elsewhere. So you can see that there is a pattern and a step-by-step approach to address both national and global policies of the vulnerable countries.

FKT: As you know that ‘communication’ of CBA with the distressed people, climate change refugees or the citizens living in vulnerable areas is very difficult. Did CBA7 discuss ways to do this? If not, did BCAS think on this line?

AR: If we go back, CBA 6 in Hanoi, Vietnam was about communicating CBA. So this topic was not discussed largely here. However, CBA 7 in Dhaka ensured maximum global participation by webcasts and involved people virtually via webinars. Almost 3,000 people worldwide registered as users and more than 1000 people participated everyday. So we have taken lessons from Hanoi and indeed communicated globally.
And about communicating with the local people from vulnerable areas, one of the most attractive part of a CBA – field visits – were cancelled due to the present turmoil but since BCAS and CBA stakeholders deals with this issue regularly and from my personal experience I can say that the challenge of good communication can never be undermined. Since the scientists by definition are not good communicators because their objective is to get things accurate rather than presenting in attractive way, communication planning and integrating people’s voices and concerns in to the planning procedure is a whole different game altogether. From BCAS we have done plenty of grassroot level activities, especially training of field workers on field situation with the right statistics, education for effective communication with ordinary villagers. Secondly, we have training for communicators such as media people on effective communication of CBA and soon we will start other programmes.

FKT: As you mentioned that the field visits could not be done this year, from where the participants could get first hand views from the affected people on abnormal rain, flash floods, resulting in unusual crop patters, erratic behaviours of nature faced by farmers due to climate change. Could you cite some more examples from BCAS field studies on this issue?

AR: We have got at least 30 projects all over the country and the most common thing you would hear people complaining is: something is not right in our life, what used to be in our life does not happen anymore. And some variables are erratic rainfall, floods, drought etc and then they mentioned something we haven’t heard before – formation of fogs which covers the sun, blocking the nutrients for plant/crop growth. Our computer-based modelling showed that in the Chittagong Hill Tract areas, the rainfall in those areas will remain the same in the next couple of years but that rain will come over a shorter period so what will happen is there will be more rapid water flow resulting in top soil getting devastated and we will most likely see more landslides and local people from there have already started complaining.

*This article was first published in The Independent - http://theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=45&date=2013-05-03

50 Years of 007 - For your eyes only: Bond... James Bond!

N.B.: I know this is a traumatic time and forgive me for posting this now, but sharing because i share my work every week, please read in your own good time...much thanks

50 Years of 007

For your eyes only: Bond... James Bond!

Licesed to kill, shaken not stirred, Ian Fleming’s evergreen British secret service agent - cradled by the affection of Money Pennys, expedited by Qs, nurtured by Ms, hounded by the SPECTREs and loved by numerous darlings of the silver screen and his cut-and-dried line for the gorgeous ladies was: I’ll be right back – BOND has been one of the most influential-fictional characters of the past five decades and counting, making us believe in the immortal line – growing older but getting younger.

Faizul Khan Tanim

Shaken by Dr. NO (1962-Sean Connery),titled as the first Bond film, and stirred at Skyfall (2012, Daniel Craig, the newest bond), and the epic James Bond films featuring the Walther PPK; clad in the three-piece suits; driving the explosive Aston Martins, Bentleys and BMWs; sporting the Rolex Submariners or Omega Seamasters... Bond was on the loose in 22movies. He is always fully loaded with his creative ammos and artilleries and would still poise the world even under the abuse of Vodka Martinis, Bollinger and Dom Perignon Champagnes. The Bond film franchise today, is the second most financially successful English language film series.   

Bond Movies through the Years:
From Russia With Love (1963-Connery),
Goldfinger (1964-Connery),
Thunderball (1965-Connery),
You Only Live Twice (1967-Connery),
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969-George Lazenby),
Diamonds Are Forever (1971-Connery),
Live and Let Die (1973-Roger Moore),
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974-Moore),
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977-Moore),
Moonraker (1979-Moore),
For Your Eyes Only (1981-Moore),
Octopussy (1983-Moore),
A View to a Kill (1985-Moore),
The Living Daylights (1987-Timothy Dalton),
Licence to Kill (1989-Dalton),
Golden Eye (1995-Pierce Brosnan),
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997-Brosnan),
The World is Not Enough (1999-Brosnan),
Die Another Day (2002-Brosnan),
Casino Royale (2006-Craig),
Quantum of Solace (2008-Craig)
Skyfall (2012-Craig)

We know that James Bond is a protagonist of the Bond series, a Royal Navy Commander, (Companion, Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve) CMG, RNVR, a fictional character created by British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming [1908-1964] in 1953.Fleming wrote twelve Bond novels and two short story collections before his death, although the last two books – ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ and ‘Octopussy and The Living Daylights’- were published ‘posthumously’.

