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…
Zeenat Khan
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 –…
Dropping “Fair” from Fair & Lovely: Can we change the mindset?
The finest clothing made is a person's own skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this. --- Mark Twain An advertisement for Fair and Lovely, a skin whitening…
In search of God: Death by misunderstanding
Amjad Farid Sabri (23 December 1970 – 22 June 2016) Today is the 4th anniversary of the shooting death of Amjad Farid Sabri. He was a majestic and highly revered Pakistani…
Life without the Hijab: A Woman’s Journey to Freedom?
I met my dear friend Maryam in the spring of 1980. We studied at the same US University in Rhode Island. She was a couple of years older than me…
“Honor Killing” in Iran: It’s not a Race Issue; it’s a Human Rights Issue
14- year-old Romina Ashrafi was beheaded by her father in the name of family “honor” How can a young girl’s murder at the hands of her father be a story…
SpaceX Astronaut Launch: Curiosity, science and the Red Planet
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft take off from the Kennedy Space Center on the first orbital spaceflight from U.S. soil since 2011. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II…
COVID-19: Zafrullah Chowdhury, Women, and the Dot Blot Kit
A valiant freedom fighter and an indomitable spirit during the liberation war and afterwards, Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury is a known figure in the sub-continent. With a larger than life persona…
The Weeping Cherry Tree
Jamal Uddin had lived an ordinary and extraordinary life at the same time. His life story is about hard work, determination, and resilience in living the life of an immigrant…
On Mother’s Day: A Daughter’s Words of Love
Mother’s Day will be celebrated on May 10 this year. On this day, people celebrate motherhood and mothers in their families. We mothers are remembered and pampered and we simply…
Jeff Bezos, Philanthropy, and Exploited Amazon workers
The ending of my Countercurrents article published on April 20, did not sit well with some people including my daughter. The reason being that I had mentioned Amazon CEO Jeff…
“The coronavirus is everywhere in America, so is the hunger”
Anaheim, California: Cars were lined up about a half mile long in both directions of the 57 Freeway to get to Second Harvest Food Bank On March 30, the-stay-at home…
Andrea Bocelli’s Music Hugging the Wounded Earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTUOek4LgU On Easter Sunday Andrea Bocelli performing at the historic Duomo cathedral in Milan. The cathedral is closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic. This past Easter Sunday…
Life under Shelter-in-Place
Last night, the above picture image with a hopeful message, I sent to my older brother, on his birthday. Of course, there was also a personal message where I wished…
In time of a growing Pandemic: Some thoughts
Japanese Magnolia in full bloom On Sunday morning, I hardly noticed that the Japanese Magnolia outside my study room window is in full bloom as it is mid-March. Every year,…
Katie Hill’s tell-all book: “She Will Rise”
Katie Hill, then a Democratic Party candidate from California's 25th Congressional district, in 2018. Former congresswoman,Katie Hill, a Democrat from California may have been down but not gone. In the…
Love in the Time of Riots
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pose as they visit the Taj Mahal in Agra on February 24, 2020. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by…
Slavery at Mount Vernon
The photograph depicts a replica of a slave cabin in Mount Vernon, George Washington’s estate. It is based on an early 20th-century photograph as the original cabin no longer exists.…
Nature, Bonbibi, American cetologist in the Sundarbans
To find answers about how to define the idea of nature, French anthropologist Philippe Descola went to the depths of the Amazon to find the Achuars, an indigenous tribe of…
The majestic Royal Bengal Tiger in the Sundarbans
A Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans, which crosses India and Bangladesh. In describing the Sundarbans (beautiful forests), Amitav Ghosh, an internationally acclaimed writer wrote in his novel, The Hungry Tide:…
Watching Mississippi Masala on the eve of Martin Luther King Day
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be judged not by the color of their skin but by…
The lure of American green card and elderly parents
How much is an American green card and ultimately a naturalized citizenship worth to elderly sub-continental parents? A lot! How many more do you think would be willing to give…
Habitat for Humanity: Building with dignity
Two months ago, a day after suffering a fall in his Georgia home, 95-year-old former US president Jimmy Carter was back to building homes for Habitat for Humanity. Wearing a…
Christmas in America
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la Tis the season to be jolly Fa, la la la la, la la…
One city: two tales
On December 5, while driving down the Embassy Row in NW Washington, D.C.,on the car radio,I was listening to Nancy Pelosi saying the House is drafting articles of impeachment against…
“Ahlan Simsim”:Thirty minutes with the Muppets
"Sesame Street" and the International Rescue Committee have collaborated in efforts to help Syrian refugee children. A new program called "AhlanSimsim" is set to air in February 2020. Quite often…
The Argentines are still influenced by Eva Perón
SeñoraEva Maria Duarte de Perónwas one of Argentina’s most beloved first ladies.Sixty-six years after Eva’s death, the persistence of Peronism makes her one of the most fascinating characters in Argentina.…
Understanding Autism through a TV mom’s eyes
A few nights ago, I watched a poignant and slightly heart wrenching Bengali drama on YouTube that shines a light on disorders like autism. It was the first time that…
Greta Thunberg, autism and her America tour
Sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is my hero. Except for a handful of cynics, who wouldn’t be impressed by this soft-spoken girl with a no nonsense demeanor, seriously concerned…
Another senseless dowry death
How many Shovas have to endure violence, severe torture and sometimes death when extortionary dowry demands cannot be met? How many monstrous husbands and in-laws will abuse and kill…
Will Nazanin be forgotten?
For a decade,NazaninZaghari-Ratcliffe, a 41-year- old British-Iranian woman had a normal life in north London. She had a home, a job, husband and a beautiful daughter named Gabriella. A 2016…
Alzheimer’s Burden On Families
What can be more ironic and catastrophic when a renowned linguist loses her language altogether,as the deadly Alzheimer’s disease (AD) fiercely ravages her brain? That is what did happen…
Liu Xiaobo And Liu Xia: A Love That Survived Incredible Odds
A photo shared on Twitter by activist Ye Du was inserted in arecent front-page story in the New York Times. The skeletal like couple (Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia) clinging…
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