| Bangladesh charges British official with terror funding | ||
Dhaka, April 28 : Investigators Tuesday formally charged the head of a British charity and 10 Bangladeshi agents with financing terrorism in the guise of operating a religious school in... | ||
| Bangladesh charges UK charity chief with financing terrorism | ||
DHAKA: Investigators yesterday formally charged the head of a British charity and 10 Bangladeshi agents with financing terrorism in the guise of operating a religious school in Bangladesh. A court in... | ||
| ADB Assisting Bangladesh in Improving Irrigation Systems | ||
US$750,000 grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will assist Bangladesh in implementing a planned multi-million loan project in 2010 that will improve irrigation services and further enhance... | ||
| 2 policemen suspended on charges of negligence | ||
Two policemen of Motijheel Police Station who recorded a general diary (GD) against the inspector general of police (IGP) was suspended last night on charges of negligence of duty.The suspended... | ||
| RU reopens June 1 | ||
Academic activities of Rajshahi University (RU) will resume on June 1 amid tight security measures.The dormitories of the university will reopen for students in phases on May 30 and 31. RU... | ||
| Suspected killer held in Barisal | ||
Nineteen days after the gruesome murder of Malibagh Biggyan College student Zishan, the police arrested a suspected killer from Barisal town on Monday evening. The arrestee was identified as Alvi... | ||
| 21 Hizb-ut Towhid men remanded | ||
Chief Judicial Magistrate's court of Kushtia yesterday placed 21 Hizb-ut Towhid men on four days remand.Earlier, on Wednesday last the same court remanded 10 others including the outfit's regional... | ||
| Rahman and Hossain keep Bangladesh U-19 afloat | ||
Bangladesh Under-19 229 for 7 (Rahman 54*, Hossain 49*, Peiris 2-58, Weerasinghe 2-64) trail Sri Lanka Under-19 280 (Angelo Perera 112, Weerasinghe 44, Islam 4-58) by 51... | ||
| Three get life for rape | ||
A Chapainawabganj court yesterday sentenced three people to life imprisonment for raping a woman. The convicts are Sahabuddin,40, Mahtab,50 and Shafiqul Islam,45, of Dhainagar village under Sadar... | ||
| Call to re-fix procurement price of Boro | ||
More organisations yesterday demanded the government re-fix the procurement price of Boro paddy at Tk 15 per kilogram instead of Tk 14.Leaders of Bangladesh Workers' Party in a statement said farmers... Source : www.bangladeshsun.com | ||
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Bangladesh News Updates : 29.4.09
Monday, April 27, 2009
Football (Soccer) : Popular Sports in Bangladesh
Football is popular in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is currently ranked 174th in the FIFA ranking. Bangladesh became the 2003 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) champion. SAFF includes Southern Asian countries and other countries from Asia.
The Bangladesh national football team is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation. It is a member of the AFC. The side has yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup tournament. They were eliminated in the first round of their only Asian Cup appearance to date in 1980. As is the case elsewhere on the subcontinent, the national football team stands somewhat in the shadow of the country's test cricket team. The team was founded in 1972, and joined FIFA in 1974.
Apart from wins over Indonesia and Thailand in their first ever World Cup qualification in 1986, Bangladesh has struggled to impose itself. At the regional level, they have also remained in the second echelon while in Asia, the team is constantly trying to avoid being the wooden spoon of their group.
However, the association is currently working hand in hand with the Vision Asia programme which will see it restructuring its domestic league as well as initiating more youth programmes. These initiatives are coming at the right time for football in Bangladesh.
Football in Bangladesh has a huge following which was exemplified when the national team made history in their victory at the South Asian Football Federation Cup in 2003. The South Asia side won the final via penalties over Maldives before 50,000 home supporters.
Kazi Salahuddin is Bangladesh's most famous footballer, having played professional football in Hong Kong, the first Bangldeshi player to ever do so. [Presently President of Bangladesh Football Federation].
Presently Brazilian born DIDO is national team Coach.
Kabaddi : National Sports in Bangladesh
Kabaddi is a team game. Two teams of seven players occupy opposite halves of a field of 12.5m x 10m divided by a line into two halves. The teams take turns sending a "raider" across to the opposite team's half, where the goal is to tag or wrestle ("capture") members of the opposite team before returning to the home half. Tagged members are "out" and are sent off the field. The raider must not take a breath during the raid, and must prove it by constantly chanting (called 'cant' or 'dak') during the raid. Meanwhile, the defenders must form a chain, for example by linking hands; if the chain is broken, a member of the defending team is sent off. The goal of the defenders is to stop the raider from returning to the home side before taking a breath.
n 1980, Bangladesh became the runners-up in the first Asian Kabaddi Championship and India emerged as the champion. Bangladesh became runners-up again in the next Asian Kabaddi Championship held in 1985 at Jaipur, India.
Bangladeshi kabaddi team won the bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games.
