Urban Vs Rural People

01-02-2008
1843 BST

Internet connection has been bit shaky lately. Don’t know how long it will take to get things normal again.

I was reading the board book of English 2nd paper (SSC) a while ago. I found a conversation out there quite interesting and well above the standard. The topic was comparison between city and rural lives. Two kids (that’s what they wrote in the introduction) were arguing which one was the better. The supporter of urban life was referring to modern amenities available in the cities, dynamic life compared to sluggish rural one… and so so. (Nothing that much new) The other lad, who favoured rural life, thought village life is lot better since you can see the lovely sunshine, feel the simplistic and easy village life with sympathetic and simple village peoples. Well, the last point was quite noteworthy. I wonder how much is this true?

As far as urban life goes, I can say it’s kind of mechanistic and people generally look after their own fortunes. But personally I think village life is not simple either; at least not as simple as depicted in the conversation. We all know about the dirty village politics (Hail Politicians!!! They are omnipotent.)

But one thing I guess I can say confidently, the general people are lot simpler than city dwellers…

01-02-2008
1901 BST

Image Courtesy:

http://www.co.ozaukee.wi.us/OCHS/images/PioneerVillage.jpg

Social Fundamentalism … A Face Often Ignored

1751 BST

21-03-2007

Fundamentalism; A philosophy which is based on adherence to and following of certain rules and practices; no matter how much illogical it appears.

We all are acquainted to the idea of religious fundamentalism. But did you ever give a thought on social fundamentalism?

The main criterion of a fundamentalist is his/her view, logic, concept, idea…… everything is biased to certain ideology or philosophy. If you talk to a religious fundamentalist and argue about religion, you will see that his/her answers or logics come in reference to another book. You can never convince him/her, nor can he convince you.

Social fundamentalists stick to social rules, norms and traditions instead of religious dogma. They can neither accept gradual changes in social values, nor do they respect others’ right of choosing their own way. Society comes to them above all. The first question that comes in their mind before doing anything is, “What others will think?” It is pretty funny. A person with no philosophy but what others think. The worst part with these people is, like religious fundamentalists, their judgement is biased to their philosophy… no matter how much they think, how much they contemplate, no matter how much they ponder, the result is kind of back to square one… they can’t go out of the circle.

Why society forms? To ensure greater survival of individuals. At the same time there are also some basic rules which are maintained by a society: some etiquette, some rules, and some traditions. But if someone tries to make these rules biblical, then there goes the real problem.

May be Tanaeem is right after all- “A world without any social and traditional values would have been a better place where individual judgement would be unbiased.”

Society is for individuals, individuals aren’t for society… If either has to change, society will… ……

1914 BST

21-03-2007

Why Do I Write?

Why do I write? Is it an addiction or an escape route?

There was a time when I used to write when I was extremely depressed. I don’t know whether this helped or not. But sometimes masochistic joy of inflicting self pain used to appear the only way of enjoying life. When I sat in front of PC to write down things, I used to go to the deepest feeling, as worse it can be. I had a strange quality, I could simulate any situation and feel the way I felt with such intensity. If you can feel, exaggerate certain part, you can write words that come from the deepest of heart… And those turn out to be masterpieces. The first quality a good writer should have is s/he should have a heart to feel.

Anyway, that time is over for me. I don’t have much pain left inside me anymore.

So why do I still want to write? May be it’s the momentum. I’ve something in my mind to write down all the time. Or may be it’s my addiction, passion. May be it’s the only thing I’ve always had through out my life… My home tutor Solaiman Chy (in school and college level) would have been quite impressed to see my writings… the way I can write down my emotions and feelings, I should have studied English Literature instead of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. He always used to inspire me to write something, on any matter. He was one of the greatest and sensible person I have ever met… Me, Tanaeem and He… we used to share enlightenment… I miss him so much.

There are few people to whom I’m indebted for shaping me: Tanaeem, Solaiman Chy, Dad and Ishtu.

Meaningless Meaning

Sometimes trying to find meaning of everything is meaningless!

This morning I woke up with a strange feeling… excited… anxious… was it for exam? It shouldn’t be. I had a good preparation (My exam was good as well )… I was afraid thinking about the other alternative… No! I don’t want that again… I’ve locked it in the room… It shouldn’t have escaped… Thanks, the feeling was gone after saying Fajr prayer. I think it’s better not to search now .

The other event was in the gap between two classes. I was thinking about something, then asked a friend how was her exam? The answer was, “Not bad.” I said,”My one was good.” I started thinking again… Then I noticed a smile, in fact enigmatic smile… Well, what does that supposed to mean? Anyway, I decided not to bother about this one either. I had some serious thoughts going through my mind, I should solve that first.

