Weekend 150 0

6 Shaatkahon Rongila Mela

12 #100daysofhappiness

16 search for happiness | vo l 1 I ssu e 50 | F R I D AY, A PR I L 11, 2014

CONTENTS

1

A Weekly Pro ducti on of

DhakaTribune

Issue 50 | April 11, 2014

Editor Zafar Sobhan Magazines Editor Sabrina Fatma Ahmad Assistant Magazine Editor Rumana Habib Weekend Tribune Team Esha Aurora Promiti Prova Chowdhury Faisal Mahmud Shah Nahian Syeda Samira Sadeque Adil Sakhawat James Saville Farhana Urmee Art Direction/Photography Syed Latif Hossain Cartoons Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy Priyo Rio Shuvo

6 Culture

Joler Gaan: A musical tale

2 This Week 3 Say What?

Contributors Tasnuva Amin Nova Jennifer Ashraf Kashmi Tausif Sanzum Dina Sobhan

Features

6 Feature Shaatkahon Rongila Mela 8 Feature Democratic Baishakh 16 Wellness Positive Psychology 18 Focus Measuring Happiness 19 Zeitgeist Facebook Faux Friendships 20 Culture The Sound of Nature 23 Media TV Violence 25 Standpoint Redefining Bangali

Design Sabiha Mahmud Sumi Mohammad Mahbub Alam Colour Specialist Shekhar Mondal Kazi Syras Al Mahmood Production MasumBillah

Happiness

Advertising Shahidan Khurshed

Regulars

Circulation Wahid Murad Website dhakatribune.com/weekend facebook.com/WeekendTrib Email your letters to: weekend@dhakatribune.com

Editor’s note

News

12

We’re putting the “shubho” back in “shubho nobo borsho.”

With Pahela Baishakh just around the corner, we prepare to close the ledger on 1420 and open a new book.

Celebrate “The Simple Pleasures of Baishakh (pg 8-9)” with everyday people, and make sure you check off everthing on our “Essential Baishakh” list (pg 5).Listen to “Joler Gaan: A Musical Tale,” (pg 20-21) or visit about the handicraft fair inspired after “Weaving seven tales of Bangladesh” (pg 6-7) and the “Top 10 Unconventional Festivals” (pg 10).

Kick off the Bangla New Year on a positive note, with “The search for happiness” (pg 16-17). “What

Photo Story #100daysofhappiness

does happiness mean to you?”(pg 12-15), we asked the contributors for our photo story. And we measure, “Exactly How Happy Will Your New Year Be?” (pg 20).

For the pessimists out there, we aren’t happy about everything, like “The Crime Patrol Effect” (pg 23) and “Is the harassment law too strict, or not strict enough?” (pg 11).

Happiness is easier wished for than achieved especially in the information age “Facebook: The Anti-Social Network” (pg 19), in our culture, “Are you Happy?” (pg 25).

With so many choices these days, only “Freedom ≠happiness” (pg 28) anymore.

5 Listology Essential Baishakh 10 Top Ten Odd Celebrations 11 Post-Riposte 22 Legalese 24 Tough Love 28 Last Word After Freedom

Extra

About the cover

26 Stay In 27 Go Out

| vo l 1 Issu e 50 | FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014

The sight of children playing, joyful despite their poverty, is a warm reminder that happiness can be found wherever we look for it.

Cover by Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy

WE E K E N D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, A PR I L 1 1 , 2 0 1 4

2 THIS WEEK

Time for

change

Afghan women queue outside a school to vote in presidential elections in the northwestern city of Herat on Sunday.

Afghan voters went to the polls to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, braving Taliban threats in a landmark election held as US-led forces wind down their long intervention in the country. [AFP]

India’s big daY Rapist gets death sentence in India Double gang-rape convict Vijay Mohan Jadhav is pictured in a police van before taken to court in Mumbai last Friday.

A Mumbai court on Friday handed down the first death sentences for multiple rapes in India since the law was toughened last year following national outrage over the treatment of women. [AFP]

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, AP R I L 1 1, 2014

Polling officials seal an electronic voting machine at the end of voting at a polling station in Guijan in Tinsukia district in the northeastern Indian state of Assam on Monday. Indians start voting in the world’s biggest ever

election next Monday, with a Hindu nationalist opposition party that has promised economic rejuvenation and jobs tipped to emerge as the clear leader but likely to fall short of an absolute majority.

[REUTERS]

3

UN has to cut Syria food rations for lack of donor funds

New “pings” best lead yet for MH370 People place candles on a banner reading, "Pray for MH370" after a special prayer for passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

According to latest update, an Australian ship searching for the missing jetliner has picked up signals consistent with the beacons from aircraft black box recorders, in what search officials said on Monday was the most promising lead yet in the

Emergency responders help evacuate a Syrian boy from a residential building reportedly hit by an explosivesfilled barrel dropped by a government forces helicopter in Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday.

The United Nations has been forced to cut the size of food parcels for those left hungry by Syria's civil war by a fifth because of a shortage of funds from donors, a senior official said on Monday.

Nevertheless, the United Nations' World Food Programme managed to get food to a record 4.1 million people inside Syria last

month, WFP Deputy Executive Director Amir Abdulla told a news conference, just short of its target of 4.2 million.

As the humanitarian crisis within Syria intensifies, its neighbours are also groaning under the strain of an exodus of refugees that now totals around 3 million, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said.

Donor countries pledged $2.3bn for aid agencies helping Syria at a conference in Kuwait in January, but only $1.1bn has been received so far, including $250m handed over by Kuwait on Monday, UN officials said.

month-long hunt. The US Navy “towed pinger locator” connected to the Australian ship Ocean Shield picked up the signals in an area some 1,680km northwest of Perth, which analysis of sporadic satellite data has determined as the most likely place Boeing 777 went down.

Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as a cause of the plane's disappearance but say evidence, including loss of communications, suggests it was deliberately diverted.

Crimea’s changed currency

People wait for their turn to enter a local branch of the Russian Sberbank in Simferopol, the Crimean capital, on Monday. The ruble entered force as Crimea's official currency as Russia seized complete control of the peninsula, but businesses were still dealing mainly in the Ukrainian hryvnia. [AFP]

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4 SAY WHAT?

International Pillow Fight Day This photo shows a woman being hit by pillows while people take part in International Pillow Fight Day at Washington Square Park in New York on April 5. According to CNN, the event began in 2008, and this year claimed worldwide participation of more than 80 cities including Berlin, Abu Dhabi, Shanghai and Singapore. The event is part of The Urban Playground Movement that promotes and organises “free, fun, all ages, non-commercial public events.”

[Photo: REUTERS]

War residues Fashion walk

People walk past a giant high heeled shoe in Wellington on Sunday. The large shoes have appeared in the city as part of an advertising ahead of Wellington Fashion Week, which starts later in April.

[Photo: REUTERS]

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This file photo, taken on October 16, 2001 in Runda, shows the son of a Rwandan inmate (allegedly conceived as she was raped while in prison) hiding his face with a part of his mother’s dress while she defends herself in front of residents gathering on a hillside field to attend a Gacaca judgement session, where detainees accused of crimes allegedly committed during the 1994 Genocide will be confronted with members

of the local community.

The Gacaca trials (a grassroots judgment system) were established to confront the growing number of inmates populating the Rwandan prisons, as a vehicle of reconciliation in the country, still torn years after the 1994 Genocide that saw the mass killing of several hundred thousand Tutsi and moderate Hutus at the hand of Hutu extremists.

[Photo: AFP]

Pahela Baishakh | LISTOLOGY

5

Essential Baishakh

Every April 14, Bangali come out in droves to celebrate Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year. Whether you are in Bangladesh or half way around the world, here is a list that is all about how wonderful celebrating Pahela Baishakh really is Esha Aurora

Face painting Ramna botomul

Pantha bhat Charukala parade Love it or hate it, this watery rice is synonymous with Pahela Baishakh.

Ilish machh Revered by Bangalees everywhere, hilsha is the national fish for a reason.

Shada sari, lal paar

What is Pahela Baishakh without a riot of white and red?

Everyone dons either red-bordered white saris or ornate red panjabis.

The procession of beautiful floats one after the other is a must see. Students from the Charukala Fine Arts institution spend months making these for the big day.

Bangles

Your celebration is incomplete without a kolki painted on your face. The parks will be filled with people ready with paintbrushes to draw pretty little motifs on your face or arms.

Kaacha aamer shorbot

You cannot leave the house without the lines of bangle-sellers setting up pop up stores all around town. Buy a few!

Lokkhi pwecha The owl is a good omen for wealth, and every nook and cranny of the country becomes a big canvas for lokkhi pwecha respresentation.

With all this running around in extreme heat, the perfect drink of choice is the juice of raw mangoes. This is the starting of the mango season, and there is no better way to quench your Baishakhi thirst.