Bangladesh News Updates
Bangladesh News |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2009 02:02 PM PDT Soft attitude of the government towards polluters and lack of awareness among city dwellers have literally left dead all the rivers and other surface waters in and around the capital. Over the years the government agencies conducted small-scale drives against the polluters without yielding any major success. The polluters have meanwhile continued polluting the rivers side [...]  |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2009 02:01 PM PDT Life in the capital has become utterly miserable over the last ten days due to a severe heat wave accompanied with repeated load shedding, an acute water crisis, shortage of gas supply, infestation of mosquitoes, and the resultant near epidemic of diseases like diarrhoea. Other diseases like typhoid, jaundice, and heatstroke are also on the [...]  |
| Tk 14 for paddy, Tk 22 for rice Posted: 26 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT The government has fixed the procurement prices of per kg Boro paddy at Tk 14 while rice at Tk 22 to encourage farmers and protect their interest. A meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee also decided that a total of 10.5 lakh tonnes of rice and 1.5 lakh tonnes of paddy will be procured [...]  |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2009 02:00 PM PDT Wasa water has become a source of quick bucks for some dishonest government employees in the wake of unbearable water crisis in the capital, allege a number of city dwellers. They allege a clique of Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) officials are exacting more money than the official rates for water supply in lorries without [...]  |
| Students down under look down the barrel Posted: 26 Apr 2009 01:59 PM PDT About 6,000 Bangladeshi students brace for bad times as recession strikes Australia and starts to bite deeper into a once solid economy of a paltry 21.7 million population. Feeling pinch of the slowdown in November last year, Kevin Rudd’s government kept on trying every tricks laid out in the capitalistic economics to thwart the impact that [...]  |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2009 01:59 PM PDT Formation process of industrial police force would be completed within next three months to maintain peace and discipline in apparel sector for which all procedures already have been finalised. Before introducing the new force, the government has decided to use battalion Ansars in the industrial areas to protect the sector from any untoward situation. This was disclosed [...]  |
| Recession to bring food crisis back Posted: 26 Apr 2009 01:58 PM PDT The food crisis that hit many developing countries last year is likely to re-emerge following the recession and Asian countries must take measures to protect poor people from rising prices, a UN report said Friday. The report released in Bangkok called for Asian governments to implement social programs such as cash assistance and food-for-work schemes that [...]  |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2009 01:58 PM PDT Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina yesterday directed the power division and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) to act expeditiously in reducing sufferings of the people caused by ongoing water and power crisis. The PM gave the directive at a meeting with the power secretary, chairman of Wasa, managing director of Dhaka Power Distribution Company [...]  |
| 3 Bangladeshi teachers killed in Saudi road accident Posted: 26 Apr 2009 01:57 PM PDT Three Bangladeshi lecturers of King Khaled University were killed and two others injured in a tragic road accident at Doadmi, 328-km northwest of Riyadh last Friday. A relative of one of the victims told UNB that lecturers Sakil Ahmed Sohel, 27, Dr Akhtaruzzaman Afroz, 24, and his wife Sarzia Sajib, 25, died in the mishap. The [...]  |
| 72 more BDR men shown arrested Posted: 26 Apr 2009 01:56 PM PDT Seventy-two more suspected Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutineers were shown arrested yesterday and 10 of them were placed on a five-day remand each. Meanwhile, a lost BDR pistol was recovered from the Pilkhana quarters of a BDR member. A BDR jawan died of cancer at Narsingdi Sadar Hospital Saturday, says a BDR press release. Criminal Investigation Department (CID), [...] |
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Bangladesh News Updates
Bangladesh News |
| Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:59 PM PDT Bangladesh’s hope of meeting the international deadline to introduce machine-readable passport (MRP) by April, 2010 looks bleak and the authorities are now not even thinking about the 2014 deadline for introducing e-passports. The government’s frequent change of mind has led to delays in launching the MRP project in the past. Shifting of stance of the [...] |
| Anomalies in Dal-Bhat scheme key factor Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:54 PM PDT The jawans punished for irregularities in the BDR’s Operation Dal-Bhat led the vicious killings during the Pilkhana mutiny on February 25-26. However, the bloody revolt could be traced to the grievances nursed for years over alleged discriminations against the border guards, said sources close to the home ministry’s high-powered probe committee and Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The [...] |
| World heritage site left in ruins Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:53 PM PDT Terracotta artefacts at the Paharpur Buddhist Monastery, a world heritage site, are on the verge of ruination due to sheer negligence of the Department of Archaeology. The Monastery, one of the most important archeological sites in South Asia, was declared as a protected site dates back to 1919 during the British colonial rule. Custodian of [...] |
| MPs’ discretionary funds used without rules Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:52 PM PDT Members of the Parliament (MPs) have been spending from their annual discretionary fund totalling around Tk 3 crore each fiscal year since 1992, while guidelines for the spending are yet to be formulated. Legal experts said the rules must be made to give the expenditures legal coverage, otherwise serious questions might be raised about them. [...] |
| Govt reviews Milk Vita probe reports Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:52 PM PDT The government has started reviewing probe reports about alleged embezzlement of a large amount of fund from state-run Milk Vita during the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance government between 2001 and 2006. The reports point fingers at former local government, rural development and cooperatives (LGRD) minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan. “The ministry is reviewing the reports submitted during the immediate-past [...] |
| BCL, JCD partners in ‘admission business’ Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:39 PM PDT Some 330 students failed to take admission into Pabna Edward College this academic year because of illegal ‘admission business’ by some student organisations and a section of teachers. Sources said leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and a section of teachers of the college allegedly took money from the admission seekers [...] |