Bond’s code number 007, comes from the English spy and polymath John Dee, who would sign his letters to Elizabeth I with 00 and an elongated 7,to signify they were for her eyes only. The number was also assigned by Fleming in reference to one of British naval intelligence's key achievements of World War I - the breaking of the German diplomatic code.Subsequently if materials we regraded 00 it meant it was highly classified and, as journalist Ben Macintyre pointed out in various articles, "To anyone versed in intelligence history, 007 signified the highest achievement of British military intelligence."

Although Bond resides and take most of his assignments from the London MI6 headquarter but risks his life actively and internationally, running after the most notorious criminals from anywhere and everywhere in the globe and beyond. Let us take a look at the Bonds who gave this character the much-wanted ego, charisma and height to become such a lethal weapon.

Sean Connery (Bond appearances: 1962-1967; 1971; 1983)
Six feet one-and-half inches, Scotsman, considerably one of the best Bonds, and gained the nickname ‘gentlespy’, was arguably the best in the 1965 Thuderball. With a box office success of $141.2 million,this film is memorable for its underwater pyrotechnics and gadgets – Bell Textron jetpack, underwater breather, modified Rolex Submariner and more.

George Lazenby (1969)
The only non-British (Australian) actor and probably the most infamous Bond to have destroyed the fame of a 007 agent. He also acted in the only (thank God) and the worst Bond film till date On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (worse than Brosnan’s Die Another Day and Craig’s Quantum of Solace). Lazenby is the second official actor to portray the British secret agent, following Sean Connery, and proved to have failed to impress the loyal Bond fans with quotes like, “This never happened to the other fellow!” The other fellow (accredited to) being Connery, this is actually a joke for the audiences referring to Lazenby’s debut as Bond. As Connery had been able to seduce every woman he met, Lazenby, being the new Bond meets Tracy in the film who runs away from him. Bond is slightly perplexed, because he is after all Bond... James Bond and women usually melt with this phrase.

Roger Moore (1973-1985)
This 6’1’’007 agent was also the Saint and faced a huge challenge to revive Bond after Lazenby’s flash-in-the-pan. So, in an attempt Moore deliberately smoked cigars instead of cigarettes and drank Bourbon instead of Martini, which is actually more in-keeping with the character of Bond from the books. He portrayed the Bond character the most amount of times, seven,and he did with flying colors and replied to his critics who said he was not masculine enough, “This Bond is more of a lover and a giggler.” His best performances were in several including Moonraker, The Spy who Loved Me and A View to a Kill. 1985’sA View to a Kill however sported the most crispy script with a plot of the destruction of California’s Silicon Valley and taking the domination of the microchip market by a multimillionaire psychopath. The film features, by far, the manliest Bond girl May Day and has a brilliant quote by the psychopath Zorin: "Intuitive improvisation is the secret of a genius."

Timothy Dalton (1987-1989)
Dalton, 6’2’’,manly and most probably the only Bond which gave Q the least amount of troubles with his gadget and in fact, he is the only Bond Q appreciated the most. This Welsh Bond was also on-screen, the safest 007 agent around the insanely arousing women. Dalton's James Bond was a major transformation to a darker, moody, pitiless and more focused on the job at hand even if it was not preferred.And the 1989 hit License to Kill featured Bond’s disobeying of MI6 orders and pursuing vengeance following the mutilation of Felix Leiter, one of Bond’s greatest ally. In the process, Bond's desire of revenge costs him his greatest weapon – his Licence to Kill - and makes him an aggressive ticking time bomb.

