HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: zahid@cs.umd.edu (khandaker zahidul a.)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Re: Humayun Ahmed's literature
Date: 25 Jul 92 20:46:32 GMT
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742

In article <24JUL199210431736@zeus.tamu.edu> a0h9342@zeus.tamu.edu (HAQUE, ANISUL) writes:

>On the other hand, Humayun is 
>basically introvert. His characters don't interact with the society much. They 
>live in a world of their own which is loosely attached to our society. His 
>main drawback is that the same characters keep repeating themselves in all 
>his writings. As a writer, he hasn't advanced much since 1969. 

After his set of characters expanded to a fixpoint long ago, he has failed
to add anything new to this set. His recent works show that he is even
having a hard time finding a new plot. While reading one of his recent books
last month, I had the impression that it had nothing new to offer except
the cover page. 

>Once you have 
>read "Neel Dangshan" and "Shankha Neel Karagar", which I think are his best 
       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>works, you have read all his novels. 

Oooops! a name mismatch here!!
I guess you meant "Nandito Noroke". "Neel Dangshan" is one of Syed Shamsur
Rahman's works.

>They are essentially the same.  

IMHO, the only piece among his works that can be considered as a real novel
is "Eishob Dinratri" written in the form of a two-part book.

>
>Regards,
>
>Anisul Haque
>Texas A & M University

peace,

Zahid

-- 

   |||||||
  /  _  _|    
  c-(o)(o)     
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: samaddar@siemens.com (Sumitro Samaddar)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Re: Bangladesh and the Olympics?
Date: 27 Jul 92 18:22:19 GMT
Reply-To: samaddar@siemens.com

kazi@mercury.cis.udel.edu (Zunaid Kazi) writes:

>SWIMMING - Men's 100m Breaststroke - Heats 1
..
>HEAT 1:
..
>NoStart	RAHAM, Mohammed Mukhesur    BAN   Did not start <----- *****
..
>The swimmer is actually Mohammed Mukhlesur Rahim. From what my vague
>recollections can recall he is either from BTMC or Navy. I will put
>my money on Navy. Why is he a no show? Did the Bangladesh team actually
>make it to Barcelone?

I believe Rahim was the flag bearer in the march past on the opening
day ceremonies.

Sumitro
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: kazi@hercules.cis.udel.edu (Zunaid Kazi)
Subject: ATTN: All international students
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 15:26:32 GMT

[Posting on behalf of Famin Ahmed, whose network is down]

***
calling all international students who have recently come to the U.S.!!
TPTB at syracuse university are compiling some sort of booklet for grad
students here on american customs, particularly idiomatic phrases and
profanity which they might come across as t.a.'s . i'm also assuming this
would include behaviour from their primarily american undergrads that may
surprise, shock, or offend them, coming from a different culture. okay y'll,
this is your chance to be heard! think back to your days as a new student
and send me examples of such behaviour/slang/attitudes/whatever that 
struck you the most. only thing is, i must have them by mid-or end of next
week (ie, if today is the 30th, by thursday, latest. sorry, i don't have a
calendar handy). send them to: fahmed@sunrise.syr.edu  ASAP (as soon as
possible. oh and if the acronym at the top puzzled you it stands for The
Powers That Be... :} )
thanks a lot for your help.
hasta,
Famin Ahmed.
****
From: a0h9342@zeus.tamu.edu (HAQUE, ANISUL)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Re: Humayun Ahmed's literature
Date: 27 Jul 92 13:58:00 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <59241@mimsy.umd.edu>, zahid@cs.umd.edu (khandaker zahidul a.) 
writes...
>In article <24JUL199210431736@zeus.tamu.edu> a0h9342@zeus.tamu.edu (HAQUE, 
ANISUL) writes:

>>Once you have 
>>read "Neel Dangshan" and "Shankha Neel Karagar", which I think are his best 
>       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>works, you have read all his novels. 
> 
>Oooops! a name mismatch here!!
>I guess you meant "Nandito Noroke". "Neel Dangshan" is one of Syed Shamsur
>Rahman's works.
 ^^^^^^^

Thanks for the correction.  I was careless. I indeed meant "Nandito Noroke". 
BTW, "Neel Dangshan" is Syed Haque's.