| 3 injured in gun attack over city slum’s control Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:17 PM PDT At least three people including two local Awami League (AL) and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leaders were injured yesterday as unidentified criminals opened fire on them at the AL office in the city’s Fulbaria Railway Colony centring an internal feud over control of a slum. Wounded Ruhul Amin, 56, joint convener of Ward-56 AL unit, his [...] |
| Ctg chemical complex reopens after 6yrs Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:16 PM PDT Industries Minister Dilip Barua yesterday said the draft industrial policy that the government announces today is aimed at turning Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 when the country will celebrate its golden jubilee. The minister said this while talking to reporters after the inaugural ceremony of reopening of the state-owned Chittagong Chemical Complex (CCC) [...] |
| China’s help sought for rail link with Myanmar Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:16 PM PDT Bangladesh has sought financial and technical assistance from China to expand the country’s railway network up to Gundum in Myanmar from Dohazari in Chittagong via Ramu in Cox’s Bazar to connect it with the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR). The government has already sent a letter to the Chinese government seeking assistance for laying about 130-kilometre railway tracks [...] |
| Posted: 24 Apr 2009 01:10 PM PDT Vessel movement in Chittagong port resumed in full swing from yesterday morning. Sources in Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) said the main channel between Red and Green buoy at the Karnaphuli estuary has been dredged wide. However, for incoming movement of vessels the authority had to wait till yesterday morning as an extra precaution, sources said. Nine [...] Source : www.bangladeshnews.com.bd |
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
News from Bangladesh
Quick energy fix mulled
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:40 AM PDT
Faced with a deep energy crisis due to gas shortage that cannot be overcome overnight, the government considers importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), increasing efficiency of bulk gas users to reduce demands and setting standards to promote energy efficient electrical equipment, says Dr Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister. Besides, to overcome investment [...]
Salary of govt staff likely to double
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:37 AM PDT
The Seventh Pay Commission is going to submit its report with recommendations for increasing salaries of the government staffs by up to 95 percent and allowances for their children’s education. The Pay Commission has already finalised its report and will submit it to the finance minister in a couple of days, sources say. The commission would recommend [...]
BNP to fight it legally; may even boycott JS
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:36 AM PDT
Apart from launching a legal battle and protest programmes, BNP may even boycott the next budget session of parliament if the government does not withdraw its notice asking Khaleda Zia to vacate the cantonment house. The party will observe countrywide demonstrations today. As part of their protest programme, central BNP will hold a protest rally [...]
Outraged by outage
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:35 AM PDT
Several thousand angry residents including workers of Araihazar area yesterday damaged a power sub-station, and attacked a rural power supply office and a police outpost, protesting against repeated long periods of load shedding. The mob also staged violent demonstrations for about six hours putting up barricades on about three kilometres of road, damaging vehicles, and clashing [...]
Agents hailed as heroes
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:34 AM PDT
Ruling Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil yesterday alleged that many ministers in the grand alliance government are “paid agents of DGFI”. Talking exclusively with a few reporters at his Mercantile Bank office in the city, he said, “We were the ones beaten up and tortured but now we are being punished, while those who [...]
AL constitution breached to neutralise Jalil
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:34 AM PDT
Making Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil inactive in running the organisation goes against the party’s constitution. As per the AL’s constitution, its general secretary who is elected at the triennial council is the chief executive officer of the organisation and he/she has a lot of role to play in running the party. But Jalil, [...]
Boro farmers frown as rice prices fall
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:32 AM PDT
Farmers may again suffer huge loss from Boro cultivation because of downtrend in rice price, which comes as a ’stronger blow’ to the peasants who also incurred a huge loss in potato and wheat cultivation in winter season. Rice price, which is now at Tk 16-17 per kg in the major rice producing districts, may go [...]
121 firearms still missing
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:25 AM PDT
Some 121 firearms went missing from the BDR headquarters during the February 25-26 mutiny. The missing firearms include 92 pistols, 17 rifles, five sub-machine guns, three point 22-bore rifles, two shotguns and two single barrel guns. Total number of missing firearms from battalions, units and central stores of the headquarters in Pilkhana after the February 25-26 carnage [...]
Hasina talks worker issue with Saudi FM
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:23 AM PDT
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Conference Palace in Riyadh yesterday and discussed various bilateral issues. Expatriates’ welfare, one of the topics on top of her agenda, is among the issues discussed during the meeting, said officials accompanying her. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu [...]
Source : Bangladesh News
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:40 AM PDT
Faced with a deep energy crisis due to gas shortage that cannot be overcome overnight, the government considers importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), increasing efficiency of bulk gas users to reduce demands and setting standards to promote energy efficient electrical equipment, says Dr Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister. Besides, to overcome investment [...]
Salary of govt staff likely to double
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:37 AM PDT
The Seventh Pay Commission is going to submit its report with recommendations for increasing salaries of the government staffs by up to 95 percent and allowances for their children’s education. The Pay Commission has already finalised its report and will submit it to the finance minister in a couple of days, sources say. The commission would recommend [...]
BNP to fight it legally; may even boycott JS
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:36 AM PDT
Apart from launching a legal battle and protest programmes, BNP may even boycott the next budget session of parliament if the government does not withdraw its notice asking Khaleda Zia to vacate the cantonment house. The party will observe countrywide demonstrations today. As part of their protest programme, central BNP will hold a protest rally [...]