Life is problematic if you try to make it… And don’t try to find meaning out of everything, otherwise you would make lots of meanings OUT OF NOTHING AT ALL!!!

Xperience makes the difference

I was always fascinated with machines and cars. When I was a kid I used to break my toys, take out the motors and desect them. It was fun then.

If you think those destructions were useless, you’re wrong. I’ve gained experience and Xperience makes the difference.

When any malfunctioning machine comes to me, suddenly it gains life. It starts working. People say, the patient is cured at the eye-sight of Doctor.

Funny thing is when we, those doctors, speak to each other, we just keep laughing. How funny!!! The machine is actually working. Even we don’t know what we have done. Trust me, its the experience. When we look at a malfunctioning device, there are words from the heart. Follow your heart, at least give a try. Things start to move smoothly.

Its the same story for great scientists and researchers. Greatest discoveries are made by following heart.

Lately I’ve discovered my sister is a living LimeWire genius. Gosh!!! When she starts searching, the number of hits keeps on jumping. I’ve been searching for 5/6 days; the number of source was merely around 10. She gave a hand; it jumped to more than 75.

So give your children chance. It may be waste for present. But the genius will learn.

 

Peace and tolerance in ME

Middle East has been the centre of world community attention, both from the Western and Muslim world.

Being in a predominantly Muslim society what I see is people here (in Bangladesh) are constantly blaming Israel for their attack on Palestine and Lebanon. But there is another face of the coin.

Violence started this time from the counterparts of Israel. Still I don’t get the point behind entering Israeli territory and kidnapping Israeli solders- that’s what both Islamic Jihad (in Palestine) and Hezbollah (in Lebanon) did. Palestine was on the verge of a landmark poll which could have been a solution to half century long violence. Hezbollah did even greater non-sense. What’s the point in disturbing a local superpower when they are Ok with you?

I could have supported both Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah if Israeli soldiers had entered their territory. But now what they did is a clear violation of international law. It’s true that Israel regularly breaks international border and treaties, but that doesn’t justify Islamic Jihad or Hezbollah?s act.

On the other hand, what Israel is doing is inhuman and unacceptable; mass bombardment in Lebanese soil without considering whether the target is civilian or not.

Peace in Middle East can only be achieved by practicing tolerance by both sides. That’s gonna benefit humanity.

 

What it means to be Human?

I’m back… at last.

Recently I read a book on Symbiogenesis. Written by Dr Frank Ryan, Darwin’s Blind Spot. I had published a review in my MSN SPACE blog.

Another book… it was really wonderful. Peter Moore’s BEING ME, what it means to be human.

We had a teacher in Chittagong College, Fazlul Karim. He knew quite a lot. Besides he was an interesting person. Once he said, ” Philosopher is a blind person searching for a black cat in a dark room where the cat is totally absent.” We all enjoyed then.

Anyway, Philosophy isn’t that easy. Neither it is some imaginative black cat searching. Its kinda searching, but abstract one.

BEING ME deals with what it means to be human, apparent from the second part of the book’s name.  It discusses when we consider a being as a human being. At the first instant, you might think whats the point? We are just we. Why do we need to think what constitutes us. But there are many implications of what we think. Consider the case of someone who is clinically dead. When you would consider someone as dead. Even without real life implication there is philosophical value in this debate.

Peter Moore starts the book with an example of consciousness as the basic thing of being human. That’s the legal definition used so forth. When there is no visible sign of consciousness, doctors declare the patient as clinically dead.

What is the fundamental characteristic that makes us what we are? Is it our consciousness, is it our physical appearance, is it our society, is it our religion, is it our personality, is it our gene, is it our family, is it our brain, is it our body…??? There are different ways to look at. Moore picks up topics eligantly, then discusses fluently and shows his logic with real life stories. The real life stories were really catchy.

I had started reading BEING ME to spend the time before WC final. It was so interesting, actually I missed the match. Instead I found more interest in the book and kept reading.

300 pages in 5 hours. That’s a great feat for a philosophy book.

Shame …………………………

Here are two news reports from ESPN:

World-Bangladesh students say no to exams during Cup

DHAKA, May 28 – Hundreds of students at a Bangladesh university besieged the office of their vice-chancellor demanding exams be postponed during the World Cup.

The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) had announced exams would run from June 3 to 29, ignoring a call from the students to defer the tests for a month.

“We will not withdraw the siege unless the authorities scrap the exam schedules,” said a protester at the university for 7,000 students in the capital.

The authorities called in police but they did not try to break up the protest.

“We are giving the students time to go back to their dormitories,” a police officer on the campus said.

Alee Murtaza, the vice-chancellor of the university said: “We understand the students’ sentiments but we cannot put everything on hold for a month just for the World Cup.”

Bangladesh are not in the finals but soccer is enthusiastically followed throughout Asia.