If you have not been to this annual event yet, it is a must to do at least once in your life. Listening to the beautiful Tagore songs as the sun comes up spreading the most calming feeling, especially paired with a beautiful walk through the Ramna Park.

Nagordola At fairs, the most sought after attraction is the Nagordola. The small scale, hand operated ferris wheel is the thing childhood memories are made of.

The thrill of being lifted in the air and dropped down again on a rickety wooden structure will leave you with equal parts fear and happiness.

Photos: Syed Zakir Hossain

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6 Feature | Shaatkahon Rongila mela

Weaving seven tales of Bangladesh Farhana Urmee writes about Shaatkahon Rongila Mela,’ a five-day Baishakh festival organised by Jatra, bringing craftsmen from all over the Dhaka division under one roof

J

atra, the local craft-oriented clothing and home decor boutique, inaugurated the fair at its Dhanmondi outlet yesterday. The five-day fair will remain open from 10am-8pm.

The theme is shaatkahon (seven stories), a collection of seven myths and tales about the seven divisions of Bangladesh, helping us learn more about people and traditions from different regions. It is also the story of seven local flowers in seven colours, as well as seven local plants, each with specific significance.

The fair also marks the launch of their new range of Jatra products, designed with the shaatkahon in mind.

Seven stories

The seven classic tales of inspiration are: Behula Laxmindar, Kajolrekha, Hason Raja, Monori Mutshuye, Santhal rebellion, Gunabibi and Bonbibi.

Seven flowers and plants

The seven flowers that feature prominently in the designs are: goloncho, telakucha, sundari, joba, padmo, kolmi and oporajita.

The plant motifs used in the jewellery and accessories are: mango, jackfruit, marijuana, palm, tea and white mountain.

The flowers and plants were selected both for their beauty and their medicinal benefits.

Coincidentally, the design team also consists of seven artists.

Jatra is known most for its dynamic themes, and has in the past celebrated classically Bangladeshi elements such as dehototwa (chakras), rickshaws, gamchhas and tribal culture.

At the mela

• Craftsmen from all across the Dhaka division displaying their handiwork • A quintessential Bangladeshi food festival on the day of Pahela Baishakh • Performances by bands and solo artists such as Bahok, Joler Gaan, Kangalini Sufia, Rob Fakir and Shadhona

Photos: Courtesy

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7

In conversation with Anusheh Anadil Anusheh Anadil, the founder and owner of Jatra, is also a celebrated musician. The inspiration behind all her work, she tells us, is nature. Read what the candid artistentrepreneur had to say about the upcoming mela What is the significance of the fair’s name, Shaatkahon Rongila Mela?

We are focusing on seven divisions of Bangladesh. Each division has its own set of arts, and crafts, stories and history. By highlighting those in our works we made an effort to let people know about the culture and history of the seven zones, and about the country in large.

To be more specific, we are bringing out the stories chapter by chapter. Our seven divisions have seven stories. That is why it is called “shaatkahon” (seven stories) and “rongila” to indicate colour. Jatra is all about loving colours and spreading them into our lives. Thus, the fair has been named Shaakahon Rongila Mela.

What is the highlight of this fair?

We have invited craftsmen from all over the Dhaka division. In the near future, we will invite craftsmen from other districts as well. The presence of the craftsmen is the unique feature of this fair.

Why did you choose these particular flowers?

Through our research we came to know about a number of local flowers. We chose the flowers based on the brightness of their colours and patterns. We have painted those flowers on our clothes, accessories and other decorative pieces. We actually wanted to highlight the vibrant colours. That is what we had in mind when selecting the flowers.

Besides colours and patterns, the herbal benefits of the flowers were also a vital deciding factor.

Nature has all that we need in our lives. We just need to explore it.

These leaves and flowers have the power to heal and keep us healthy. Through endorsing these natural elements in our work, we wanted to acknowledge the blessings of nature.

How did you do your research?

We, the designers’ team, visited different places across the country in search of different

crafts. We videotaped many of the works and their backgrounds.

This firsthand information was extremely useful for our design and production.

We have already covered Dhaka and Sylhet. The work is in progress. We have a plan to release a documentary and a travelogue.

Any particular reason for holding the fair during this time of the year?

Since it is Baishakh and fairs are a signature of the celebration of Pahela Baishakh, we assumed that this would be the best time to uphold the range of local products. We do have plans to arrange such fairs on the occasions of Eid as well. Probably the upcoming chapters would be held during those times.

This time it is only the wellknown stories from the seven districts, but next time we might feature tales that solely carry messages regarding saving the environment. We are doing research on birds of Bangladesh as well, for use in the upcoming chapters.

How did your passion for crafts develop?

I remember I used to paint on the walls when I was a child, and kept asking my parents to have murals other than white paint. I was born in a family that provided an incredible orientation towards creativity and culture, as my father is an architect and my mother is a dance activist.

Although I studied architecture and fine arts in Canada, the ultimate teachings came within my family.

What is your vision for Jatra?

Clearly, to encourage purchasing of local products and pursue foreigners to buy our products.

In the last ten years, we have been able to improve the quality of our work. My biggest driving force was Thai crafts. Whenever I visited Thailand, I became envious seeing the stuff they make inside the country and

export throughout the world. But today, I feel that our crafts are being endorsed at a larger scale.

Again, I never found Bangladesh to be a poor country.

Whenever I visit villages, I am amazed to see how rich our crafts are. But artists are living in a hand to mouth, condition that is discouraging the forthcoming generation to become craftsmen.

In this way, many of our beautiful crafts are dying out. Jatra has attempted a journey into crafts to appreciate the contribution of these craftsmen.

How do you merge the interest of your designers and the local craftsmen?

Actually we work depending on them. Without the craftsmen we cannot do a number of things.

However, the production amount is not that large, as men do the work by hand. However, they are happy this way, and also they do not want massive production scales or large amounts of money.

Through this sort of arrangement we can invite craftsmen directly to the fair and showcase their work to urban customers.

We have plenty of crafts across the country. Bringing simple variations to them can create an international market for them.

Do you wish to expand Jatra?

Of course! We have a dream to reach everywhere. But I really wish that our local products reach the world over and people from all over the world appreciate what we make. Unfortunately we hardly notice our own treasures.

We have plans to collaborate crafts with tourism, which can be the best way to introduce our crafts to the world. We have been planning to collaborate with other houses that work with local products.

Slowly, we are proceeding.

A big chunk of our youth love deshi products, which is a great inspiration to work more and more.

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8 Feature | Democratic Baishakh

The simple pleasures of

Baishakh

T

hese are the ordinary faces that you see everyday around you.

They serve the more privileged community, and each day is a struggle for them.

How are they going to ring in Pahela Baishakh? I asked them.

The common initial response: “Goriber abar Pahela Baishakh ki?” (What New Year celebration is there for the poor?) But when I pressed them a little more, they disclosed their modest but enthusiastic plans for the celebration.

From street hawkers to rag-pickers, everyone is eager to indulge in the upcoming Bangla New Year celebrations Promiti Prova Chowdhury

Chan Mia Rickshaw puller WEEKEN D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, AP R I L 1 1, 2014

Chan Mia finds buying pantailish and different bhortas on Pahela Baishakh to be a “funny luxury” for the rich.

“The wealthy people go to different restaurants and spend Tk1000-3000 for a plateful of bhorta, rice and fish. They have alu bhorta (mashed potato) and begun bhorta (mashed eggplant) with that money,” he laughs out loud.

However, he does plan to buy one small hilsha fish. “I have a family. They do have some little aspirations. So I will buy one ilish a few days before Pahela Baishakh arrives, and preserve it for the day because the price soars really high on the eve of Pahela Baishakh. Since it is the first day of the new year, and a new beginning, I will feed my family with fish,” Chan Mia says.

The 45-year-old man has been a rickshaw puller for the last 35 years. He resides in capital’s Rayerbazar with his wife, who is a garment worker, and with a son who works at a bakery.

He has married off his only daughter.

“When the children were young we all used to go to the fair in our village in Shariatpur.

I used to give them some pocket money to buy sweets. Now they have grown up, and they give me money to help bear the family expense,” reminisces Chan Mia. He says he will charge customers extra on the day, as it is a holiday.

“Eid and Pahela Baishakh are the occasions where we charge passengers more,” he says.

Nasima Bangle seller Forty-eight-year-old Nasima has been hawking for the last 12 years.

With her basketful of colourful glass bangles, she keeps moving from one street corner to another, fearing eviction by the police for illegally occupying the footpath.

However, every year around Pahela Baishakh, her sales shoot up. She chooses spots like Bailey Road, Ramna, Shahbagh and the lakeside area of Dhanmondi Road 32. Particularly in Dhanmondi, she gets a good number of customers, mostly guardians of children going to schools nearby.