Outraged by outage
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:35 AM PDT
Several thousand angry residents including workers of Araihazar area yesterday damaged a power sub-station, and attacked a rural power supply office and a police outpost, protesting against repeated long periods of load shedding. The mob also staged violent demonstrations for about six hours putting up barricades on about three kilometres of road, damaging vehicles, and clashing [...]
Agents hailed as heroes
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:34 AM PDT
Ruling Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil yesterday alleged that many ministers in the grand alliance government are “paid agents of DGFI”. Talking exclusively with a few reporters at his Mercantile Bank office in the city, he said, “We were the ones beaten up and tortured but now we are being punished, while those who [...]
AL constitution breached to neutralise Jalil
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:34 AM PDT
Making Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil inactive in running the organisation goes against the party’s constitution. As per the AL’s constitution, its general secretary who is elected at the triennial council is the chief executive officer of the organisation and he/she has a lot of role to play in running the party. But Jalil, [...]
Boro farmers frown as rice prices fall
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:32 AM PDT
Farmers may again suffer huge loss from Boro cultivation because of downtrend in rice price, which comes as a ’stronger blow’ to the peasants who also incurred a huge loss in potato and wheat cultivation in winter season. Rice price, which is now at Tk 16-17 per kg in the major rice producing districts, may go [...]
121 firearms still missing
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:25 AM PDT
Some 121 firearms went missing from the BDR headquarters during the February 25-26 mutiny. The missing firearms include 92 pistols, 17 rifles, five sub-machine guns, three point 22-bore rifles, two shotguns and two single barrel guns. Total number of missing firearms from battalions, units and central stores of the headquarters in Pilkhana after the February 25-26 carnage [...]
Hasina talks worker issue with Saudi FM
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 11:23 AM PDT
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Conference Palace in Riyadh yesterday and discussed various bilateral issues. Expatriates’ welfare, one of the topics on top of her agenda, is among the issues discussed during the meeting, said officials accompanying her. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu [...]
Source : Bangladesh News
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Snacks : Local Traditions : Bangladesh
Muŗi
Muŗi (puffed rice) is made by heating sand in a pot, and then throwing in grains of rice. The rice can have been washed in brine to provide seasoning. The rice puffs up and is separated from the sand by a strainer. Muŗi is very popular and is used in a wide variety of secular and religious occasions, or even just munched plain.
A variant of muŗi is khoi, which is flattened puffed rice. Both varieties are used to make many different snack foods.
Jhal-Muŗi
One of the most popular and iconic snack foods of Bengal, jhal literally means 'hot' or 'spicy'. Jhal-muŗi is puffed rice with spices, vegetables and raw mustard oil. Depending on what is added, there are many kinds of jhal-muŗi but the most common is a bhôrta made of chopped onion, jira roasted ground cumin, bitnoon black salt lôngka / morich chilis (either kacha 'ripe' or shukna 'dried'), mustard oil, and dhone pata (fresh coriander leaves).
Moa
A moa is made by taking muri with gur (jaggery) as a binder and forming it into a ball. Another popular kind of moa is Joynagorer moa, a moa particularly made in Joynagor from a district of West Bengal which uses khoi and a sugar-milk-spices mixture as binder.
Sweets of Bangladesh : বাংলাদেশের মিষ্টি
Mishţi (Sweets)
Sweets occupy an important place in the diet of Bengalis and at their social ceremonies. It is an ancient custom among Hindus to distribute sweets during festivities. The confectionery industry has flourished because of its close association with social and religious ceremonies. Competition and changing tastes have helped to create many new sweets, and today this industry has grown within the country as well as all over the world.
The sweets of Bengal are generally made of sweetened cottage cheese (chhena), khoa (reduced solidified milk), or flours of different cereals and pulses. Some important sweets of Bengal are:
Shôndesh
Made from sweetened, finely ground fresh chhena (cheese), shôndesh in all its variants is among the most popular Bengali sweets. The basic shôndesh has been considerably enhanced by the many famous confectioners of Bengal, and now a few hundred different varieties exist, from the simple kachagolla to the complicated abar khabo, jôlbhôra or indrani. Another variant is the kôrapak or hard mixture, which blends rice flour with the paneer to form a shell-like dough that last much longer.
Rôshogolla
Rôshogolla is one of the most widely consumed sweets. The basic version has many regional variations.
Pantua
Pantua is somewhat similar to the rôshogolla, except that the balls are fried in either tel (oil) or ghi (clarified butter) until golden or deep brown before being put in syrup.
Chômchôm
Chômchôm (especially from Porabari, Tangail District in Bangladesh) goes back about 150 years. The modern version of this sweet was inspired by Raja Ramgore of Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh in India. It was then further modernised by his grandson, Matilal Gore. This oval-shaped sweet is reddish brown in colour and it is of a denser texture than the rôshogolla. It can also be preserved longer. Granules of maoa or dried milk can also be sprinkled over chômchôm.
Several varieties of yoghurts such as mishţi doi, custards, and rice pudding (khir or firni) are also popular in both Bangladesh and West Bengal.
Shôndesh, chhanar jilepi, kalo jam, darbesh, raghobshai, paesh, nalengurer shôndesh, shor bhaja, langcha and an innumerable variety are just a few examples of sweets in Bengali cuisine.