Pierce Brosnan (1995-2002)
After a long hiatus picking Pierce Brosnan as the 007was a great choice and debatably, six feet one inches Irish man Brosnan, who was already a hit from Remington Steele, is the best looking and most charismatic Bond, well-known for his strangling techniques as Bond, his ways with women and fancy gadgets. With the amazing Tina Turner’s vocals in the title track and the cast of two of the most ravishingly beautiful Bond girls, usage of BMW, sporting of Omega Seamaster wristwatch and more, Brosnan’s first Bond movie, Golden Eye, grossed over $350 million worldwide, more than any other Bond film to that time. His second Bond film, 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, grossed even more money in the US than Golden Eye,making Brosnan one of the most successful 007 agents. Brosnan brought a new sense of class to the character, one unmatched so far.

Daniel Craig (2007-Present)
Daniel Craig is the present-day Bond, acts as an almost rogue agent, abuses his privileges and omits the standard good looks of wavy hair and boyish charms. Instead he is the most rugged Bond (closer to the Bond from Ian Fleming’s books), chiseled from deception, revenge, arrogance, anger and most often wears dirty shirts or body hugging collar t-shirts replacing grand suits worn by his predecessors – he is by far the ‘baddest’ Bond worthy to be called a true spy/agent. He is the cockiest Bond of all – a man whose presence is felt by brawn and manliness alone, and the gadgets and tech comes secondary. After all, spy thriller readers unconditionally believes that secret agents must not have recognizable features, let alone good looks. The choice of Craig as Bond was controversial when announced in 2005, and many initially didn't agree with the decision, although Connery, Brosnan, Moore and Dalton publicly supported. Despite some doubts from fans at first, Craig's performance as the super-agent in Casino Royale earned him critical acclaim from critics and fans alike. And, although Quantum of Solace did not perform well, Craig absolutely mesmerized the audiences with the latest Bond Skyfall. Of course, the success of Skyfall was also due to a darker, back-to-basics,following-the-Fleming-novel concepts. At Skyfall, MI6 headquarter is bombed to ashes and Bond faces his greatest adversary, more cunning and razor sharper than Le Chiffre, Scaramanga, Jaws, Oddjob or Blofeldand extremely powerful as he was an ex 00 agent - Silva, played by Javier Bardem, who played the part to utter perfection. No matter how hard Bond tried, he could not save one of the most dominant characters of Bond history – M, even with his no-holds-barred stunts and Walther PPK with palm print activation. In the end, the MI6 headquarters are moved to the Universal Exports building (from the earlier films), while Eve, one of the sensuous field agents, who decides to quit the field and introduces her as the new Moneypenny. A newly appointed M as well gets introduced for Bond - Gareth Mallory, who was the head of Secret Intelligence.

Bond theme songs which made BIG impact

Gadgets used by Bond

The SOLEmates from Dhanmondi 15

*Putting up this article on FB reminds me of a younger brother, no more, who loved fashionable shoes :-] 

 

The SOLEmates from Dhanmondi 15
 

Faizul Khan Tanim has found shoe shops to cater contemporary and classic styles, tucked away in Dhanmondi, that have a great array of men's shoes boasting the word 'entrepreneurship' in all senses

Choosing the right footwear is important if you want to make a strong impression. And legend has it that Nawab Sirajuddaula was caught by his enemies while trying to escape in the guise of a pauper and although he wore crumpled clothes but his shoes revealed his royalty.  And it is evident that one’s shoes tell a lot about the person’s taste and gives insight in to his personality and dress sense. Quality shoes at good prices are often hard to find, especially for men. We found several shops located on the Dhanmondi 15 (old) road strip where shoe-admirers surely won’t be disappointed.

The shops have leather shoes and sandals for men mostly. Women’s shoes can be made-to-order. On display are oxfords, loafers, cap-toes, dress shoes/boots, monk strap, square-toe, pumps, moccasins, wing-tips, brogues and more. What really makes these shops a great find is that they’ll also make any shoe you want in any colour and style, especially for you. Pick out a design from a catalogue or bring along a photo. They have a six-month warranty for sandals and one year for shoes, that’s saying something for quality.

Jakir Hossain, the current owner of Babul Shoes, said, “In the beginning, it was tough getting this strip of market set up, but now that we have established ourselves with almost 26 outlets, approximately 150 owners and store people working directly in this Dhanmondi 15 area are giving relentless efforts to improve the quality of shoes and its finishing everyday. We will one day enjoy the fruits of our hard work. All the shops here are doing great business with revenues of almost Taka 25,000 per day during festival occasions like the two Eids and winter season. Although, at present, there is a big slump in our sales due to the political turmoil”.

