Neem oil

Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of Neem (Azadirachta indica), an evergreen tree which is endemic to the Indian sub-continent and has been introduced to many other areas in the tropics. It is perhaps the most important of the commercially available products of neem.

Characteristics

Neem Expeller Oil

Neem oil is generally light to dark brown, bitter and has a rather strong odour that is said to combine the odours of peanut and garlic. It comprises mainly triglycerides and large amounts of triterpenoid compounds, which are responsible for the bitter taste. It is hydrophobic in nature and in order to emulisify it in water for application purposes, it must be formulated with appropriate surfactants.

Neem oil also contains steroids (campesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol) and a plethora of triterpenoids of which Azadirachtin is the most well known and studied. The Azadirachtin content of Neem Oil varies from 300ppm to over 2000ppm depending on the quality of the neem seeds crushed.

Average composition of Neem Oil fatty acids
Common Name	Acid Name	Average Percentage Range
Omega-6	Linoleic acid	6	to	16%
Omega-9	Oleic acid	25	to	54%
Palmitic acid	Hexadecanoic acid	16	to	33%
Stearic acid	Octadecanoic acid	9	to	24%
Omega-3	A-Linolenic Acid	??	to	?%
Palmitoleic acid	9-Hexadecenoic acid	??	to	??%

Methods Of Extraction

The method of processing is likely to affect the composition of the oil, since the methods used, such as pressing (expelling) or solvent extraction are unlikely to remove exactly the same mix of components in the same proportions.The Neem oil yield that can be obtained from neem seed kernels varies also widely in literature and varies from 25% to 45%.

The oil can be obtained through pressing (crushing) of the seed kernel both through cold pressing or through a process incorporating temperature controls.

Neem seed oil can also be obtained by solvent extraction of the neem seed,fruit,oilcake or kernel.A large industry in India extracts the oil remaining in the seed cake using hexane. This solvent-extracted oil is of a lower quality as compared to the cold pressed oil and is mostly used for soap manufacturing. Neem Cake is a bye-product obtained in the solvent extraction process for neem oil.

Uses

Neem oil is not used for cooking purposes but, in India and Bangladesh, it is used for preparing cosmetics (soap, hair products, body hygiene creams, hand creams) and in Ayurvedic, Unani and folklore traditional medicine, in the treatment of a wide range of afflictions. The most frequently reported indications in ancient Ayurvedic writings are skin diseases, inflammations and fevers, and more recently rheumatic disorders, insect repellent and insecticide effects.

Traditional Ayurvedic uses of neem include the treatment of fever, leprosy, malaria, ophthalmia and tuberculosis. Various folk remedies for neem include use as an anthelmintic, antifeedant, antiseptic, diuretic, emmenagogue, contraceptive, febrifuge, parasiticide, pediculocide and insecticide. It has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of tetanus, urticaria, eczema, scrofula and erysipelas. Traditional routes of administration of neem extracts included oral, vaginal and topical use. Neem oil has an extensive history of human use in India and surrounding regions for a variety of therapeutic purposes.

Formulations made of Neem Oil find wide usage as a bio-pesticide for organic farming.

National parks of England and Wales


















The Brecon Beacons National Park, looking from the highest point of Pen Y Fan (886 m/2907 Corn Du (873 m/2864 feet). feet) to


The national parks of England and Wales are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Despite the name, national parks in England and Wales are quite different from those in many other countries, where national parks are owned and managed by the government as a protected community resource, and permanent human communities are not a part of the landscape. In England and Wales, designation as a national park can include substantial settlements and land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape, and land within a national park remains largely in private ownership.

There are currently 12 national parks ( Welsh: parciau cenedlaethol) in England and Wales (see List of national parks). A further area in England — the South Downs — is in the process of being designated as a national park. Each park is operated by its own National Park Authority, with two "statutory purposes":

1. to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area, and
2. to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the park's special qualities by the public.

An estimated 110 million people visit the national parks of England and Wales each year. Recreation and tourism bring visitors and funds into the parks, to sustain their conservation efforts and support the local population through jobs and businesses. These visitors also bring problems, such as erosion and traffic congestion, and conflicts over the use of the parks' resources.

History

Untamed countryside?

Archaeological evidence from prehistoric Britain demonstrates that the areas now designated as national parks have had human occupation since the Stone Age, at least 5,000 years ago and in some cases much earlier.

Scafell Pike (right) and Scafell (left) in the Lake District National Park, as seen from Crinkle Crags


Before the 19th century, relatively wild, remote areas were often seen simply as uncivilised and dangerous. In 1725, Daniel Defoe described the Hig h Peak as "the most desolate, wild and abandoned country in all England.". However, by the early 19th century, romantic poets such as Byron, Coleridge and Wordsworth wrote about the inspira tional beauty of the "un tamed" countryside. Significantly, in 1810, Wordsworth described the Lake District as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy". This early vision took over a century, and much controversy, to take legal form in the UK with the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

The idea for a form of national parks was first proposed in the United States in the 1860s, where National Parks were established to protect wilderness areas such as Yosemite. This model has been used in many other countries since, but not in the United Kingdom. After thousands of years of human integration into the landscape, Britain lacks natural areas of wilderness. Furthermore, those areas

of natural beauty so cherished by the romantic poets were often only maintained and managed in their existing state by human activity, usually agriculture.