>peace,
> 
>Zahid
> 
>-- 
> 

Regards,

Anisul Haque
Texas A & M University
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: mjkamal@vela.acs.oakland.edu (M.J.Kamal)
Subject: Re: Bangladesh and the Olympics?
Organization: Oakland University Computing Center
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 16:51:16 GMT

In article <1992Jul27.145744.11782@udel.edu> kazi@mercury.cis.udel.edu (Zunaid Kazi) writes:
>
>What I have always dreaded has happened. I am posting a followup to my own
>article. Bangladesh is supposedly at the olympics. This is what I obtained
>from rec.sport.olympics:
>
>
>SWIMMING - Men's 100m Breaststroke - Heats 1
>==============================================
> 
>World Record		1:01.29
>Olympic Record		1:01.65
>
>HEAT 1:
>-------
>1  ZAVOLI, Daniel                   SMR   1:09.65
>2  AL RUMAITHI, Obaid               UAE   1:12.77
>3  HUNG, Foy Gordon                 FIJ   1:13.51
>4  BIN ABID, Mohammed               UAE   1:15.12
>5  ROBERTS, Kenny                   SEY   1:16.52
>NoStart	RAHAM, Mohammed Mukhesur    BAN   Did not start <----- *****
>NoStart	DIOP, Mouhamed              SEN   Did not start
>
>The swimmer is actually Mohammed Mukhlesur Rahim. From what my vague
>recollections can recall he is either from BTMC or Navy. I will put
>my money on Navy. Why is he a no show? Did the Bangladesh team actually
>make it to Barcelone?
>
>>-Zunaid Kazi
>> kazi@cis.udel.edu
>
	Yes they did make it to Barcelona! The TV announcer was saying that
	few minutes ago they had been told that Bdesh won't be able to make it 
	to Barcelona. But there they were, Mukhlesur Rahman/Rahim carrying the
	flag followed by 3/4 others one of which was a women. 

	I think there was a good side to this uncertainty. It didn't take
	very long for the tiny team to pass by, as a result the announcer 
	didn't have the time to say anything besides the fact that they 
	weren't expecting Bdesh team and introducing the athlet. Otherwise
	I'm sure he would say something like "Bangladesh one of the poorest
	nations in the world often the victim of natural calamity.....". He
	did introduce few poor countries by stating that they are one of the
	poorest countries in the world. It was a break for Bangladesh I guess.

	Just my thoughts(noble ones of course!)

M.J.Kamal
From: fahmed@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Famin Ahmed)
Subject: Re: Magical reality in Bengali literature.
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 92 11:11:59 EDT

that was a very interesting article deb. funny thing that you should post 
it now since we've been studying the romantic writers (wordsworth, emerson,
[ :P ], whitman etc) in my 19th century, amer. lit class..... i was especially
interested in how you8 related emerson's ( :P it's obvious that i did not 
enjoy this one) theory of Nature (the optimistic belief that by observing
the beauty of Nature you can rediscover yourself) to bengali poets/writers.
i haven't really read any of these bengali works before (give me a break, 
with MY proficiency in bangla? but then, i could always get mom to help... :} )
just one more thought. i recently wrote a paper about mankind's fear of the
Forest, it being the essence of darkness, unfamiliarity and evil, and how
this is present in our fairy tales through to our "great" literature (king
lear, midsummer night's dream etc.) i know that this belief is somewhat 
present in our fairy tales (it's where the witches live), but can you tell
me (or can anyone tell me) of any instances of canonized bengali literature
that harbour this belief?
hasta,
Famin
From: rais@rainbow.ecn.purdue.edu (Abdur Rais)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Was Nirod C. Choudhuri, now religious ceremonies
Date: 23 Jul 92 04:36:01 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network