Hossain took us to the factory of Babul Shoes where we saw the shoe making process.
A footwear company has mainly four departments in which a route is followed for producing finished shoes - Clicking or Cutting department, Closing or Machining department, Lasting and Making department, and finally, the Finishing department before the product enters display room.

The first step is cutting the top part of the shoe or the making of the ‘upper’. Here, using specialized cobbler knives, the worker cuts out pieces of various shapes that will take the form of uppers and the worker has to keep in mind the minimum wastage of expensive leather.

Then comes shoe closing or stitching where uniting all the aesthetic coverings of the shoe take place. The uppers are pierced, punched, fixed, grooved, and then placed with lining and sewn together.

Then comes shoe lasting, where the completed uppers are moulded into a shape of foot with the help of a “Last”. Last is a plastic shape that simulates the foot shape. It is later removed from the finished shoe to be used again in making other shoes. Firstly, an insole to the bottom of the last is attached. The upper is then stretched and moulded over the last and attached to the insole rib. After the procedure is completed, a ‘lasted shoe’ is obtained. Now, in the welting process, a strip of leather or plastic is sewn onto the shoe through the rib. (A welt is a strip of leather, rubber, or plastic that is stitched to the upper and insole of a shoe, as an attach-point for the sole. The space enclosed by the welt is then filled with cork or some other filler material and the outsole is both cemented and stitched to the welt). The upper and all the surplus material is then trimmed off the seam. The sole is then attached to the welt and both are stitched together. The heel is then attached which completes the making of the shoe.

The finishing of a shoe is the last step where the sole edge and heel are trimmed to give a smooth finish. The edge is also made waterproof and for that, they are stained, polished and waxed. In the shoe room, an internal sock is fitted into shoes which display the manufacturers’ details or a brand name and shoe size.

Mohammed Jashim of Maria Shoes said they get their leather from Hazaribagh, which is just around the corner...more like the next suburb of Dhanmondi 15 and the distance isn’t long as well.

“Our prices are based on the design and start from Tk 800 a pair and then again, some pairs may cost  as much as Taka 3,000, depending on the leather, sole, craftsmanship and finishing. We use the best quality cow, goat or lamb leather; ensure excellent stitching and very importantly give good soles, which are one of the key elements for the lifeline of a pair”, said Jashim.

Jashim also added that “There are four types of soles – a Chinese sole that we call China, crepe sole, rubber sole and finally the most flexible and dynamic PVC sole, which are actually vehicle tire materials and hence the most durable”.

Other owners said: Many people go to Bangkok to get custom-made shoes but we can offer shoes that are of better quality and at affordable prices. We also make specific designs for display to attract customers, following lifestyle magazines and celebrity footwear from the internet and must say, getting huge response.

The outlet one must visit is definitely Babul Shoes. Started by Kalorobi Das around Liberation, from 1972 onwards, this outlet is the oldest on that road. They have three outlets at present and flaunt some of the best designs. A crocodile leather cap-toe pair on display was drawing most of the attention and bringing in a lot of customers.

And Hossain from Babul Shoes said more that, “Customers come with fancy designs and we are able to make them to their satisfaction. They have a sense of contentment wearing shoes that have been made especially for them from scratch. The best part about custom-made design is that one can come up with any creative design from the internet or any celebrity’s shoe design and we will transform that in to reality.

These shoe stores are a hit with many men, who are flocking to them from across town. So make your way to Dhanmondi Road 15 (Old) which is 8/A (new) and find yourself the right fit and pair.

*This article was first published in The Independent - http://theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=31&date=2013-04-19

Esho he Boishakh, Esho Esho - Shubho Naboborsho to ALL!

Esho he Boishakh, Esho Esho 

 Faizul Khan Tanim tries to capture the essence of Pahela Boishakh and our Bengali Psyche

The significance of Pahela Boishakh is immense as this first day of the Bengali New Year and the festival itself marks the beginning of the crop season and thus, Bengalis try to foster bond, friendship and exchange happiness. And we wait for a new year, a prosperous beginning, believing that the Kal Boishakhi Jhor (Nor’wester) will wash away all the negativity and impurities in the air.
Bengalis decorate their houses with colorful papers, masks and especially with colorful paper owls, haat pakha (hand-held paper or taal-pata fans), prodip (oil lamps) and incense sticks are lighted to give the house a good smell.