Piţha or Pithe
In both Bangladesh and West Bengal, the tradition of making cakes, locally known as piţha, still flourishes. They are usually made from rice or wheat flour mixed with sugar, jaggery, grated coconut etc. Piţhas are usually enjoyed with the sweet syrups of khejurer gur (date tree molasses). They're usually fried or steamed; the most common forms of these cakes include bhapa piţha (steamed), pakan piţha (fried), and puli piţha (dumplings), among others. The other common pithas are chandrapuli, gokul, pati sapta, chitai piţha, muger puli and dudh puli. The Pati Sapta variety is basically a thin-layered rice-flour pancake turnover with a milk-custard creme-filling. In urban areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal most restaurants hold Pitha-festivals sometime during the winter months.
The celebration of the Piţha as a traditional sweet coincides with the Winter Harvest festival in rural Bangladesh and West Bengal. The harvest is known as 'Nabanno' -- (literally 'new sustenance') and calls for not only rare luxuries celebrating food and sweets but also other popular and festive cultural activities like Public Dramas at night and Open Air Dance Performances.
Courses in a daily meal : Bangladesh
The foods of a daily meal are usually simpler, geared to balanced nutrition and makes extensive use of vegetables. The courses progress broadly from lighter to richer and heavier. Rice remains common throughout the meal until the chaţni (chutney) course.
The starting course is a bitter. The bitter changes with the season but common ones are kôrolla (bitter gourd) which is available nearly throughout the year, or tender nim leaves in spring. Bitters are mostly deep fried in oil, or steamed with cubed potatoes. Portions are usually very small - a spoonful or so to be had with rice - and this course is considered to be both a palate-cleanser and of great medicinal value.
Another bittersweet preparation usually eaten in summer, especially in West Bengal, is a soupy mixture of vegetables in a ginger-mustard sauce, called shukto. This usually follows the dry bitters, but sometimes replaces it, and is eaten in much bigger portions. Shukto is a complex dish, a fine balance of many different kinds of tastes and textures and is often a critical measure of a Bengali housewife's abilities in the kitchen. However, shukto is not popular in Bangladesh.
This is followed by shak (leafy vegetables) such as spinach, palong chard, methi fenugreek, or amaranth. The shak can be steamed or cooked in oil with other vegetables such as begun (eggplant). Steamed shak is sometimes accompanied by a sharp paste of mustard and raw mango pulp called Kasundi.
The đal course is usually the most substantial course, especially in West Bengal. It is eaten with a generous portion of rice and a number of accompaniments. In Bangladesh, đal is usually eaten with the fish and meat courses, while in West Bengal it is eaten somewhat beforehand.
A common accompaniment to đal is bhaja (fritters). Bhaja literally means 'deep-fried'; most vegetables are good candidates but begun (aubergines), kumra (pumpkins), or alu (potatoes) are common. Machh bhaja (fried fish) is also common, especially rui (rohu) and ilish (hilsa) fishes. Bhaja is sometimes coated in a beshon (chickpea flour) and posto (poppyseed) batter. A close cousin of bhaja is bôra or deep-fried savoury balls usually made from posto (poppyseed) paste or coconut mince. Another variant is fried pointed gourd as potoler dorma with roe stuffing.
Another accompaniment is a vegetable preparation usually made of multiple vegetables stewed slowly together without any added water. Labra, chorchori, ghonto, or chanchra are all traditional cooking styles. There also are a host of other preparations that do not come under any of these categories and are simply called tôrkari - the word merely means 'vegetable' in Bengali. Sometimes these preparations may have spare pieces of fish such as bits of the head or gills, or spare portions of meat. A charchari is a vegetable dish that is cooked without stirring, just to the point of charring.
The next course is the fish course. Common fish delicacies include *[1]machher jhol, tel koi, pabda machher jhal, Doi machh, Chingri machh (shrimp)[2] malai curry, and bhapa ilish (steamed hilsa)[3].
Then comes the meat course. The divide among the Bengalis of Bangladesh and West Bengal is most evident when it comes to the meat course. Meat is readily consumed in urban parts of Bangladesh and some consider it the meal's main course. Khashi mutton or goat meat is traditionally the meat of choice, especially West Bengal, but murgi chicken and đim eggs[4] are also commonly consumed. At the time of Partition, it was rare for caste Hindus to eat chicken or even eggs from hens, choosing rather, duck eggs if eggs were to be consumed. Although it is debatable as to whether chicken is more popular than khashi in West Bengal today, the proliferation of poulty farms and hatcheries makes chicken the cheaper alternative. Beef is popular in Bangladesh, and has become popular amongst many non-muslims in West Bengal ever since rise of communism.
Next comes the chutney course, which is typically tangy and sweet; the chutney is usually made of am mangoes, tomatoes, anarôsh pineapple, tetul tamarind, pepe papaya, or just a combination of fruits and dry fruits. In Bangladesh, chutney is usually eaten during the đal course and no separate course is dedicated to chutney. Papoŗ(papadum), a type of wafer, thin and flaky, is often made of đal or potatoes or shabu (tapioca) and is a usual accompaniment to the chutneys.
The last item before the sweets is Doi or yoghurt.It is generally of two varieties, either natural flavour and taste or Mishti Doi - sweet yoghurt, typically sweetened with charred sugar. This brings about a brown colour and a distincnt flavour. Like the fish or sweets mishti doi is typically identified with Bengali cuisine.