“Sales usually gain momentum three or four days prior to Pahela Baishakh.

“Aunties (referring to all female customers regardless of age) love to adorn their hands with lots of colourful bangles. We mix and match colours for them,” says Nasima.

Nasima planned to celebrate the first day of the Bangla New Year on the job. “Every year I get a card (contract) to sell bangles at a particular programme for the whole day. Sometimes it is in Shahbagh, sometimes it is an indoor programme for some

television channel or the army.

This gets me about Tk3000-5000 for the day.”

She said for a churiwali like her, occasions like Independence Day, Language Day and Pahela Baishakh were like lucky charms.

Nasima has four children, all residing in her village home.

She lamented that with her low income of Tk150-200 per day, she might not be able to buy new clothes for herself this year.

But she planned to bKash some money to her four children, aged between five and 14, so they could get some new clothes made.

Nasima finds ways to enjoy the day.

“On Pahela Baishakh, I will go to Shahbagh around 6 in the morning, if I do not get any other card. I will have one full plate of panta (water-soaked rice) and ilish (hilsha fish) worth Tk50, and get on with business for rest of the day. It is nice to see young boys and girls roaming around with smiling faces. The panta has a cooling effect on me for the whole day,” Nasima says.

9

Mosammat Kulsum

Sonia and Eid Mobarak tokai (rag-pickers)

watermelon seller Kulsum is currently selling watermelons at a spot near the lake at Dhanmondi Road 32.

Capitalising on the changing demands of the seasons, she frequently switches up her wares. Sometimes it is bhelpuri, sometimes it is pineapple, sometimes cucumber. This summer, it is watermelon.

“I can make panta-ilish at home.

There is no point in buying it,” says Kulsum.

Kulsum sells each slice of watermelon for Tk10-15.

She has no special plans for herself, and will spend the Pahela

Baishakh like any other day.

However, she is very enthusiastic about her five-year-old daughter coming to the fair and seeing the cultural programmes that usually take place around the lake.

Kulsum has bought a skirt for her daughter.

“I will bring my daughter, and some of my nephews and nieces that day. I will come around eight or nine in the morning and sell watermelons until around 10pm.

I will let the kids roam around and enjoy the programmes,” says Kulsum.

Sonia and Eid Mobarak are siblings who collect recyclable, from dustbins and public places, and then sell them to shops.

When asked how they would spend Pahela Baishakh, they buoyantly answered that they would wake up around 10am and go to the fair arranged near the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial located in Rayerbazar close to their house.

Sonia said: “I will put on lots of makeup and churis [bangles] and go to the fair. I have had a salwar kamiz made that has shades of red and white.”

Her younger brother Eid Mobarak was more excited about the food.

“Our parents might give us Tk20. With that we can have jhalmuri and prawn fry. Our friends will also go. We will have lots of fun!” said Mobarak with a toothy grin. He has been given a new shirt and pants by his parents for the occasion.

Along with studying in class at Apon School in Rayerbazar, they earn Tk100-300 per day by collecting and selling scrap materials.

Rina domestic worker

Twenty year old Rina works as a part-time domestic helper in three houses in the capital’s Mohammadpur area.

The thought of buying special things for Pahela Baishakh seems surreal to her, as she earns only Tk3,500 a month, which is spent paying rent and meeting food expenses.

Pahela Baishakh does not enchant her much, as she is certain that she will not be able to buy anything for herself or even get a holiday. When asked if she would get any clothes from her employers, she said she probably would not.

“It will be like any other day.

But in the evening, I might take my son to Sangsad Bhaban and buy him a packet of biscuits.

Although he might ask for a lot of things, it would not be possible for me to meet those demands,” says Rina.

Photos: Promiti Prova Chowdhury

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10 Top 10 | odd celebrations

Unconventional Festivals Within the next few days, hilsa and panta bhat will be gracing our tables, and saris and panjabis will be the unofficial dress code. This Bangla New Year, take a tour along with Weekend Tribune through ten unconventional, exciting and sometimes shocking festivals from around the world Compiled by Tausif Sanzum

1 Konaki sumo

This is a 400-year-old festival celebrated in temples across Japan, including the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo every April.

Two sumo wrestlers hold two babies and wait for them to cry. The baby who cries first is the winner, and if both start crying at the same time, the louder one wins. A priest acts as the referee/judge.

The Japanese have a saying: “Crying babies grow fast,” and believe that the louder a baby is, the more blessings he or she receives.

El colacho

2

Celebrated in the Spanish village of Castrillo de Murcia, this age-old festival involves men jumping over babies. All the babies born in the previous 12 months are placed on a mattress while the adult men of the village dress as devils and take turns leaping over them. This is said to cleanse the babies of original sin and guard against evil spirits.

3

4

5 Pamplona bull run

Made famous by Ernest Hemingway, and recently featured in the film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, this popular festival involves a dozen bulls being set free to run within a specific area of the town’s street. The bloody part begins when people run along with the bulls.

The only prerequisite to take part in the run is that you have to be above 18 years of age, and sober.

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6

7

8

Goose pulling festival

In many towns in Germany and Netherlands, villagers take part in a very unconventional activity.

A goose is hung from a pole or a wire, and the participants take turns trying to pull off the goose’s head. Until the 19th century they used a live bird, but in the modern times they use a goose that is already dead.

Moose dropping festival

Talkeetna, a small town in Alaska, holds an annual festival which involves dropping moose poop – after the “nuggets” are baked, sprayed with varnish, and numbered – from hot air balloons to try to hit a target.

This is a celebration of the festival of Holi held in the Barsana town in Uttar Pradesh. According to the custom, the men tease the women, and they retaliate by hitting them with sticks.

Women practice for this festival for a month, and mother-in-laws feed their daughter-in-laws with rich food so that they can show their power in the Holi battlefield. All this is done in good spirit.

The monkey buffet festival

Every year in the month of November, the people of Lopburi, a central province of Thailand, lay a buffet of fruits and vegetables for monkeys. This festival has no religious or cultural significance, but is purely to promote tourism.

9 Cheese rolling festival

If you want to see a bunch of people running behind a single piece of cheese, then visit Gloucester, England.

Every year locals chase around four kilograms round of Double Gloucester cheese off the top of Cooper’s Hill with participants running after it.

The person who crosses the finish line first is named the winner, and the cheese is given to him or her as a prize.

La tomatina

Every year around 41,000 kilograms of tomatoes are unloaded in the Spanish town of Buñol, all for a fight.

People throw tomatoes at each other, but it is in good spirit. Once it stops, fire trucks hose down the participants and the streets.

Lath mar holi

10

Burning tar barrel festival

This festival in the town of Devon, England, is staged in honour of Guy Fawkes Night. As soon as the sun sets on November 5, barrels soaked in tar are set on fire and placed on the back of carriers. When the carrier finds it too difficult to carry it anymore, another willing carrier takes over and the process continues.

Ogling the Law | Post-riposte

is the harassment law too strict, Or not Strict enough?

Our writers consider whether section 509 above right of the penal code is justified

11

Section 509 of the Penal Code “Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.”

Yes

A well-intentioned but unenforceable law James Saville Section 354 of the Penal Code, 1860, applies to the physical assault of a woman; Section 75 of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance, 19761, bans the use of indecent language or indecent behaviour in

public places (and Section 76 of the same code relates this specifically to the abuse of women), and Section 10 (Ka) of the Nari-O-Shisho Nirjaton Daman Ain, 2,000 outlaws the touching of a woman’s body for the purpose of sexual gratification.

In light of these other legislations, can such an imprecise and unworkable law as section 509 of the penal code really be justified?

The most laughable bit of section

509 is that the potential offender must be “intending” the woman to see or hear his misbehaviour. This means there is always scope for an offender to argue that the woman was not the intended audience, and thus escape punishment.

But don’t just take it from me, in a 2010 case, the high court ruled that: “Intention to outrage or insult the modesty of any woman used in several sections mentioned above,

particularly in section 509 of the Penal Code, is very vague and almost impossible to prove. Only one reported case in 1957, where the conviction under Section 509 of the Penal Code was upheld by the then Pakistan Supreme Court, proves the inbuilt impediments in those provisions.” This must surely be the final nail in the coffin for this antiquated law.

NO

Are you kidding me?

Tausif Sanzum

You live in a country where people stare at a woman even if she is wearing a burqa. Kids whistle at grown up women as they pass by. A woman has to be more conscious in a crowded bus about her private parts being covered than holding onto the bus hooks to prevent herself from stumbling and tripping. There is a very popular saying: Prevention is better than cure.

If we can eliminate the root cause of any problem, then it would disappear as a whole.

Taking any form of legal action against a cheeky remark, an uncalled for comment, and inappropriate gestures towards a vulnerable gender (in the context of our country) are the last things which anyone should consider as being “too extreme.”