We urbanites celebrate this event with plenty of colors, especially a contrast-match between white and bright red or maroon. And therefore, beauty becomes an integral part of our happy rallies – Bengali belles clad in their red and white sharis minus the cat fit; it is absolutely lovely to see their charming Baishakhi smile.

And the best smile one will get to see is while they sing…be it at the Ramna Botomul (foot of the Banyan tree where a premium music school Chhayanaut’s students recite songs and poems very early after dawn) or at any other cultural events across the country. The essence of this beautiful smile signifies the capturing of all the bold energy that our poets like Tagore and Nazrul wrote…of Lalon Shaiji’s immortal verses and the absolute green and beauty of our rural Bengal. Now, the perks of these illustrious smirks are that these elements of joy and happiness are what we need to move on and forget our tarnished imageries.

Food on this day is traditional and although we eat them year long but that is very random and hence, the Pahela Boishakh menu is always scintillating. The seasonal fruits, vegetables and fishes occupy our taste palette starting from kacha aam (raw/green mango) and watermelon juices, panta bhaat (fermented white or red rice), most important shutki bhorta (dry fish mash), Ilish Maach (Hilsa fish preferably from Padma river) and plenty of other vegetable mash like potato, potol (pointed gourd), dahl (lentil) and it is absolutely essential that plenty of shorishar tel (mustard oil), onions and a mix of green and dry red chili are used to blend these bhortas/mashes for their tongue tingling taste. A bona fide sweet menu is also necessary as we Bengalis have a tremendous sweet tooth – starting from the muralis (dry sweet – sugar or molasses - sticks) from the Boishakhi Melas up to ordering special batches of shondesh (sweets made of chhana or a form of cottage cheese), gurer payesh, narkel naru (coconut balls) are relished. Sweets are exchanged mostly as a symbol of good omen to usher the New Year in a sweet tone. Sweets distribution is almost the key factor for every other occasions as well but Pahela Boishakh is different – we get to experience different assortments of pithas (both sweet and savory pies) and a lot of these are now decorated and gifted in Bengali weddings to remind us of the sweet and sinful flavors of Bengal.

Dhakaites visits Puran Dhaka (Old Dhaka) to catch a glimpse of the new haal khata (a ledger book) as it is also considered very auspicious to pay off all your debts, loans and dues in this day or before it. This is done because the businessmen open new accounts on Pahela Boishakh. This ritual is also a reminder that one should clear all the debts to start the New Year at a fresh note and hence all the festivity. Boishakhi Mela (Bengali New Year fairs) are grounds or places of congregations to celebrate by dancing, singing and buying toys like traditional clay dolls, earthen potteries, colorful glass bangles up to riding on Nagordola (wonder wheel) or watch fancy boat races…the folk plays, the puppet shows - it seems like the whole Bengali culture melts down in a big pot on the ground of traditional extravaganza, music, food and experience of delightful events. We Bengalis are emotional and we cherish these Bengali New Year celebration memories for a long time.

Begging for Living

i'm sick of our political situation and hence an allegorical piece about our psyche :-]

Begging for Living

There is a popular saying - Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn - but many people here beg day in and day out conveniently ignoring the significance of working and many of them deceive by taking resort to heinous means to get sympathy of the people. Writes Faizul Khan Tanim

A case study: A moderately-dressed man wearing proper sandals comes to Green Road, opposite to the clinics each day. And as the shopkeepers say, he comes as a prince, goes to an alley and changes to a pauper in rags and sporting his scrawny looks, start begging. Residents say, he has almost two cell phones for the past ten years and lives quite a decent life without having to worry about food or shelter for him or the family. This is only one of the cases from thousands found in our majestic Dhaka.

Putrefied hands of beggars coming through a car’s window or an auto rickshaw door imploring passengers for money at every traffic signal has become a common experience for commuters going to workplaces or returning home.

Wearing dirty and torn clothes, some of these beggars are blind, some limp with no arms or legs and totally handicapped, strolled by another person. They are seen begging everyday at the busy city intersections.