Pohela Boishakh observing in Bangladesh
Pohela Baishakh celebration in Dhaka
Pôhela Boishakh is the first day of the Bangla Calendar. It is usually celebrated on the 14th of April.Pohela Boishakh marked the start day of the crop season. Usually on Pôhela Boishakh, the home is thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned; people bathe early in the morning and dress in fine clothes. They spend much of the day visiting relatives, friends, and neighbours and going to fair. Fairs are arranged in many parts of the country. Various agricultural products, traditional handicrafts, toys, cosmetics, as well as various kinds of food and sweets are sold at these fairs. The fairs also provide entertainment, with singers, dancers and traditional plays and songs. Horseraces, bullraces, bullfights, cockfights, flying pigeons, boat racing were once popular. All gatherings and fairs consist a wide spread of Bengali food and sweets.
The most colourful new year's day festival takes place in Dhaka. Large numbers of people gather early in the morning under the banyan tree at Ramna Park where Chhayanat artists open the day with Rabindranath Tagore's famous song, Esho, he Boishakh, Esho Esho (Come, Year, Come, Come). A similar ceremony welcoming the new year is also held at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Students and teachers of the institute take out a colourful procession and parade round the campus. Social and cultural organisations celebrate the day with cultural programmes. Newspapers bring out special supplements. There are also special programmes on radio and television.Prior to this day, special discounts on clothes, furniture, electronics and various deals and shopping discounts are available. Special line of sarees, usually cottons, white sarees with red print/embroidery is sold before this day as everyone dresses up for this day. jasmine flowers are also a huge sale for this event which adorns the women's hair.
Handicrafts in Bangladesh
Handicrafts of Bangladesh
Handicrafts and cottage industries play a vital role in sustaining the cultural heritage of Bangladesh. The prominent handicrafts in the early and Middle Ages were textiles, metal works, jewelry, wood works, cane and bamboo works, and clay and pottery. Later, jute and leather became the major raw materials for handicrafts. The most predominant features of Bangladeshi handicrafts are the extensive use of individual skill and the interesting design motifs[1].
Nakshi Kantha (embroidered quilt), a very popular form of handicraft, is said to be indigenous to Bangladesh[2]. The rural women of the country put together pieces of old cloth with crafty stitches to prepare these quilts to be used in the winter. Although kanthas (quilts) are utilitarian objects, the vivid patterns, borders and motifs often turn them into attractive works of art. In recent years the interest in ethnic arts and crafts has encouraged a kantha revival in the country. Many people now use these quilts for decorative purposes only.
Several, Bangladeshi organizations like Aarong and Probortona export handicrafts from Bangladesh to all over the world. These organizations have played an important role in preserving the handicrafts of Bangladesh and increasing their popularity at home and abroad.
Courtesy : Wiki
Music, Dance and Cultures : Bangladesh
Music and dance style of Bangladesh may be divided into three categories, namely, the classical, folk and the modern. The classical style has been influenced by other prevalent classical forms of music and dances of the Indian subcontinent, and accordingly show some influences dance forms like Bharata Natyam and Kuchipudi. The folk and tribal music and dance forms of Bangladesh are of indigenous origin and rooted to the soil of Bangladesh. Several dancing styles in vogue in the north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, like Monipuri and Santal dances, are also practiced in Bangladesh, but Bangladesh has developed its own distinct dancing styles.
Bangladesh has a rich tradition of folk songs, with lyrics rooted into vibrant tradition and spirituality, mysticism and devotion. Such folk songs also revolve round several other themes, including love themes.
Most prevalent of folk songs and music traditions include Bhatiali, Baul, Marfati, Murshidi and Bhawaiya. Lyricists like Lalon Shah, Hason Raja, Kangal Harinath, Romesh Shill, Abbas Uddin and many unknown anonymous lyrists have enriched the tradition of folk songs of Bangladesh.
In relatively modern context, Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul geeti form precious cultural heritage of Bangladesh. In recent time, western influences have given rise to several quality rock bands, particularly in urban centers like Dhaka.
Several musical instruments, some of them of indigenous origin, are used in Bangladesh, and major musical instruments used are bamboo flute (banshi), drums (dole), a single stringed instrument named ektara, a four stringed instrument called dotara, a pair of metal bawls used for rhythm effect called mandira. Currently, several musical instruments of western origin like guitar, drums, and saxophone are also used, sometimes alongside the traditional instruments.
Drama remains popular in Bangladesh, including performances of plays by local playwrights, as well as adaptations from writers of Western origin. Jatra, that is, folk drama, is also a part of culture of Bangladesh. In Jatras, legendary plays of heroism, mythological stories, folktales of love and tragedy, and similar countless themes are enacted in open air theatre, and continue to be a popular form of entertainment, in spite of modern influences.Puppets are usually played with. People Watch television channels like NTV, ATN Bangla, RTV, Banglavision, Channel 1, Ekushey Television and Channel I. Bangladeshis listen to a variety of local and national radio programmes from Bangladesh Betar, as well as four Private FM radio channels (Radio Foorti, ABC Radio, Radio Today, Radio Amar) popularity to the younger generation is growing rapidly at the important cities.
The history of film in Bangladesh started back in 1898. The first made Bangladeshi film is 'Mukh O Mukhush'.
Courtesy : WikiPainting in Bangladesh
There is a rich tradition of modern painting which was pioneered by Zainul Abedin, Kamrul Hassan, Anwarul Haque, Shafiuddin Ahmed and S. M. Sultan. Zainul Abedin earned international fame for his sketches on famine of 1943 in Bangladesh. Other famous artists of Bangladesh are Abdur Razzak, Qayyum Chowdhury, Murtaza Baseer, Aminul Islam, Debdas Chakraborty, Kazi Abdul Baset, Syed Jahangir, and Mohammad Kibria
Infant Care in Bangladesh
Most women give birth in their natal households, to which they return when childbirth is near. A husband is sent a message when the child is born. Five or seven days after the birth the husband and his close male relatives visit the newborn, and a feast and ritual haircutting take place. The newborn is given an amulet that is tied around the waist, its eye sockets may be blackened with soot or makeup, and a small soot mark is applied to the infant's forehead and the sole of the foot for protection against spirits. Newborns and infants are seldom left unattended. Most infants are in constant contact with their mothers, other women, or the daughters in the household. Since almost all women breastfeed, infant and mother sleep within close reach. Infants' needs are attended to constantly; a crying baby is given attention immediately.
Social Problems in Bangladesh
Legal procedures are based on the English common-law system, and supreme court justices and lower-level judges are appointed by the president. District courts at the district capitals are the closest formal venues for legal proceedings arising from local disputes. There are police forces only in the cities and towns. When there is a severe conflict or crime in rural areas, it may take days for the police to arrive.
In rural areas, a great deal of social control takes place informally. When a criminal is caught, justice may be apportioned locally. In the case of minor theft, a thief may be beaten by a crowd. In serious disputes between families, heads of the involved kinship groups or local political leaders negotiate and the offending party is required to make restitution in money and/or land. Police may be paid to ensure that they do not investigate. Nonviolent disputes over property or rights may be decided through village councils (panchayat) headed by the most respected heads of the strongest kinship groups. When mediation or negotiation fails, the police may be called in and formal legal proceedings may begin. People do not conceive of the informal procedures as taking the law into their own hands.
Land Tenure and Property system in Bangladesh
With a population density of more than two thousand per square mile, land tenure and property rights are critical aspects of survival. The average farm owner has less than three acres of land divided into a number of small plots scattered in different directions from the household. Property is sold only in cases of family emergency, since agricultural land is the primary means of survival. Ordinarily, among Muslims land is inherited equally by a household head's sons, despite Islamic laws that specify shares for daughters and wives. Among Hindu farmers inheritance practices are similar. When agricultural land is partitioned, each plot is divided among a man's sons, ensuring that each one has a geographically dispersed holding. The only sections of rural areas that are not privately owned are rivers and paths.
Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions : Bangladesh Review
At weddings and on important holidays, food plays an important role. At holiday or formal functions, guests are encouraged to eat to their capacity. At weddings, a common food is biryani, a rice dish with lamb or beef and a blend of spices, particularly saffron. On special occasions, the rice used is one of the finer, thinner-grained types. If biryani is not eaten, a complete multicourse meal is served: foods are brought out sequentially and added to one's rice bowl after the previous course is finished. A complete dinner may include chicken, fish, vegetable, goat, or beef curries and dal. The final bit of rice is finished with yogurt (doi).
On other important occasions, such as the Eid holidays, a goat or cow is slaughtered on the premises and curries are prepared from the fresh meat. Some of the meat is given to relatives and to the poor.
Daily Food in Bangladesh : Life Style
Food in Daily Life. Rice and fish are the foundation of the diet; a day without a meal with rice is nearly inconceivable. Fish, meats, poultry, and vegetables are cooked in spicy curry (torkari) sauces that incorporate cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, and other spices. Muslims do not consume pork and Hindus do not consume beef. Increasingly common is the preparation of ruti, a whole wheat circular flatbread, in the morning, which is eaten with curries from the night before. Also important to the diet is dal, a thin soup based on ground lentils, chickpeas, or other legumes that is poured over rice. A sweet homemade yogurt commonly finishes a meal. A typical meal consists of a large bowl of rice to which is added small portions of fish and vegetable curries. Breakfast is the meal that varies the most, being rice- or bread-based. A favorite breakfast dish is panthabhat, leftover cold rice in water or milk mixed with gur (date palm sugar). Food is eaten with the right hand by mixing the curry into the rice and then gathering portions with the fingertips. In city restaurants that cater to foreigners, people may use silverware.
Three meals are consumed daily. Water is the most common beverage. Before the meal, the right hand is washed with water above the eating bowl. With the clean knuckles of the right hand the interior of the bowl is rubbed, the water is discarded, and the bowl is filled with food. After the meal, one washes the right hand again, holding it over the emptied bowl.
Snacks include fruits such as banana, mango, and jackfruit, as well as puffed rice and small fried food items. For many men, especially in urbanized regions and bazaars, no day is complete without a cup of sweet tea with milk at a small tea stall, sometimes accompanied by confections.