To cut the story short – due to various reasons, a majority of which are related to social stigmas, flaws, and sometimes violent consequences, most women in Bangladesh are unable to stand up against any form of vulgar passes made at them. In such a scenario, Section 509 of the Constitution is a boon for them. Instead of complaining about it being too extreme, we should try and find loopholes in it and make it airtight so that no offensive remark passed towards any women goes unpunished.

Cartoon : Rio Shuvo

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12 PHOTO story | #100daysofhappiness

WHAT DOES HAPPINESS MEAN TO YOU? 100 days of happy is an online hashtag challenge.

We asked our friends and photographers what happiness meant to them and this is our collection. Weekend Tribune has curated some photos to inspire you to take your own #100happydays photos! Get inspired and be happy!

To participate in this challenge, you can upload a photo of yourself, doing something that makes/made you happy, on

Facebook or Instagram, using the hashtag #100happydays.

The challenge is that you need to post a picture everyday for a hundred days.

All you need to do is snap a picture of something that makes you happy and post it – just remember to do it everyday!

Syed Latif Hossain: ‘Valentines day. Love is in the air and you can’t really tell the difference between dancing or walking with your dear one’ Rajib Dhar: ‘Happiness is going home at the end of the day’

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Tjba: ‘Happiness is soaking up the moist glow of morning fog’

13

Oniket Alam: ‘Happiness is taking solace in nature’

Syed Latif Hossain: ‘The young girl was chanting slogans in front of an admiring crowd in Shahbagh; non-stop, until her friend appeared and whispered something in her ear that made her smile. What brought her happiness?’

Syed Latif Hossain: ‘Two days before Eid at the park near farmgate, a family counts its resources at hand for the Eid shopping’

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14 PHOTO story | #100daysofhappiness

Rajib Dhar: ‘Happiness and sadness are two intertwined emotions.

There is always an element of one in the other’

Rajib Dhar: ‘Happiness is having a good harvest’

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Syed Latif Hossain: ‘Happiness is about being free. Happiness is being born every, moment and being a child again and again’

15

Farah Iqbal: ‘Char Chokka Hoi Hoi, Shakib Tamim gelo koi?’

Rajib Dhar: ‘A teenaged fruit seller’s happiness is diving into the river’ Syed Latif Hossain: ‘Some bondage are so worthy. Being chained can be happiness, when it’s with the ones you love’

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16 Wellness | Positive Psychology

Searching for happiness Start the Bangla New Year on a happy note Rumana Habib

H

ave you heard of the institute for Authentic Happiness? Before you roll your eyes, let me add that it lives at an Ivy League school, under the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and is run by respected psychologists and researchers, and helmed by Dr Martin Seligman.

Happiness is a seriously pursued science these days.

A new branch is emerging in the field of psychology, moving away from the disease model – which focuses primarily

on pathologising people and treating mental illness – towards the well-being model which preoccupies itself with the universal, existential yearnings of all mankind.

So are we approaching a new age of enlightenment?

The findings of all these studies sound like old-fashioned homespun adages: Be grateful, find meaningful work, do good unto others.

But now these are backed with data, empirical proofs, systematic ways to “reprogramme our brains,” and the statistical

motivation to do so. They say happy people live an average of nine years longer, mainly because they take better care of their health and feel in control of their lives despite bad situations.

This is not just a first world concern. Bangladesh is still a developing nation, but it is developing fast, and susceptible to the same modern malaise. Now is a good time to reconnect with what we’re doing right (arranged marriages may not be so bad) and remedy what we’re doing wrong (see “Are you happy?” on pg 25).

“I wish everybody could get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer’ Jim Carrey

Photo: Guerilla

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17 Happiness statis “The standard of living has

increased dramatically and happiness has increased not at all,” notes Prof Daniel Kahneman of Princeton University. Around 30% of the US population selfreports as happy, the same percentage that did so in in the early 1900s. Why? Because, they believe, happiness is not achieved externally, but internally. Some people – yes those annoyingly optimistic, extroverted people – are just naturally buoyant and resilient.

Sir Thomas Brown wrote in 1642, “I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity. I am more invulnerable than Achilles; fortune hath not one place to hit me.”

In his TEDtalk titled: “The surprising science of happiness,” Dan Gilbert, a Harvard psychology professor cites a study that measured the happiness of recently afflicted paraplegics and newly-minted lottery winners, and compared the subjects’ own evaluations of their happiness

levels before and one year after their life-changing events. After adjusting to their new situation, they returned to their former levels of happiness.

“We synthesise happiness, but we think happiness is a thing to be found,” Gilbert says. “Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what we make when we don’t get what we wanted.”

He says human beings have a “psychological immune system,’ie a system of largely non-conscious cognitive processes, that help us change our views of the world, so we can feel better about the world in which we find ourselves.

“By the way, the psychological immune system works best when we are totally stuck. This is the difference between dating and marriage, right? I mean, you go out on a date with a guy, and he picks his nose; you don’t go out on another date. You’re married to a guy and he picks his nose?

Yeah, he has a heart of gold.”

This may explain how Bangladesh manages to score surprisingly well on the happiness index. We are nothing if not resilient.

Path to Positivity P ositive Psychotherapy was developed by Dr Tayyab Rashid to treat depressed patients seeking counseling at the University of Pennsylvania. He co-authored a treatment manual with Dr Seligman.

The course of treatment is 14 therapy sessions, accompanied by “homework assignments,” practical steps that they do on their own. The cornerstone of the programme is the blessing journal, where they write 3 things they are grateful for each day, a healthy practice they recommend continuing indefinitely.

All questionnaires are available online for free at www.authentichappiness.org.

• Session 1: Write a one-page (roughly 300 words) “positive introduction,” in which you tell a concrete story showing you at your best and illustrating how you used your highest character strengths.

• Session 2: Complete the VIA questionnaire to identify your character strengths.

• Session 3: Start a “blessings journal,” in which you writes, every night, three good things (big or small) that happened that day. (Starting now and continuing through the entire course of therapy).

• Session 4: Write about feelings of anger and bitterness, and how this feeds depression.

• Session 5: Write a forgiveness letter describing a transgression and related emotions, and pledge to forgive the transgressor (if appropriate), but do not deliver the letter.

• Session 6: Write a gratitude letter to

•

•

•

•

•

• • •

someone you never properly thanked, and deliver it in person.

Session 7: We review the importance of cultivating positive emotions through writing in the blessings journal and the use of character strengths.

Session 8: Review ways to increase “satisficing” and devise a personal “satisficing” plan. “Satisficers” (“This is good enough”) have better well-being than “maximizers” (“I must find the perfect wife, dishwasher, or vacation spot.”).

Session 9: The optimistic style is to see bad events as temporary, changeable, and local. Think of three doors that closed, then consider: What doors have opened?

Session 10: After recognising character strengths of significant other(s), arrange a date that celebrates your character strengths and those of your significant other.

Session 11: Ask family members to take the VIA questionnaire online and then draw a tree that includes the character strengths of all members of the family.

Session 12: Plan pleasurable activities and carry them out as planned.

Session 13: Give the gift of time by doing something that requires a fair amount of time and calls on your character strengths.

Session 14: Recognise that a full life integrates pleasure, engagement, and meaning.

Cartoon : Rio Shuvo

Follow your flow The secret to happiness,

according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is finding flow, the ecstatic experience that can come from meaningful work.

We go into flow when our highest strengths are matched to the challenges that come our way.

You know that feeling you get when you are deeply immersed in something you love to do and time seems to stop?

Csikszentmihalyi’s seminal work began forty years ago, with the study of creative people, as he explained in his TEDTalk.

They were mainly artists and scientists a first. He was “trying to understand what made them feel that it was worth essentially spending their life doing things for which many of them didn’t expect either fame or fortune, but which made their life meaningful.”

Many of them, described a mental state where they felt they had stepped into an alternative reality. It is so intense an experience that it feels almost as if you don’t exist.

Csikszentmihalyi said: “When you are really involved in this completely engaging process of creating something new, you don’t have enough attention left over to monitor how your body feels, or your problems at home.

You don’t even feel that hungry or tired. Your body disappears, and your identity disappears from your consciousness.”

He means this in a good way.

This helps us cope with that old existential crisis. When we find work that is the confluence of what we enjoy and what challenges us, we can be completely in the moment, and be productive, and be engaged in the world.

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18 Focus | measuring happiness

Pahela Baishakh

Exactly how ‘happy’ will your New Year be?

James Saville looks at the challenge of measuring happiness

S

ometimes, when I’m a little bit happy, the sides of my mouth do a strange thing: they curve upwards imperceptibly.

When I’m really happy, this physiological phenomenon becomes extreme and my whole mouth becomes distorted into an unedifying “U” shape.