The next news is

World-Bangladesh university suspends exams for World Cup

DHAKA, May 29 – A Bangladesh university has postponed exams until after the World Cup finals after hundreds of students lay siege to the vice-chancellor’s office.

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology had earlier rejected students’ calls to postpone exams scheduled for June 3-29.

“The classes will remain suspended until July 14,” an official at the university in the capital said on Monday.

Bangladesh failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, which will be hosted by Germany from June 9 to July 9.

 

 

Shame on our education system which fails to make students understand what they should do and what they shouldn’t, what is the meaning of entertainment, how to keep balance between emotions and real life…. Shame on those protesters who created such a situation that the University authority had no other choice.

How can this nation proceed further with these so called talents????

Beauty and Humanity 2

 

Actually this written in response to Mejho’s post.

I was little confused about what the heading should be …… at the end I guess Beauty and Humanity 2 seemed ok.

First, thanks for such a nice post. There are so many thoughts, as you do always have.

Let me clear about the Bindu, well you are right and wrong both at the same time (!!!!). I am not a good writer, but when a writer writes it is not just a reply to some other people’s writing or thought. Rather they write because they have got some new thoughts & ideas which need to be expressed. There is a constant knocking inside.

Every writer has his/her own thought, as any other people. The difference is a writer writes (or types ) down. Funny thing is only in few cases a reader goes at the same direction as the writer. There are billions of ways you can interpret.

I don’t know why people interpret the beauty as something related with physical beauty. May be I myself am interpreting the words of another writer differently. Whatever, I referred to as some of the characteristics like modesty, simplicity, softness, mildness, caring feeling which I’ve clearly mentioned. And I think the fact of being less exposed should have explained in more detail.

I do agree completely with the fact that the more you get exposed to world and people around the more your eyes and mind open. I wrote the less exposed concept from a different point of view. Traditionally women were inside house or within themselves since the early 20^th century. On the other hand men were in the complexities of society since the beginning of civilization. Thus men have developed certain characteristics that are thought to be MANLY, yet they contradict humanity. Acquiring (or losing humanity) these Manly characteristics are sometimes a matter of male status !!!! For woman I think the situation is bit milder.

I do also agree with the fact that not all women are beautiful. In fact, as a result of being less exposed to society and other people, there are many woman who have a narrow mind, so narrow that an enlightened mind can’t even think about. Being less exposed attributes women to be more beautiful, at the same time it also makes them less beautiful(!!!!).

About the latter part, well, if you mean physical beauty its a discrimination, if its the beauty of mind and thought, why it should be a discrimination? Rather its an adorable quality.

Beauty and Humanity

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Who (or what) is the most beautiful?? Man, Woman, Child …….. or something else?- A matter of debate since human being came into existence.

Lets start with the second one. You’ll find very few exceptions to this answer. Ask why? The answer would be they are because they have the modesty, the simplicity, the softness, the mildness, the caring feeling ……………….. a never ending list. To me the best answer is, “ I do not have the clue.”

But the third one is more appealing. Nobody would be irked to hear this reply. Yeah, this might not come up as the answer in mind at the first instance, but you will find hardly anyone who will say, “ Nah!!! You got to be kidding.”

The first one is the least possible answer. And the third one…….. Well, there are some idealistic people, disappointed from human society or just because they like nature who would rather prefer to answer flower. There may be other answers as well.

But I’ve different feeling. To me HUMANITY is the most beautiful…… the best gift embedded inside each and every heart…….. may be sleeping, nevertheless present.

Then what’s humanity? To me its the ability of differentiating between good and bad, to think unbiased, to feel what others feel and most importantly the good and simple mind hidden deep inside each individual. We all appreciate the simplicity in children, no matter how complex we ourselves are. Unfortunately as the time goes on we either kill the simplicity or send it to complete hibernation. What is to be noted here is only single characteristic of humanity the SIMPLE MIND made them the source of enormous joy and wonder. Imagine how great is humanity itself!!!!!!

It’s true the humanity I am referring needs some sort of nourishment, that’s why we need education and knowledge (Unfortunately, our education system, in Bangladesh, acts the other way, just by killing the heart.). Nevertheless, the nourishment isn’t obligatory. But malnourishment may send this to a state of hibernation from where its hard to wake up.

From the tender age, unfortunately our society teaches us to be what shouldn’t be. The so called education teaches us to be selfish, to do just what all do without judging whether it is right or wrong.

All the beauties of children or women come from the inherent humanity. Because they are less exposed to the polluted society, they are more beautiful.

I believe nobody is born evil………………. s/he may be Hitler, may be Osama, or may be the killer Ershad Shikder. It’s us who have created them.

Flowers (or nature) are beautiful. Its us who make them the most beautiful by downgrading ourselves.