In article <1992Jul22.173143.13360@exu.ericsson.se> exuhaak@exu.ericsson.se writes:
>
>Got a little objection about making Durga-puja "dear" to Muslims of Bengal.
>I've spent most of my childhood in north Bangladesh and never saw Muslims
>eagerly waiting for Durga-puja (any puja for that matter) as much as Hindus
>did not aspire to celebrate the month of Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-ul-Adha
>(when slaughtering of cow becomes the norm). 
>
>Please, don't get me wrong, I'm not talking intolerence. I think, we should
>know and recognize our differences and learn to live in harmony with those
>differences. I do respect Durga-puja and the spirit of it. However, as a
>Muslim, that is still a form of idol worship which can hardly be "dear" to me.
>
>With all the respect to other religions. Regards.
>
>ha

Perhaps this objection is purely a personal matter.  Most of my childhood
was spent in Jessore, and I cherish the way my school and family encouraged
me to intermingle with classmates of other religions so that I may learn more
about their religious customs and rituals.  I still remember those trips to
the local temples and churches, which were organized mostly by the teacher who
taught *social studies* those days.  Just as Eid was shared by all, Durga Puja
was also shared by all; perhaps the main difference was between "celebrating"
and "sharing" when it came down to the actual followers.  I still recall how
sad I felt when I saw the drowning of the goddess for the very first time;
I still remember my attempts to explain the significance of Muharram to a
christian classmate.  And this sharing did not end when we moved to Dhaka:
Just before our SSC examination, a bunch of us from the neighborhood went to
the high court to pray for the ensuing exam, and we stopped by Chalk Bazaar on
our way back to watch Durga Puja celebrations.  Respect for other religions
begins with proper knowledge and tolerance for the differences; lest we forget
that most of us are born into some religion - religious identity is not
usually a conscious and deliberate choice.
Abdur
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: a0h9342@zeus.tamu.edu (HAQUE, ANISUL)
Subject: Re: The Joy
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 20:28:00 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.184325.24278@udel.edu>, kazi@bugs.cis.udel.edu (Zunaid 
Kazi) writes...

>In article <168339E87.R0701@vmcms.csuohio.edu> R0701@vmcms.csuohio.edu writes:

>>For your information, as far as I know, Mr. Saidur Rahman Dawn, the fastest
>>runner in Bangladesh, died in a car accident a few years back. 

>I am sure it wasn't Saidur Rahman. 

The name of the sprinter who died in a car accident is Shah Alam. He was the 
fastest man of south asia at that time.

>>HAQUE, CLEVELAND THEKE
>>ALLAH HAFEZ
> 
>- Zunaid Kazi
>  kazi@cis.udel.edu

Regards,

Anisul Haque
Texas A & M University
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: a0h9342@zeus.tamu.edu (HAQUE, ANISUL)
Subject: Re: Humayun Ahmed's literature
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 19:32:00 GMT

In article <27JUL199214235144@vax2.concordia.ca>, debchat@vax2.concordia.ca 
(DEB CHATTERJEE) writes...
>In article <59241@mimsy.umd.edu>, zahid@cs.umd.edu (khandaker zahidul a.) 
>writes...

>>While reading one of his recent books last month, I had the impression that it
>>had nothing new to offer except the cover page. 

>>Zahid

> This is exactly the idea I get about not only Bangladeshi novelists, but also
> about Indian (Calcutta) novels. IMHO, Sunil Ganguly is the only one who still
> remains dynamic and vibrant and contemporary. Sirshendu/ Sanjib have just 
> become fossils. What do you think about these authors ???

The perfect counterpart of Humayun in West Bengal is Shankar. To the list of 
fossils, let's add the name of Shamaresh Majumder. After his famous trilogy, 
of which "Kaal Purush" is a trash, he has become unreadable. I agree with 
your comment about Sunil. I also consider Bimal Kar, though he doesn't write 
much now-a-days, a powerful writer. 

IMO, the contemporary writers of Dhaka are more dynamic than the Calcuttans. 
Although they produce less. 