Very rarely – on occasions of exceptional euphoria – things get out of hand; my mouth drops open to reveal a gaping black hole, and out comes a highpitched giggle.

I hope that my coming year will be happy, and so blessed with many of these moments. Though perhaps the amount of smiling and laughing is not the best metric by which to determine one’s happiness-level.

The issue of exactly what constitutes happiness and how we should analyse it has occupied thinkers for millennia.

But over recent years, there has been a trend towards ever-more scientific methods of measuring happiness; the craze seems to have started in Bhutan.

As everyone knows, Bhutan is the happiest nation on earth.

This is a lie – the truth is that Bhutan was the first country of modern times to come up with statistics for its population’s happiness. They may very well have had better happiness stats than any other country, but then they would if no one else was measuring.

It was, after all, way back in WEEKEN D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, AP R I L 1 1, 2014

1972 that Bhutan’s fourth dragon king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, introduced the concept of “Gross National Happiness,” (GNH); an attempt to measure the population’s quality of life without relying solely on economic indicators like GDP. The idea was then formalised by two Canadians working in Bhutan, Michael and Martha Pennock, who devised a survey to measure GNH. The survey takes 6-7 hours to conduct for each subject, who must answer a raft of multiple-choice questions, such as: “How many people are so close to you that you can count on them if you fall sick,” “During the past few weeks, how often have you felt anger?” and “How far do you agree that you get a sense of accomplishment from what you do?”

Nation states are not the only

Cartoon : Rio Shuvo

ones getting in on the act, the reputable polling company Gallup has been conducting research in more than 130 regions – they say this is the most comprehensive database of subjective well-being in the world.

Gallup’s techniques for measuring well-being were developed with extensive input from Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and psychologist Dr Ed Diener of the University of Illinois, both of whom are pioneers in the field of well-being research.

Crucially the measures include both a broad indicator of life satisfaction and a more objective/”experiencing self” component.

The “experiencing self” questions relate to a more immediate time frame (the past 24 hours), and, in doing so, are less prone to the effects of

The variation in Bangladesh’s ranking speaks to a fundamental problem in trying to quantify happiness

memory and judgment.

One of the most striking results of happiness polls, highlighted by professor Angus Deaton of Princeton University, is that far from establishing well-being as a variable unrelated to economic prosperity there is in fact an extremely strong correlation between a population’s happiness and their nation’s GDP. Perhaps this explains the scepticism that greeted “Happiness: Lessons from a New Science,” a research study from 2005, by Richard Layard, the Co-Director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, which claimed Bangladesh was the happiest country in the world, (other surveys have ranked it 11th and 31st).

The variation in Bangladesh’s ranking speaks to a fundamental problem in trying to quantify happiness: emotions are not facts, but feelings, and what may count as ‘evidence’ of happiness in one person might be totally irrelevant to another.

Speaking to The Guardian, the philosopher Julian Baggini sums up the problem nicely: “It’s not just that welltbeing isn’t rocket science. It isn’t science at all!

Welltbeing is a notion that entails our values about the good life, and questions of values are not ultimately scientific questions … if we can’t specify the things that constitute wellbeing, then measuring it will be misleading, no matter how well you do it.”

Facebook Friendship | Zeitgeist

19

Facebook: the anti-social network?

Shah Nahian

F

acebook monopolised social media in a very short period of time, quickly ousting predecessors Hi5 and Myspace.

This was the one site where you could easily connect with your friends, family, neighbours and even the long-lost classmate you vaguely remember from nursery.

I still remember the first day I created my account. Back then, I used to log in twice a day at most, exchanging pointless wall posts, browsing through photos. With the added feature of the privacy settings, Facebook was the only social media platform where I could openly post my personal information without sharing it with strangers and potential stalkers.

There are a lot of other benefits from having a Facebook account.

It’s not just for staying connected with friends and family anymore.

You can connect with clients for work, start a business, find out about events, promote your products, post ads, etc. In the age where virtually everyone carries a smart phone, hunting for a computer with a working internet connection has become a thing of the past.

However, it’s not all a “win.”

Today, more people at social gatherings are glued to their phone screens, ignoring the fact that it is extremely disrespectful to those around them. By enabling such behaviour, Facebook is, in reality, limiting real life interactions with other people, which often poses threats to relationships and careers, and even, according to troubling research, causes depression. The real world is slowly becoming nothing but a mere photo-op, while cyberspace is where life is actually happening.

Privacy is precious Other than the social issue, there

know posting inappropriately on Facebook can get you fired or in trouble with the law. While the photo of you and your friends doing shots at a party may seem harmless, your boss or a member of your family might not share similar views.

NBC Bay Arena reports of a survey of divorce attorneys from the United States, claiming that Facebook is cited in 20% of all divorces and about 80% are using some kind of social media to make assignations or communicate with lovers.

Den of depression Facebook is (or was?) supposed to

make us feel the warm embrace of our social network. Going through friends’ pages, we are meant to experience connectedness and support. No one joins Facebook to be depressed and lonely. However, a recent study from the University of Michigan argues that is exactly how it makes us feel. (See box for details).

Other studies suggests that increased use of the social networking site is directly related to narcissism, a sense of negativity which leads to resentment, envy, feelings of inadequacy and a significant negative relationship with self-esteem.

Conversely, other studies pointed to favourable results, including a 2010 experiment from

Carnegie Mellon that discovered an overall increased bonding experience and decreased sense of loneliness by those who were engaging in direct interaction with others by posting on walls, messaging, or “liking” posts, while their. But when participants simply consumed a lot of content passively, Facebook had the opposite effect, lowering their feelings of connection and increasing their sense of loneliness.

The age of social media Just like everything else in life,

there is always a balance to maintain. Living in the information age, most of us are incapable of entertaining ourselves without the aid of our gadgets. We have forgotten how to do so. Social media undeniably benefits us in various ways, but spending more time in cyberspace than the real world is bound to create more problems than it solves.

Facebook, though, may just be a part of the problem. Psychologist Timothy Wilson has said: “Getting rid of Facebook wouldn’t change the fact that our attention is, more and more frequently, forgetting the path to proper, fulfilling engagement. And in that sense, Facebook isn’t the problem. It’s the symptom.”

Research: Facebook leads to depression Participants: 82 Duration: 2 weeks Activity: Psychologists sent five text messages to participants everyday, asking: • How their subjects felt overall • How worried and lonely they were • How much they had used Facebook • How often they had direct interaction with others since the previous text message

is a privacy issue as well. We all

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20 CULTURE | THE SOUND OF nature

Joler Gaan

Farhana Urmee drops in on a recording session of Joler Gaan and explores the unique stylings of the band of making authentic Bangla music

a musical tale

I

t starts with sound of waves.

Or the chirping of birds.

Or the kind of sound that is generated when you blow inside an empty bottle or hit empty cups with a spoon.

Wouldn’t you be tuned in to find out what comes next in the song?

If the answer is yes and you are up for Bangla songs, then Joler Gaan is your cup of tea.

The name of the band indicates love for nature. Jol (water) created life on earth, so Joler Gaan refers to the song of life, the song of nature, explains Kanak Aditya, vocalist of the band.

Each song narrates a story.

They are lively, experimented with interesting sounds that are traditionally not found in Bangla songs, and ascribe each song with a particular character. Before performing, the team prefers to decorate the stage with paper flowers, mirrors, plants, clothes etc and synchronise the lights so that the audience can taste the music and consume the stories of each song with all their senses amid a spellbinding ambience.

What places them apart from other bands is their way of interacting with the audience.

There is always a surprise waiting

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, AP R I L 1 1, 2014

for the audience in each song.

The earthy, fluid and lively compositions are delivered the tunes with their own customised instruments.

“We uphold love for nature through our music, not only by customising local instruments, but also by bringing a number of instruments from different parts of the globe that carry ethnicity of the respective communities,” says Aditya.

The first album of the band was recorded and released last year the featured Anusheh Anadil (see her interview on pg 7) as a special appearance. They hope to bring in their next album in the upcoming Bangla New Year where Bari Siddiqui would be featured as the guest artist.

More interestingly, from designing the cover to packaging, all tasks are done by the band members themselves.

“I do not approach any third party for recording. My songs are my babies. I really cannot place them to other hands,” says Rahul Ananda, composer, lyricist and a vocalist of the band.

He firmly believes that he does not need any support from multinational companies as he is

highly against making business through his songs.

“Joler Gaan has set the price for each of its album at Tk35 only, the amount that is spent solely

for stamping and packaging the CDs. I hope we will be able to reduce the price more in future by curbing our production expenses,” adds Ananda.

21

In conversation with Rahul Ananda Why the band is named Joler Gaan?

