Funny news report

I was reading BDNews24.com's coverage of some shoplifting at a Dhaka store. The item was titled "Three arrested on shoplifting charges".

The news was typical: two women and a man were arrested for shoplifting at ETC, a Dhaka MegaStore at Dhanmondi. What amused me was the way the reporter quoted the Police Inspector. Apparently, the alleged shoplifters picked up two Punjabis and a Fatua worth about 60,000 takas. The Police wanted to seize the Punjabis and Fatua as evidence. But, it being the top of the Eid shopping season, the ETC store staff didn't want to give away the expensive clothes.

But the Police Inspector had the upper hand:

A move was underway to file a case against the three as two salespersons for ETC accompanied the police to their station as "part of the legal procedure".

The ETC staff urged the police officer not to take the clothes to the police station, but he did not listen to them and insisted: "They are required for filing a case."

Arriving on the second floor of the shop, the Police officer told the ETC staff: "Hey, I didn't get any commission (discount) on a punjabi and a belt I bought from you guys."

"Now look, some clothes are with me," he said jokingly, grabbing the stolen items as he sat on the sofa.

Very funny, and that it made into the report was even funnier.

Dolls from Aarong

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Originally uploaded by Ragib Hasan.

These are the Jamindar Ginni Dolls from Aarong. My wife Jaria likes to decorate our living room with a lot of handicrafts. So, when she came to the US about 2.5 years ago, she had a whole suitcase full of Bangladeshi handicrafts. These two dolls arrived at that time :)

The workmanship is great ... note the details in the clothing. Alas, I went looking for more of these dolls during my recent visit to Bangladesh, but wasn't able to find such good quality ones. Perhaps the next time, I'd go to the main branch of Aarong.

Note: These dolls are from Aarong, the handicrafts branch of BRAC. These are made by the village artisans, mostly women, from rural Bangladesh.

Tagore Festival 2006

Tagore Festival is an annual program held in the Tagore Center, Channing-Murray Foundation, Urbana. Actually, the nobel-laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore stayed here for quite some time in 1912 to visit his son Rathindranath, who was a student at University of Illinois.

Every year, Tagore Festival is held to commemorate the poet.

In 2006, the two main guests were the poet/novelist Sunil Gangopadhyay and the Dramatist/novelist Momtazuddin Ahmed.

Sunil was born in Faridpur, Bangladesh, but migrated to India following the 1947 partition. Ironically, Momtazuddin was born in Maldaha,West Bengal, but migrated to Bangladesh (then East Bengal) following the 1947 partition.

Jaria and I enjoyed the program a lot ... it included a cultural program with a lot of Tagore/Baul songs, and speeches by the two main guests. Momtazuddin Ahmed knew Jaria and her family since she was a baby, so he was quite pleased to see her again.

There was also a great Bengali-style feast after the cultural events.

Minus 12 Celcius in Urbana

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Originally uploaded by Ragib Hasan.

This is how the outside looks from my window today. Can you guess the temperature? It's -12Celcius, during Daytime!!!

I'm never a big fan of winter, and this is why. Outside, its kind of sunny-but-cloudy, and it looks quite tempting. But the temperature is actually -12C, cold enough to freeze me in seconds!!

Don't get misled by the absence of snow. Actually, the temperature goes up when it snows!!

This is a far cry from the tropical winter in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I wish I'd be back there again ... :(

View of the Sky at 34000 feet

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Originally uploaded by Ragib Hasan.

Ok, this isn't an awesome photo, but I liked the blueness of the sky. This was taken during my trip over the Atlantic ocean, through the window. Apparently, it was a very cloudy day, but we were going above the clould levels.