> - deb chatterjee
>(a good samaritan)

Regards,

Anisul Haque
Texas A & M University
From: kabir@kabir.Eng.Sun.COM (Ihtisham Kabir)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Re: Humayun Ahmed's literature
Date: 28 Jul 1992 16:42:02 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: kabir@kabir.Eng.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: kabir

In article 712292049@dumbo, samaddar@siemens.com (Sumitro Samaddar) writes:
>kabir@kabir.Eng.Sun.COM (Ihtisham Kabir) writes:
>
>>and stories of the supernatural. Anyone who has read the super-
>>natural story about the pregnant woman (the name escapes me
>                                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>again) is unlikely to forget it soon.
>           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>:-) :-)
>

I meant one is unlikely to forget the story itself :-)

It is a really haunting story that bugs me again and again, particularly
now, since my wife is expecting. The story goes something like this: a
pregnant woman sees in her dream that her baby is begging her not to
let "them" kill it once it is born. Eventually she gives birth to a 
hideous monster...  


- Ihtisham Kabir
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: dipen@heawk1.gsfc.nasa.gov ( Dipen Bhattacharya)
Subject: Re: Nirod C. Choudhuri
Organization: Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 17:10:06 GMT

	Following Anindya Banarjee and Anisul Haque I would add that 
	Nirad Chaudhury's is an interesting character. I have read only
	one book by him called "At-to-ghati Bangali", the suicidal Bengali,
	Part I. Nirad Chaudhury explores the socio-cultural evolution of
	the Bengali society after the European contact. His description of
	the pre-British Bengali society (where he digs up Bharat-chandra and 
	Mukunda-das) is striking. For the later period he quotes extensively
	from Bankim, Rabindranath and Sharat-chandra using their works as
	mirror reflections of the changing patterns of the society. His
	knowledge of the Bengali language and culture is impressive (it
	seems people know him mostly as an English pundit). I look forward
	to read Part II of the book where he intends to describe the Bengali
	decline after the renaissance of 19th and early 20th century.

	shubhechha, Dipen
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: kazi@mercury.cis.udel.edu (Zunaid Kazi)
Subject: Ode to Dhaka
Organization: University of Delaware, Newark
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 22:04:32 GMT

[Disclaimer: Dhaka is my FAVOURITE city. I jotted down the first
 three stanzas several years back and intended to continue on
 with the brighter side. Unfortunately, life intervened]

DHAKA

Gray rivers and grayer skies
Grim faces with evil eyes
Smoky smokestacks and sooty walls
Dirty doings in dirtier halls

Broken roads with open holes
Gangster youth with bamboo poles
Smelly garbage in open sight
Poor beggars in hungry plight

Crowded streets and betel leaves
Sidewalk corpse but no-one grieves
Spits that decor the peeling paints
Gulistan muggers and con man saints

....

[From: The Resplendant Isles, Unpublished anthology :), 1982]

-- Zunaid Kazi
   kazi@asel.udel.edu
   302-456-3493

Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: nns3321@tamuts.tamu.edu (Nripendra Nath Sarker)
Subject: homosexuality again
Organization: Texas A&M University, College Station
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 13:37:31 GMT


Now is the time to write on homosexuality (!)

Homosexuality is an out of the way act. Very few people are homosexual
because, perhaps, they do not enjoy any less than a normal 
people enjoy in the way it should be. I don't like/want people
go that unususal way. However if some people choose this as their way
I don't care. There is nothing to be worried about the continuation
of the human race. How many percentage of the world population is
homosexual ? Are they really posing any big threat to human being as
our beloved religions tolling millions of lives every now and then. Think
from time of the religious separation of the united India. I count from 1947.
Creation of Bangladesh again took toll of 3 million people. There are killings
in India between religions. There are even in Pakistan within the same
umbrella. No epidemic, earthquake or any kind of catastrophe could have
taken so many lives as has been taken by only the religious reasons.

We can discuss many big problems. We can discuss some good things too.

SAUGAT (spelling ?) editor Mr. Nasir Uddin is now over 100. He has 
tremendous contribution to the muslim society in the early years of
20th century. He returned  Nazrul's poem (so far I remember) once. It 
is Mr. Nasir Uddin who encouraged muslim women to write something on
paper at a time when muslim women were not allowed that their
hand writing cross the home boundary. This is indeed a very courageous step.
Sofia Kamal wrote in Saugat for the first time.