First of all, it consist two Bangla words that reflect the ideals of the band. Water is fluid and absorbent of all colours. In the same way, we sing our songs from the heart which absorbs the colours of joy and agony, pain and please, love and laughter. Our music represents both the sound and silence of our mind. We sing our hearts out. That is why we are the Joler Gaan.

How do you create your songs?

Each of the songs has a story to tell. They are not mere rhymed verses. They are different states of mind. We all are lonesome or nostalgic at some points, sometimes we are a daydreamer or a passionate lover. We try to picture a scene with simple words

in our songs.

How did you come up with the idea of making your own instruments?

Since me and most of my band members have experience working in theatre, we have learned how to make appropriate sounds and ambience on the stage by using handy and available logistics. Gradually it becomes a habit to turn any noise into melody.

I remember a mate who once had to play flute, but he could not play it well. I did not have the time to teach him, or the option to play it myself. So I made a flute just for him that he could play by learning just the ABCDs of flute.

Since then, it became a passion to develop new instruments, or customise the foreign ones with our local ones, and eventually

RECORDING

In this age of technology, the way in which Joler Gaan produces a song might seem a little lengthy, however, they deliberately take up the time just to keep the essence of authentic Bangla music intact. Let’s have a look how the songs are composed following a few steps: •

Firstly, someone comes up with a lyric that is roughly composed by someone.

•

•

They sing the song among themselves to measure the duration.

Once the duration is fixed, they keep inserting different instruments, sounds and voices and measure the duration again.

A dummy song is created.

After setting the noises the actual vocal is placed over the track and this is their final take.

come up with something that would deliver the sound that we want.

What about having it all acoustic?

Joler Gaan prefers to perform under open sky. We love to stop by anywhere and start performing.

That is why we use instruments that are portable, do not require electric wires and jacks. However, when we have the option to use amplifiers and other electronic means, we are happy to get going with those as well.

How do you design the songs for your album?

First we perform on stage, TV and radio, if the songs are accepted and loved by audience, then we go for recording them for albums.

It is like someone is on a tour and taking pictures of different

•

•

•

Now comes the editing part where the sound effects are added to create the ambience. Unnecessary parts are omitted.

Tt is ready for mastering.

After burning the master CD, it is stamped (the band members refer copying as ‘stamping’) to thousands more copies.

Finally, the packaging and marketing is done.

spots to create a photo album. He cannot get snap of a particular place until he reaches there, right?

The same is applicable for us.

We also make our songs first and sing them before our audience.

Their love and acceptance are the prerequisite for us to go for an album. We have done that for the songs of our first album and are doing the same for the second album as well.

Where do you find your success?

When I see people, particularly the youth, listening to Bangla songs, I feel my job is accomplished.

My job is all about creating Bangla songs. We still have a long way to go to serve our country despite the difficulties that exists around us.

INTRODUCTION TO THE BAND

Rahul Ananda - composer, lyricist, vocalist, flute, mondola Kanak Aditya - vocalist, lyricist, pianist, nayantara Saiful Jarnal - percussionist Rana Sarwar - cajon Sharif - violin Shanjoy - bass, chandraban Shyamol - Bangla dhol

Photos: Bayezid Bin Waheed

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22 Legalese | With Jennifer Ashraf Kashmi Jennifer Ashraf Kashmi is a barrister and solicitor of England and Wales.

She is currently Senior Partner at Legacy Legal Corporate.

Battling the bullies

Cartoon : Rio Shuvo

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, AP R I L 1 1, 2014

Q A

Q.1. My son gets bullied in school regularly by a certain group of kids. We took the complaint to the school a couple of times, but the school has failed to take serious action and the bullying

continues. The bullying is getting worse every day and now my son is afraid to go to school. Can we take legal action against the school for not responding to the bullying complaints adequately?

Dear Reader I’m terribly sorry to hear about your son. Being a victim of the occasional bullying at school (yes, I actually admit that!), owing to my outdated fringe hair cut and Harry Potter glasses (except Potter was actually the most sought after boy in Hogwarts!), I can definitely empathise with your situation. I wish I could provide an easy cut answer to your problem, but I am afraid that is simply not an option at this point.

Laws aimed at the welfare of children in Bangladesh are scarce – up until a few months back, we were still following the Children Act 1974.

This outdated piece of legislation was (thankfully) repealed and a new draft Children Act 2013 has been approved. The new law contains a provision whereby if an individual neglects or leaves a child in an

seriously as the school is deemed to have a general “duty of care” towards the students whilst they are in school. The “duty of care” concept is a well-known phenomenon under the law of tort and recognised strongly in developed countries worldwide.

Unfortunately, the concept of tort law is yet to be properly defined and flourish in Bangladesh. This is a shame as it would have served as a legal umbrella in many such similar situations such as this one.

My advice to you is to approach the school management directly once more – communicate your concerns verbally at first, with a follow up through a letter, thereby establishing a written record.

Ensure that you address everyone on the School Board, concentrating mainly on the primary decision makers – the Principal, VicePrincipal, Academic Director, etc.

Chances are that once this is done, the school management will begin to take this issue quite seriously and have a joint meeting involving you and the other parents of the “bullies.” Nothing instills fear within a child more than a parent being summoned to the Principal’s Office because of the child’s wrongdoing. Additionally, more often than not, parents usually have no idea what their children are up to when they are outside the parents’ range of supervision.

Therefore, such a meeting could prove to ultimately be quite beneficial to you and your son, and can be resolved amicably.

Lastly, I am not the sort of adult who would ever condone bullying or term it as a rite of passage that a child will need to go through in order to “man up.”

Quite frankly, I abhor it. Bullies are cowards at heart and often pick on others to camouflage their own shortcomings. Perhaps this is a crucial bit of information which needs to be imparted to your son, so that he is more aware of the real reason he is being bullied.

Apologies if the advice here seemed more directed towards procedural steps rather than legal options but the reality is that there is a pressing need in Bangladesh for appropriate legislation to be enacted to adequately address such complications and such needs. Perhaps if the Children Act 2013 is further complemented by well drafted rules, this will be a provision which can be included?

Just a thought.

insecure position, it may be deemed to be torture. Such cruelty against a child could very well lead to a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of Tk1lakh, or both. However, practical implementation of this provision in your situation can be a little tricky. It’s hard to identify any one individual as the person who is not adequately looking over your child during school hours to prevent any such bullying.

Schools abroad generally take such issues quite seriously and often assign playground monitors to ensure that any untoward incidents are avoided during break time. Complaints of harassment and bullying are taken quite

Got a problem?

Write to Jennifer at weekend@ dhakatribune.com

TV violence | Media

23

The Crime Patrol effect Are true crime TV shows responsible? Tausif Sanzum

V

ideo games have long been subjected to the criticism that they expose players to violence and corrupt their minds.

An emerging TV trend may be having the same effect. True crime series that portray “real acts of crime and violence” have been gaining popularity in the last 3-4 years.

Who can forget “India’s Most Wanted,” the classic series from the 90s, whose host was later accused of his wife’s murder case?

The Indian crime-based episodic television show “Crime Patrol” is often a subject of discussion among the audience in Bangladesh. The show unravels real crime stories that, in many cases, have shaken entire societies in India. It exposes the audience to various heinous criminal acts that exist in both the rural and urban worlds.

The success of this “game changing” series has launched an entire genre. A number of variations of the show have sprouted up in India and Bangladesh, leading to major implications on society, both positive and negative. I call this trend the “Crime Patrol effect.”

I do not deny that these types of series have raised awareness among viewers. A female audience member of Crime Patrol says she no longer feels safe living in this society, where at every step, her life or “honour” is posed to danger. People are being given a reality check about their personal safety, and thus becoming more aware.

A how-to for criminals Critics argue that there may be

some serious flaws with these series.

The incidents are depicted in a very detailed manner, which may be putting detrimental information into the wrong hands.

For example, for a criminal case that deals with adolescents who smoke weed, the episode gives a very visual depiction of how these kids get the weed, how they access it from cheaper sources in case they don’t have money, or how they smoke the weed secretly with their peers.

The series-makers might claim

Cartoon: Rio Shuvo

that they want to give a very real-life depiction of each and every incident. But it cannot be ignored that young kids also view these shows and can get ideas of how and where to access contraband goods. While shows aren’t explicitly promoting such behavior, it is quite easy for these young minds to get derailed into the wrong path.

The recent Sonali Bank robbery incident drew comparisons of the robbery to the one shown in the film Shawshank Redemption.

Explicit content Some viewers have also

commented that they these television series are “sexy.”

The amount of implied sex in these series is pretty high. If we look into the evolution of such series, we can see that initially, sex was depicted much more discreetly. With the passage of

time, this has changed and sexual activities are shown very casually.

In the context of our conservative culture, it is important for the show producers to remember that these series are shown on family channels, and should maintain that standard of decency.

Culture of impunity The most important observation from these shows, however, is the failure of the law and order situation in the country. Most episodes show criminals going free due to the lack of evidence, or courts taking a long time to serve justice.

There are two implications of these depictions: criminals are encouraged with the knowledge that they can escape from the judicial system, and victims get discouraged from raising their pleas to the authorities.

We need to believe in the

judicial system of the country in order to be able to take the first step towards getting justice. If this belief dies, it will be very difficult to instigate fear in the minds of criminals and instill faithin citizens that justice shall eventually be served.

So while people are more aware of their safety after watching these shows, we cannot ignore how the shows romanticise the crimes they portray.

Unconventional, complicated combinations of lust and crime makes these shows compelling to watch, but this may have long term hazardous implications on the mindset of society. Since the makers of these crimebased shows are displaying real life incidents, they need to be extra responsible. They must be mindful of the fact that even one of their minute depictions could have a lasting impact upon their audience.

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24 Tough Love | With DIna Sobhan Dina Sobhan is a freelance writer, and cautions readers not to take her ‘advice’ here too seriously!

Q A

I hate anyone going into my room when I’m not there. The thought of it just freaks me out. I lock my door before I go to work, which means it only gets cleaned on weekends. I live in a joint family building.

Each family has its own flat, but nobody locks their front door and they all roam freely from floor to floor. They don’t even knock! Also, my street is quite noisy so I keep the window and curtains shut until late at night when it’s quieter.

Yes, it gets dusty and stuffy in here, but I don’t care. It feels like the lesser of two evils. Tell me the truth. Am I little crazy?

Yes. You are definitely exhibiting the signs of imminent lunacy, and must take steps to curb your peculiar ways before they progress any further.

To value one’s privacy is understandable but to live in squalor just to prevent your sister from borrowing a CD is a bit extreme. I mean, really, how bad could it be? Do you frequently come home to find your overweight, unemployed cousin passed out and drooling on your pillow, surrounded by the crumbs of your no-longer secret Nabisco stash? Do the little hooligans next door sneak in and frolic amidst your undergarments? You could simply try placing a sign on your door that reads NO ANIMALS AND COUSINS ALLOWED. If that is not a suitable deterrent, set up a booby trap above the door – a bucket of paint, perhaps – that will cascade down upon the intruder as they open your door. If all of this sounds a bit ludicrous, it is.

Just let the world continue as it may in your absence.

Barring any unforeseen disasters, your room will remain unharmed even with a few visitors trawling around in there every now and again.

However, the same cannot be said of you if you continue to stew in your own filth for much longer.

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Cartoon : Rio Shuvo

The PRIVACY nut and the skeptic romantic

Q

A

I’m agnostic. I haven’t quite figured out what I believe in: God or gods or spirit or energy.

But I do know I don’t believe in organised religion. My parents are trying to get me married, and since they are religious they keep bringing proposals for nice girls from devout families like ours. I have said I don’t want a wife who wears hijab, and would

prefer someone more liberal and “secular,” but they don’t seem to be taking the hint. I definitely want to raise my children in a non-religious home, and want a partner who understands that.

At what point can I discreetly mention this to the girl? My dream is to find someone who feels the same way.

Congratulations on discovering your beliefs. Now that we’re past that hurdle, clamp down on voicing them to all and sundry and you may just be on your way to adulthood. While it’s grand to be an agnostic, trying to reason that out to your avidly religious family is sheer folly. And telling them that you want a wife who is “secular” is akin to asking to marry a heathen. Why not

just bring home a Russian call girl and tell your parents that she’s carrying their grandchild?

Nobody your parents choose for you will meet your wants; they will inevitably select those they feel are suitable, and the longer her skirt the more desirable she will seem to them. Bite the bullet and tell your parents that you are fully capable of finding your own wife.

Got a problem?

Write to Dina at weekend@ dhakatribune. com

Redefining bangali happiness | Standpoint

Are you happy?

25

Esha Aurora delves into the ‘impossibility’ of happiness in Bangali culture

Photo: Syed Latif Hossain

I

am by no means your typical run of the mill anything. I am not saying that I am special; I am saying that I define things differently. We all do. Growing up in a culture like ours that favours homogenous assimilation like no other, I have always felt like a fish out of the water. People ask me when I will be getting married.

They do not ask me if I am happy – they just assume that I will be if I get married. Because, the obvious goal set for any woman in our society, after all, is to get married to a man and produce heirs for his family. It might be the 21st century in some parts across the world, but here, our socio-political mindset is firmly planted in the middle ages. Regardless of where you come from, everyone is thinking the same thing in the back of their minds.

But what if, by an off change I am happy? What if my goal in life is not to be swept off my feet? What if my priorities do not include the typical barometer that most Bangalis use to judge an individual’s happiness?

Will I forever be pitied for not wanting the things society tells me I should want, if I want to be happy? Oddly enough, happiness is such an indefinable concept, so arbitrary in its meaning to each of us, that we cannot really expect it to mean the same thing for everyone. Ironically, we do! For instance, the driving population around the world is not as slap happy about honking their horns as they are here. That happiness of, to quote Edward Conrad (not his real name), “honking your horn all day long like that’s what runs your car instead of gasoline.”

There is a root cause to all these minor annoyances of daily life: the deeper, more suppressed issues that permeate our psyche. For one, societal norms dictate that in order for an individual to be happy they must pursue a certain GPA, a set number of professions, marry a well-defined ideal, behave at all times within rank and die happy with bouncing grandchildren on knees. Call me crazy but it looks to me like our idea of happiness is firmly based on black and white ideals. We all know that people come in all shapes and

sizes, their wants and needs are vastly different from each other, yet we are not accepting of such differences because of this innate fear of the unknown. I believe that it is greatly caused by the lack of education. Just going to school and passing with flying colours does not make someone educated. It is the critical thinking skills that educates our children – something our education system does not equip them with. We do not think for ourselves, we think with the expected ideas of what we are supposed to think. As a result, people who desire different things either feel repressed or out casted.

Scenario A

People who are deeply repressed in turn tend to repress others because well, let’s face it, sadness, or misery, is as contagious as happiness. According to research

by Rutgers University, many may at times pretend all is well with them, but eventually end up taking out their anger on their loved ones, which may include a spouse, siblings or children.

Children in this scenario are the worst affected ones. When they grow up in a world where abuse is normal, they go on to do the same things in their lives and the cycle continues. Studies show that as a result of experiencing repression, people grow symptoms like panic attacks, low self-esteem, food/drug or alcohol abuse,

phobias, depression and suicidal attempts. We have defined such “impossible” ideas of happiness that not everyone can strive to be that way and, as a result, they become depressed.

Scenario B

The same study from Rutgers University reveals that when people do not feel belonging, or feel like an outcast, more often than not they lose their sense of self-worth. When you create stigma around people, it is likely that they will be made fun of or constantly put down. It is hard to live under such circumstance and not lose yourself completely.

Individual happiness comes from individual meanings of happiness. What is it that makes us feel that life is worth living?

Whether or not you lean towards the thought process of Arthur Schopenhauer who believed in the concept that happiness is moot. Life really goes something like this: “Each life history is a story of suffering, a continuing series of large and small accidents.”

Or something slightly less apocalyptic like the school of thought that sprung from the ancient Greek philosophers, such as, Epicurus, who believed that happiness was a result of living life in moderation, with friends and family where you constantly strive to achieve tranquillity.

Equilibrium if you will. This is

the closet to the modern school of thought about happiness – our constant need to find meaning in our lives, whether from social interactions or from our professional lives.

While our society is rapidly changing in many ways, we are unable to socially adapt as quickly.

So our deep-rooted beliefs that define our modus operandi still remain the same in many cases, especially when it comes to understanding our own needs.

We conform because we are told that it will make us happy. We are forced to believe in impossibly archaic notions of life, because it has worked for our parents and their parents and so on.

Perhaps it has not. Particularly given ours is not a culture where an open dialogue between generations about these issues is common. Moreover, we are taught not to question the status quo, so we do not. Happiness is such a deep personal motivation that it cannot be dictated by social norms or beliefs. Yet we continually look outside ourselves to define it for us. The best that you can do is amassing some faith in yourself, figure out if you are going to sync or swim and stick to it. Just because everyone is jumping off the cliff does not mean you have to, unless of course, it makes you happy.

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26 Stay in | Throne of Happiness

24hoursofhappy.com

Tasnuva Amin Nova

T

he whole world is dancing to Pharrell Williams’ song Happy, a online viral sensation.

A modest Youtube search with the words “Pharell Williams happy” will take you to a world full of happiness, literally. Ordinary people from all over the globe – such as India, Slovenia, Croatia, South Africa, Austria, and Turkey– tap their feet to this tune from the Despicable Me II. And Bangaldesh will not be left out for long.

The Project, a platform for youth focusing on creative and

Sudoku

performing arts, is making a video of Bangladesh’s own. This 4 minute video clip was shot in various places around the Dhaka including New Market, Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Bailey Road, Radio Shadhin’s headquarter, and Banani Bazar. It features a group of 20-30 Dhaka residents grooving to “Happy.” You can also catch glimpses of Bass Baba, Wasifa Nazreen, Arbovirus, Nemesis, Blunderware, and Circus Police in cameo appearances.

Although the exact launch date of this video was supposed to be a secret, Fahad Zaman of The Project has confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune

Use the numbers 1-9 to complete each of the 3x3 square grids such that each horizontal and vertical line also contains all of the digits from 1-9

Last week’s sudoku solutions

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, AP R I L 1 1, 2014

that we can enjoy Dhaka’s dance of happiness sometime towards the end of next week.

It is yet to be revealed whether this performance will be a part of Pharrell Williams’ website, 24hoursofhappiness.com. The world’s first 24-hour music video was launched on March 20, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, marking the International Day of Happiness.

In the meantime, as they say, happiness is contagious. So clap along, if you’re happy!

Game of Thrones Shah Nahian

The long-awaited new season of new Game of Thrones is here.

Last Sunday’s season premiere of the fantasy-drama series was HBO’s most watched show since the Sopranos finale.

Game of Thrones is a based on Gorge RR Martin’s international bestselling novel series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

The show is best known for being unpredictable, and infamous for killing off important characters. Martin explained: “We’ve all seen the movies where the hero is in trouble – he’s surrounded by 20 people, but you know he’s going to get away ‘cause he’s the hero. You don’t really feel any fear for him. I want my readers, and I want the viewers to be afraid when my characters are in danger. I want them to be afraid to turn the next page because the next character may not survive it.”

It does an extremely good job at wheeling the viewers into the mythical world of Westeros. The addictive programme will keep you on your toes for all the right reasons.

If you’re unfamiliar with the series, with three previous seasons available online, you can have a perfectly fun weekend by staying in and catching up.

New episodes will air in the US every Sunday until June 15.

Each will be available online

by Monday afternoon (local time) from various torrent and streaming sites.

Valar morgulis.

A Taste of Jazz | Go out

27

Dhaka Blues Fest 2014 When: April 11, 11am-9:30pm Where: The Russian Embassy, House 9, Road 79, Gulshan 2

Weekly Planner

The Dhaka Blues Society presents the very first Annual Dhaka Blues Fest today, in association with Embassy of the Russian Federation.

The Dhaka Blues Society started in 2012, to introduce and spread the blues genre among music lovers in Bangladesh.

Musicians performing at the festival include: Mahaan (acoustic guitar), The A Train, Pashan-Bedi, Circus Police, The Blues Brothers’

Project, Monoshoroni, 42, Aronno, Pandu, Bogey & Friends in the platform.

Also performing are the Dhaka Blues Society All Stars, featuring: Mac Haque, Nakib Khan, Pilu Khan, Rezaur Rahman, Jahan (Black) and Faisal (Metalmaze).

Tickets are available for Tk200 at Cuppa Coffee in Gulshan and Live Kitchen in Banani.

Taste of Dhaka When: April 11-14 Where: Krira Chakra Field, Kalabagan

Want to indulge yourself in delicious biriyani, morog pulau, tehari, chap, faluda and other Mughal delicacies?

This four-day long festival brings together many of these popular delicacies found in the older part of the capital.

About 50 renowned food shops and restaurants will participate, including Star, Haji’s Biriani, Café Corner, Nanna’s Morog Polau,

Shomsherer Bhuna Khichuri, Haji’r Makhon Tehari, Mustakim Chap, Bakorkhani, Beauty Lachchhi and Baro Baper Polay Khay.

The fair is jointly organised by Dhaka Kendra and Spellbound, in collaboration with City Group. the Bangladesh Tourism Board, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, is the official partner of the event.

April 10-April 24 Death Trap by Abir Abdullah photography exhibition When 3pm-9pm (weekdays) 9pm-12pm and 5pm-8pm (weekends) Where Alliance Française de Dhaka What The show features 33 photographs documenting fires in slums, factories and other establishments around Dhaka.

April 11 Serenading Suchitra art exhibition When 12pm-8pm Where Shilpangan Gallery, Dhanmondi What A collection of artwork by 28 painters is presented to observe the birthday of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Open Day Music Workshop When 4pm-10pm Where DJ Don Donadoni’s studio, Uttara What Border Movement, featuring musician and DJ Don Donadoni, will show you how electronic music works.

April 12 War and Colonies lecture and exhibition When 5pm Where Red Shift Coffee Lounge, Gulshan What Scholarly paper presentation on World War I, and inauguration of the travelling photo exhibition War and Colonies 1914-1918.

April 15 Photography Exhibition by Thomas Meyer- Exile in Calcutta When 3pm-8pm Where Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi What A series of 23 portraits of inhabitants of Kolkata, who are originally from Bangladesh, speaking about their homeland.

Send us your events at weekend@dhakatribune.com

APRIL

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WE E K E N D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, A PR I L 1 1 , 2 0 1 4

28 Last word | After freedom

≠ happiness Freedom

“

At first, I was ecstatic. But soon I realised that freedom alone didn’t make me happy. In fact, now that I finally had so many more options to choose from, it just made me ten miles more confused.

That’s the thing about freedom.

We get so engulfed in our right to it, our fight for it, that we forget to think about what’s the next step after we gain or win our freedom.

“What would you do if you had all the freedom in the world?”

The fact that once this question is asked, most people tend to take a long time to answer, ecstatic with their sudden hypothetical moment of freedom to do anything and everything, itself is testament to how we, as humans, are confused about our freedom, unsure of its implications.

Today, on many levels, we are free. But has this freedom given us the happiness, satisfaction we strived for in our fight to get the freedom? Not quite.

This is seen as much in politics as in our personal lives. Take Egypt for example. Within two

Freedom doesn’t mean much if we don’t know what to do with it

“

WEEKEN D TR I BU N E F R I DAY, AP R I L 1 1, 2014

“

The Arab Spring was ... supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel, not the entrance to another tunnel of darkness

years, it faced more than one revolution. A product of the “Arab Spring,” it is now in the aftermath of its second revolution and that too in a heavily polarised state. Within no time of coming to power, the army-backed government conveniently gave death sentences to 529 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, 400 of them in absentia. As pointed out in an Al Jazeera op-ed by Toby Cadman: “The Arab Spring did not start in Egypt, but it is clear that it has ended here.”

The Arab Spring was a symbol of peace and freedom, an end of years of unjust ruling by unjust leaders. It was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel, not the entrance to another tunnel of darkness.

Yet, at least in case of Egypt, the more we look, the more we see how it was the fight for freedom itself that took centre stage.

Both the Muslim Brotherhood (which was elected democratically after the uprising that ousted the Mubarak regime) and the Sisi government (which came into power after a coup apparently supported by the revolutionaries in Egypt) have failed to cope with the freedom that they earned, having shed so much blood for it.

In this fight, in this cry for

“

I

recently moved back home after living abroad alone (read: independent, free) for six years. It was a transition I was both excited and nervous about. Excited because I finally got to celebrate Pahela Baishakh, Eid, and homemade halwas and phuchkas all over again. Nervous because I was moving back to live with my family, and I could feel the chains on my movement weighing me down before I could even get past immigration.

I was worried that living in Bangladesh would strip me of my freedoms and sanity, and thus my happiness. I knew I was moving back (in)to the confines of my typical Muslim, Bangladeshi family and wouldn’t have the freedom to do a lot of the things that I could do back in college.

This included things as simple as stayovers at friends’ and/or getting around by myself at night.

How things eventually turned out was a shock to me. Within a few months of moving back, my parents gave me (most of) the freedom I so desperately craved.

Freedom alone cannot give us the happiness we crave Syeda Samira Sadeque

freedom, they forgot that even freedom needs a plan.

At the other end of the spectrum, in our personal sphere, we face a similar confusion.

With wars of our past and developments in our present, we are now more aware of our freedom, our “individual choice.”

We know we are entitled to our freedom, for better or worse.

We use “freedom of speech” to belittle whoever we want. We use “I need my freedom” to shirk responsibilities in personal relationships.

Today’s idea of freedom blurs that line between “can” and “should,” and that may give us momentary satisfaction, or even validation to some extent, but in the long run, isn’t it making us more distanced from each other?

We humans have fought for freedom for centuries. There is nothing new in the fight.

But there is a realisation that has seeped in that wining: freedom does not mean much if we don’t know what to do with it.

Maybe its time for us to realise that freedom is not ultimate happiness, it may only be a means to happiness. It’s only the beginning of the road, from where our journey begins, not the ultimate destination.