Languages in Bangladesh
The primary language is Bangla, called Bengali by most nonnatives, an Indo-European language spoken not just by Bangladeshis, but also by people who are culturally Bengali. This includes about 300 million people from Bangladesh, West Bengal, and Bihar, as well as Bengali speakers in other Indian states. The language dates from well before the birth of Christ. Bangla varies by region, and people may not understand the language of a person from another district. However, differences in dialect consist primarily of slight differences in accent or pronunciation and minor grammatical usages.
Language differences mirror social and religious divisions. Bangla is divided into two fairly distinct forms: sadhu basha, learned or formal language, and cholit basha, common language. Sadhu basha is the language of the literate tradition, formal essays and poetry, and the well educated. Cholit basha is the spoken vernacular, the language of the great majority of Bengalis. Cholit basha is the medium by which the great majority of people communicate in a country in which 50 percent of men and 26 percent of women are literate. There are also small usage variations between Muslims and Hindus, along with minor vocabulary differences.
Symbolism. The most important symbol of national identity is the Bangla language. The flag is a dark green rectangle with a red circle just left of center. Green symbolizes the trees and fields of the countryside; red represents the rising sun and the blood spilled in the 1971 war for liberation. The national anthem was taken from a poem by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and links a love of the natural realm and land with the national identity.
Language differences mirror social and religious divisions. Bangla is divided into two fairly distinct forms: sadhu basha, learned or formal language, and cholit basha, common language. Sadhu basha is the language of the literate tradition, formal essays and poetry, and the well educated. Cholit basha is the spoken vernacular, the language of the great majority of Bengalis. Cholit basha is the medium by which the great majority of people communicate in a country in which 50 percent of men and 26 percent of women are literate. There are also small usage variations between Muslims and Hindus, along with minor vocabulary differences.
Symbolism. The most important symbol of national identity is the Bangla language. The flag is a dark green rectangle with a red circle just left of center. Green symbolizes the trees and fields of the countryside; red represents the rising sun and the blood spilled in the 1971 war for liberation. The national anthem was taken from a poem by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and links a love of the natural realm and land with the national identity.
Demography of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the most densely populated non island nation in the world. With approximately 125 million inhabitants living in an area of 55,813 square miles, there are about 2,240 persons per square mile. The majority of the population (98 percent) is Bengali, with 2 percent belonging to tribal or other non-Bengali groups. Approximately 83 percent of the population is Muslim, 16 percent is Hindu, and 1 percent is Buddhist, Christian, or other. Annual population growth rate is at about 2 percent.
Infant mortality is approximately seventy-five per one thousand live births. Life expectancy for both men and women is fifty-eight years, yet the sex ratios for cohorts above sixty years of age are skewed toward males. Girls between one and four years of age are almost twice as likely as boys to die.
In the early 1980s the annual rate of population increase was above 2.5 percent, but in the late 1990s it decreased to 1.9 percent. The success of population control may be due to the demographic transition (decreasing birth and death rates), decreasing farm sizes, increasing urbanization, and national campaigns to control fertility (funded largely by other nations).
Infant mortality is approximately seventy-five per one thousand live births. Life expectancy for both men and women is fifty-eight years, yet the sex ratios for cohorts above sixty years of age are skewed toward males. Girls between one and four years of age are almost twice as likely as boys to die.
In the early 1980s the annual rate of population increase was above 2.5 percent, but in the late 1990s it decreased to 1.9 percent. The success of population control may be due to the demographic transition (decreasing birth and death rates), decreasing farm sizes, increasing urbanization, and national campaigns to control fertility (funded largely by other nations).
Geography of Bangladesh
Bangladesh straddles the Bay of Bengal in south Asia. To the west and north it is bounded by India; to the southeast, it borders Myanmar. The topography is predominantly a low-lying floodplain. About half the total area is actively deltaic and is prone to flooding in the monsoon season from May through September. The Ganges/Padma River flows into the country from the northwest, while the Brahmaputra/ Jamuna enters from the north. The capital city, Dhaka, is near the point where those river systems meet. The land is suitable for rice cultivation.
In the north and the southeast the land is more hilly and dry, and tea is grown. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have extensive hardwood forests. The vast river delta area is home to the dominant plains culture. The hilly areas of the northeast and southeast are occupied by much smaller tribal groups, many of which have strongly resisted domination by the national government and the population pressure from Bangladeshis who move into and attempt to settle in their traditional areas. In 1998 an accord was reached between the armed tribal group Shanti Bahini and the government.
In the north and the southeast the land is more hilly and dry, and tea is grown. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have extensive hardwood forests. The vast river delta area is home to the dominant plains culture. The hilly areas of the northeast and southeast are occupied by much smaller tribal groups, many of which have strongly resisted domination by the national government and the population pressure from Bangladeshis who move into and attempt to settle in their traditional areas. In 1998 an accord was reached between the armed tribal group Shanti Bahini and the government.
Bangladesh our Identity
CULTURE NAME
Bangladeshi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Bengali
ORIENTATION
Identification. "Bangladesh" is a combination of the Bengali words, Bangla and Desh, meaning the country or land where the Bangla language is spoken. The country formerly was known as East Pakistan.
Bangladeshi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Bengali
ORIENTATION
Identification. "Bangladesh" is a combination of the Bengali words, Bangla and Desh, meaning the country or land where the Bangla language is spoken. The country formerly was known as East Pakistan.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Primary School Result : 2008 : Bangladesh
You will get here all the results of Primary School Scholarship Results in Bangladesh.
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