I am not going to continue on any of the above. However, I may reply to 
any personal email.

Nripen
From: ahmed-shakil@CS.YALE.EDU (Shakil Waiz Ahmed)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Re: Our attitude towards homosexuality
Date: 31 Jul 92 00:14:50 GMT
Organization: Yale University, Department of Computer Science


In article <1992Jul30.232502.27049@tcsi.com>, ali@tcs.com (Ali Ishtiaq) writes:
> In article <1992Jul29.004300.15155@cs.yale.edu>, ahmed-shakil@CS.YALE.EDU (Shakil Waiz Ahmed) writes:
> 
> |> You might want to look at Sura Al Nisa.  Check out 4:16.

> I am very curious to know that Sura Al Nisa says about homosexuality. Can you
> post that section or email to me? Also, is that the only place in the Quran
> where there is a reference to homosexuality?


Well, I think there are actually several places where there are such
references.  I'll quote three that I know of (from Yusuf Ali's translation):

From Sura Al Nisa (4:16)

     If two men among you
     Are guilty of lewdness,
     Punish them both.
     If they repent and amend,
     Leave them alone; for Allah
     Is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.


In Sura Al Shu'ara (26:165-166),
Lot tells the people of the Cities of the Plain:

     "Of all the creatures
     In the world, will ye
     Approach males,

     "And leave those whom Allah
     Has created for you
     To be your mates?
     Nay, ye are a people
     Transgressing (all limits)!"


And in Sura Al Naml (27:54-55),

     (We also sent) Lot
     (As a messenger): behold,
     He said to his people,
     "Do ye do what is shameful
     Though ye see (its iniquity)?

     Would ye really approach men
     In your lusts rather than
     Women?  Nay, ye are
     A people (grossly) ignorant!


I believe there are other references, but this isn't a topic I'm very
familiar with, so the above are the only ones I can come up with right
now.


-- Shakil Ahmed
=======================================================================
Dept. of Computer Science     INTERNET: ahmed-shakil@cs.yale.edu
P.O. Box 2158, Yale Station   BITNET  : ahmed-shakil@yalecs.bitnet
New Haven, CT 06520-2158      UUCP    : {ucbvax,harvard,...}!yale!ahmed
=======================================================================
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
From: fahmed@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Famin Ahmed)
Subject: Re: Our attitude towards homosexuality
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 11:18:30 EDT

Dipen, congratulations to your friend.  i have nothing but the utmost
respect for him (since you mentioned that he was gay, i assumed that he's a
he...), he has made a move that is difficult in any society.  i am just as
curious as to how bangalis in general react to his marriage.  personally,
i think it's wonderful, i think that one should marry whom one wants (okay,
let's not get into the arranged marriage discussion again, we've been over
it before, and i think that that's a different situation) despite race, 
religion, class or sexual preferences. but then, i've been called an idealist.
:} how do others feel about this? what difference has the presence of HIJRAHS
made in our society, compared to the western one? i studied the difference
in northeastern africa (specifically sudan and maybe ethiopia) in my anthro
class, but i'm curious about their reception in south asia.  i also don't 
know what the Qur'aan has to say about homosexuality (i'm sure there are
people out there, who will enlighten me). comments are welcome, but i (and
the majority of the net) will not tolerate flaming. please don't make me
regret that i've brought this topic out (dipen brought it up). i would like
to assume that all of us are open-minded and don't let our emotions and 
repressed bigotry run away with our postings....
con sinceramente,
Famin
From: debchat@vax2.concordia.ca (DEB CHATTERJEE)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Re: Magical reality in Bengali literature.
Date: 30 Jul 92 21:25:00 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Concordia University
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <76744@ut-emx.uucp>, chandan@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Ikramuddin Ahmed) 
writes...
>...... (stuff deleted) .... 
>IA

 I agree with the comment that there are no witches in Arannyak ! However,
 magical reality and its manifestations (fearful) thru' the forest, is also
 a part of reality.

 - deb chatterjee
(A GOOD SAMARITAN)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh