“To Love Somebody”: An Iconic Bee Gees Song about Unrequited Love
The heart itself has its own reason the reason itself cannot understand – Blaise Pascal There's a lightA certain kind of lightThat never shone on meI want my life to…
Zeenat Khan
Welcome Spring: The Dancing Cherry Blossoms
White Cherry in full bloom around the Tidal Basin around the historic Potomac River in Washington DC Winter in Washington, D.C. has finally retreated; a much anticipated spring has arrived…
Karen Carpenter: A Gifted Musician’s Life was Cut Short due to Anorexia Nervosa
Had she lived, Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters, Karen & Richard Carpenter, a brother/sister duo would be 75 this March. The lead vocalist of the band, Karen, was well known…
“Here Comes the Sun”
For glad spring has began,And to the ardent sunThe earth, long time so bleak,Turns a frost bitten cheek. – Celia Thaxter, American poet (1835-94) From Frank Sinatra to the Beatles,…
Kichhui To Holo Na – Nothing came of it
Composer: Rabindranath Tagore Singer: Vikram Singh Translation by Zeenat Khan Rabindranath Tagore Parjaay: Natya-geeti (14) Taal: Ara-Theka Raag: Mishra Jhinjhat Written on: 1881 Collection: Robichhaya Swarabitan: 35 Notation by:…
Kalpana’s Story Resonates with Other Domestic Workers’ Harrowing Tales
[Left] When Kalpana was rescued in October 2024. [Right] Kalpana is set to be released from the hospital in 2025. Photos: Collected Very often, it is hard to go through…
A February Poem – Ekusher Kabita
Written By Al Mahmud Recitation: Abdur Rahman Translated by Zeenat Khan Mir Abdus Shukur Al Mahmud (known as Al Mahmud; (11 July 1936 – 15 February 2019) was a Bangladeshi poet,…
Nazrul’s Reply to Nargis
Jaare Haath Diye Mala Ditey Paaro Nai / Keno Mone Rakho Taare The one you have not adorned with a floral garland / Why hold that onein your inmost memory…
An Unlikely Alliance: Barack Obama and Writer/Theologian Marilynne Robinson
“I believe people are made in images of God.” – Marilynne Robinson How often an interview is done by a former or a sitting US president? A president is always…
Is Malala Yousafzai Caught in a Web Like Many Young Women Activists?
I have not heard much about Pakistani activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai since she graduated from Oxford University in 2020. At 24, she got married in 2021 to a…
Aging Gracefully
Two women whom I have seen so far to have aged gracefully are my Amma (mother) and Zeenat Aman. These ladies do not have much in common; they belonged on…
Rabindra – Sangeet (Tagore song): Chitta Pipashito Re / Geetoshudhar Torey – My eternal mind is pining in thirst
Translation by Zeenat Khan A portrait of an unknown woman Artist: Rabindranath Tagore Parjaay: Prem (1) Upa-parjaay: Gaan Taal: Jhaptaal Raag: Khambaj Written on: 1895 Swarabitan: 10 Notation by: Jyotirindranath…
Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Song: Mor Ghumo ghore ele monohar
Kazi Nazrul Islam in 1926 (Chittagong) (Born 24 May, 1899 -- 29 August, 1976) “O my love, my soul, my heart/ in my deep sleep, you came, my love…” You…
“Sultana’s Dream,” Sexism, and Female Empowerment
December 9 was 145th birth and 93rd death anniversary of the iconic Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain. She had emerged in the 19th century to revolutionize the concept of womanhood, feminine…
Musings: “Dear Self, Never focus on the Negatives”
Some thoughts on self-love and self-care I live a rich life. In no way do l mean having accumulated vast wealth or material possessions. It means that after living “a…
Bohe Nirontoro Ononto Anondodhara – (“The Shower of Eternal Bliss Forever”)
A tribute to Kobiguru Rabindranath Tagore. The translation of the song from the Geetabitan Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) Parjaay: Puja (324) Upa-parjaay: Aanondo Taal: Jhaptaal…
In Remembrance: Salma Sobhan
It is not an easy endeavor to pay homage to a public figure. There are many attributes to choose from. While writing a tribute one faces a dilemma, as…
In Memoriam: Papia Sarwar
Text and translation (by me) of a Tagore song “Hridoyer ekul, okul, dukul veshe jay, hai sajoni, uthale noyonbari…” sung in Bengali by late Papaia Sarwar One of the most…
Was it Jesus Walking Upstairs?