Of course a lot of these beggars have genuine deformity but most of them fake disability and deceive people pretending to be a handicapped or making appeals in crooked voice. They displaying X-ray or medical reports, limps, pretend speech disorders like muteness, which are only few of the ways they use to draw attention of the commuters. But most sadly, a large number of them are completely fine and the only reason they are in this profession because it fetches more earning than regular work.

The city has almost 370 intersections and this reporter spoke to 30 beggars from different intersections of Dhaka and found out that the regular income of each of these scroungers not only surpasses the average daily income of the hard earners after paying their daily deposits to the owners for a half-day shift – rickshaw pullers (Taka 300), brick breakers (Taka 250), cng-autorickshaw drivers (Taka 850). And to my amazement, each beggar has a daily income of Taka 600 to 1000 of money, TAX free, from Gulshan and Banani areas; at least Taka 300 from the other intersections including Sonargaon Hotel Saarc fountain circle, Shahbag Chottor and surrounding areas of Hotel Ruposhi Bangla, Motijheel, Baitul Mukarram and more. These intersections swarm with beggars standing in distinct gestures to beg money and gone are the days of giving Taka 2 or 5. A minimum of 10 bucks will book you a place in heaven (as they say so) without praying to God that is, otherwise, be prepared to be lashed and verbally abused at times by these choosy beggars. Their income increases and hits jack pot on Fridays and special days like Eid and other national holidays.

There is allegations from street peddlers, street-side shopkeepers that sometimes, these beggars do pay deposits and that to the intersection on-duty traffic police officers to hold the signals longer for better begging opportunities. However, the sergeants from Gulshan, SAARC Fountain circle and some other important intersections vehemently denied such claims and refused to talk. But one traffic constable from Topkhana road requesting anonymity said, “The beggars do disrupt traffic control at the VIP intersections mostly during off-peak hours as the movement of vehicles there gets stalled by at least one to two minutes for these beggars”.

It must be mentioned that during the ICC Cricket World Cup on 2011, hundreds of hawkers and beggars on Dhaka’s major roads and at traffic stops, were driven out and temporarily evicted as a government initiative to keep the streets clean. Senior citizens of the city allege that there are no proper vagrant homes and even if there are few monitored by Dhaka City Corporation, they are in terrible shape.

Most of the beggars admit that they had either lost job or had been very low paid while working but a lot of them will not agree that they lost their limbs or feet in a shootout with the police or armed guards during committing crimes like burglary. And of course, those who are subject to abuse by the local goons, losing either body parts or eyes, will never agree to their misfortune, fearing attacks by the local godfathers.
Abdul Quddus, a beggar from Elephant road signal says both his feet are paralyzed after he had a strong typhoid during childhood. He was a handicap ever since and found no option but to beg on the streets when he grew old. This has been his profession for the past four to five years.

But another beggar Aklima Begum in front of Gulshan Azad Mosque said, “Yes, I will confess, my daily income from begging is more than the amount that can be earned by working 8 to 12 hours a day in a factory, work at homes as house helps or break bricks and stones at construction sites and I do not wish to change it”.

The beggars at a Motijheel intersection said that previously, the office times in the morning and rush hours after 2pm and 5 pm when the schools close and offices closed consecutively, were the prime times for begging. But thanks to the ever-increasing traffic congestions, now everyday seems like an Eid day.

“You won’t feel good early in the morning as you start a fresh day when you see dirty hands of beggars coming through your car’s window, absolutely pestering till you don’t give anything. It’s a total nuisance on the street especially when you are worried if you will be able to reach work in time,” said Anisur Rahman, a banker, stuck in a tailback at Shahbag Chottor.
Quite often, it is seen that traffic congestion keeps on building as the beggars would desperately keep their hands inside the cars even when the traffic signals turn green. Sometimes a beggar’s hand gets stuck in the car window or a car wheel moves over their feet.

Some beggars are highly innovative and apply techniques to earn more from begging. There are some women who hire babies from slums on payment to convince the commuters, as they think the strategy is quite fruitful to draw sympathy of people – these are the better ones while others will bring feces or a pot containing snake and they will threat you, it’s either money or their wrath.

*This article was first published in The Independent - http://theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=31&date=2013-04-05

We should concentrate more on abolishing 'child begging' than 'child labour'

People with functional limbs and feet begs without shame

The Beggars Association of Bangladesh