The year was 2004. I was teaching Special Education at a parochial school in Washington DC. I co taught students with mild learning disabilities in grades 5-8. The post 9/11…
Beauty in Destruction (The Glass Tea Cup, lesson on sustainability)
A few years ago, I got a FedEx delivery the day before Mother’s Day from Cambridge, Massachusetts. I remember the package for two reasons. It was an overnight Express delivery…
Why it is Imperative to Support Independent Journalism
Dear Readers, As a loyal reader of Countercurrents.org (CC) I am writing this letter to you all to espouse support for this website. In today’s world, Independent journalism should be…
Meet our Modern Day Mr. and Mrs. Claus
We all know about the beloved mystical figure of Santa Claus. He arrives every Christmas eve, riding in his sleigh, drawn by the twelve elves to distribute toys to the…
Nadir kul nai kinar naire (The River has no banks)
A translation of a folk song sung by Abbasuddin Ahmed. Lyricist and composer, Polli Kobi (folk poet) Jasimuddin Abbasuddin Ahmed was born in Cooch Behar, British India (1901 – 1959).…
Momtaz Begum: A Poetic Reflection on ‘Once’ a Celebrated Musician
Art and politics do not mix. Not everyone can be artists, but many can be taught to be politicians ---- Jasmine Alexander, Actress, Author, Filmmaker and Social Media Influencer I…
Emono Dine Tare Bola Jai… (It is the day to tell my beloved)
A Translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Song Theme: Prem (love) Raag: Desh Taal: Rupak Composed: 17 May 1889 Place: Pune, India ======================== It is the day to tell my beloved in…
Musings: Autumn, Nature, and Self-introspections
Autumn (fall season, from September 22 to early November) can be a metaphor for transformation that takes place in nature as well as in our personal lives. Autumn is a…
How long will women are going to fight in the trenches?
All kinds of things keep me up at night like a nocturnal owl. It has been happening more and more in the last couple of years. Last night was one…
A Pearl inside an Oyster: A Tribute to Maestro S D Burman
Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls…Give your hearts, but not each other’s keeping.…
US Elections 2024: Immigrant Muslims in America are in a limbo
American essayist and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Marilynne Robinson wrote in an essay titled ‘Survival of cultural and religious tolerance’ –“Since religion is central to most identities within the larger…
India: Tagore’s Music in the midst of intolerance, fear, and insecurity
"Fear not, comes the message fromthe direction of the rising sun,Those that will givelife to the last throbwill diminish not, never." -Rabindranath Tagore On May 8th in 2011, on the occasion…
Religion: Reincarnation as a second chance
Zeenat Khan There was a time I would reject thosewho were not my faith.But now, my heart has grown capableof taking on all forms.It is a pasture for gazelles.An abbey…
Agent Orange and Biden’s hypocrisy
“For all their sacrifices, the American soldiers were almost irrelevant.” – Frances Fitzgerald Fire in the Lake Years ago, I had read somewhere that a war does not really end…
Md Abdus Salam: An Indomitable Spirit
Who is Md Abdus Salam? Is he a celebrity? Yes, I would like to call him a luminary person, a guiding light. He lives in Manikganj district in central Bangladesh.…
Who should Jaya (Bhaduri) Bachchan be?
Very recently, I watched the Bachchan vs Dhankhar showdown during a Rajya Sabha session. The treatment of Jaya Bachchan, an actor turned politician since 2012, and a 5th time elected…
August Blues: In Remembrance
In August here in the East Coast we still have a lot of sunshine left. Though officially the summer is ending soon, we are still enjoying longer days and warm…
The March Is Not Yet Over
Today is the first anniversary of the loss of John Lewis, a civil rights crusader. At the time of his death, Lewis was one of the last Selma-era civil rights…
An Expat Billionaire’s Lifestyle in Los Angeles is Reminiscent of the “Gilded Age”
A few nights ago, I had watched the NTV video on Probash Jibon featuring a self-made Bangladeshi born multi-billionaire Kali Pradip Chaudhuri (KPC) in Los Angeles (LA), California. His lifestyle…
Some Thoughts on International Mother Language Day
On the eve of February 21, International Mother Language Day, the afternoon was sunny, windless and frozen. The sun came up after a two-day winter snow storm. The snow was…
Alexei Navalny And The Politics Of Vladimir Putin
Written by Zeenat Khan and Ferdous Khan Last Tuesday (February 2) Russian activist Alexei A. Navalny, the loudest critic of Vladimir Putin was sentenced to 2 plus years in prison…
Hello Mumbai! Are you adhering to all Covid guidelines?
The film industry people gathered in Mumbai on January 21 for the muhurat (initiation ceremony) of a biopic titled ‘Bangabandhu’. It is a joint collaboration between Bangladesh and India. This…
Death by lethal injection: An inhumane way to die
Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders – Albert Camus What could be worse than death? The answer perhaps would be to know exactly when one is going to…
A candid conversation with filmmaker Tanvir Mokammel of Bangladesh
My interview with the celebrated filmmaker centers on his recently released film “Rupsa Nodir Banke” (Quiet flows the River Rupsa). 2017 Ekushey Padak (the second highest civilian award given to…
The changing fashion trends due to the pandemic
Along with everyone else, the fashion industry is also experiencing the effects of a global health crisis because of Covid-19. The $400 billion US fashion industry is in the middle…
China is razing the Uyghurs’ diverse Islamic traditions
With 16,000 mosques damaged in recent years, the autonomous region of Xinjiang now has the lowest number of Muslim houses of worship since the 1960s Cultural Revolution (AFP) To persecute…
Widowhood revisited in a television drama
During recent Durga Puja celebrations, RTV drama special titled Shada Megher Mon (A silver lining in the cloud), revisited the widowhood of a young woman in the context of Bangladesh…
A platter of Jalebi opened a Pandora’s Box
Last night before dinner as I was deep-frying a batch of my favorite jalebi for dessert, Saroo Brierley’s face came to mind. Afterwards I found the 2016 movie Lion from…
A Priest in Cassock and the Santal Girl
Recently, when a 17-year-old Santal girl from an indigenous tribe in Rajshahi, Bangladesh went to cut grass for her family’s cattle in the pasture, she had no idea that danger…
Rape, the Shadow Pandemic in the time of Covid-19
What is wrong with some men that in the time of Covid-19 they are raping women of all ages? Rape, the most intimate of crimes is happening every day, everywhere…
Is life on Venus an absurd thought?
I will imagine you Venus tonight and pray, pray, pray to your star like a Heathen. – John Keats Venus, visible in the night sky above Salgotarjan, Hungary, in…
Has Living in America been a “Serendipitous Outcome?”
Some of the greatest things, as I understand, they have come about by serendipity, the greatest discoveries. – Alan Alda Has living in America been a “serendipitous outcome” for me?…
Zuckerberg wants to “Change” the World with his Philanthropy
Since 2014, we all have seen how Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg constantly talks about changing the world. Will his billionaire philanthropy actually save the world? His estimated wealth…
Where have all the bluebirds gone?
An eastern bluebird perches on a branch, watching the ground As the bleary summer days are coming to an end, lately I have been thinking a lot about birds and…
Compulsive Shopping Addiction
A recent study done by a market research firm Rakuten Intelligence found that since the pandemic started there has been a sudden rise in online shopping. Ecommerce spending in…
“Never again”: In remembrance of August 6, 1945
A mother and child, dressed in traditional clothing, sit on the ground amid rubble and burnt trees, Hiroshima, Japan, December 1945; some four months after the United States had dropped…
Should Diamond symbolize happily ever after?
About ten years ago, a friend who hadn’t seen me in over two decades, offered me some tips as to what jewelry to wear to lunch when I meet one…
Why go organic?
An assortment of organically grown produce lay out at a Farmer’s Market Prior to this pandemic summer, every year from May to November -- there was something magical about waking…
John Lewis: The Iconic Civil Rights Leader Dies
FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2011, file photo, President Barack Obama presents a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., during a ceremony in the…
A Support Group can be your Emotional safety net & lifeline
This morning when I pulled opened the curtains to my dining room window overlooking the neighborhood park, I spotted one of my neighbors (let me call her Lillete) is power…
A Love Story in a Turbulent Time
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif poses for a photograph in 2009. Photo: Reuters. He passed away on July 10, 2015 Egyptian born debonair actor Omar Sharif’s passing on July 10th marks…
Wistful Memories: The dying Shitalakhya River
I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers –…
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