Government support for national parks is established

By the early 1930s, increasing public interest in the countrys

ide, coupled with the growing and newly mobile urban population, was generating increasing friction between those seeking access to the countryside and landowners. Alongside of direct action trespasses, such as the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, several voluntary bodies took up the cause of public access in the political arena.

In 1931, Christopher Addison (later Lord Addison) ch

aired a government committee that proposed a 'National Park Authority' to choose areas for designation as national parks. A system of national reserves and nature sanctuaries was proposed:

However, no further action was taken after the intervention of

the 1931 General Election.

The voluntary

Standing Committee on National Parks first met on 26 May 1936 to put the case to the government for national parks in the UK. After World War II, the Labour Party proposed the establishment of national parks as part of the post-war reconstruction of the UK. A report by John Dower, secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks, to the Minister of Town and Country Planning in 1945 was followed in 1947 by a Government committee, this time chaired by Sir Arthur Hobhouse, which prepared legislation for national parks, and proposed 12 national parks. Sir Arthur had this to say on the criteria for designating suita

ble areas:

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949

The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 was passed with all party support. The first 10 national parks were designated as such in the 1950s under the Act in mostly poor-quality agricultural upland. The land was still owned by individual landowners, often private estates, but also property owned by public bodies such as the Crown, or charities which allow and encourage access such as the National Trust. Accessibility from the cities was also considered important.

Hadrian's Wall crosses Northumberland National Park


Other areas were also considered: for example, parts of the coast of Cornwall were considered as a possible national park in the 1950s but were thought to be too disparate to form a single coherent national park and were eventually designat ed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) instead. The north Pennines were also con sidered for designation as a national park in the 1970s but the proposal was thought to be administratively too difficult because the area was administered by 5 different county councils.

Later additions

The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are not in the strictest sense a national park, being run by a separately constituted Broads Authority set up by a special Act of Parliament in

1988, but the differences are sufficiently small that this entity is always regarded as being "equivalent to" a national park.

The New Forest was designated as a national park on March 1, 2005.

A further national park in the South Downs is proposed, and received support from the government in September 1999. The South Downs is the last of the 12 areas chosen in the 1947 Hobhouse Report which has yet to become a national park.

As of February 2005, a public inquiry is being held to decide the boundaries of the proposed national park. The Inquiry sat for 90 days in 2004 before being formally closed on 23 March 2005, [1]. The report from the inspector is expected to be published in the first months of 2006, and designation proce

ss is expected to take another two to three years.

List of national parks

Twelve areas are designated as national parks in England and Wales, and a thirteenth is in the process of being designated.

Key	National Park	Est.	km²
1	Peak District	1951	1,438
2	Lake District	1951	2,292
3	Snowdonia (Welsh: Eryri)	1951	2,142
4	Dartmoor	1951	956
5	Pembrokeshire Coast (Welsh: Arfordir Penfro)	1952	620
6	North York Moors	1952	1,436
7	Yorkshire Dales	1954	1,769
8	Exmoor	1954	693
9	Northumberland	1956	1,049
10	Brecon Beacons (Welsh: Bannau Brycheiniog)	1957	1,351
11	The Broads	1988	303
12	New Forest	2005†	580
[13]	South Downs	[2006 / 2007?]‡	1,641
	Established total		14,629
	Proposed total		16,270

† — The park was designated on March 1, 2005. A National Park Authority for the New Forest was established on 1 April 2005, and will assume its full statutory powers in April 2006. See Government press release.

‡ — The public inquiry to decide the boundaries of the proposed national park formally closed on 23 March 2005. Formal designation as a national park may occur in 2006 or 2007.

At the beginning of 2005, some 9.3% of the area of England and Wales lay within national parks; the addition of South Downs and the New Forest would raise this to 10.7%. The three national parks in Wales cover around 20% of the land area of Wales.

Earthquake














Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998


An earthquake is a sudden and sometimes catastrophic movement of a part of the Earth's surface. Earthquakes result from the dynamic release of elastic strain energy that radiates seismic waves. Earthquakes typically result from the movement of faults, planar zones of deformation within the Earth's upper crust. The word earthquake is also widely used to indicate the source region itself. The Earth's lithosphere is a patch work of plates in slow but constant motion (see plate tectonics). Earthquakes occur where the stress resulting from the differential motion of these plates exceeds the strength of the crust. The highest stress (and possible weakest zones) are most often found at the boundaries of the tectonic plates and hence these locations are where the majority of earthquakes occur. Events located at plate boundaries are called interplate earthquakes; the less frequent events that occur in the interior of the lithospheric plates are called intraplate earthquakes (see, for example, New Madrid Seismic Zone). Earthquakes related to plate tectonics are called tectonic earthquakes. Most earthquakes are tectonic, but they also occur in volcanic regions and as the result of a number of anthropogenic sources, such as reservoir induced seismicity, mining and the removal or injection of fluids into the crust. Seismic waves including some strong enough to be felt by humans can also be caused by explosions (chemical or nuclear), landslides, and collapse of old mine shafts, though these sources are not strictly earthquakes. These sources will also show a different seismogram than earthquakes.

Characteristics

Large numbers of earthquakes occur on a daily basis on Earth, but the majority of them are detected only by seismometers and cause no damage .

Most earthquakes occur in narrow regions around plate boundaries down to depths of a few tens of kilometres where the crust is rigid enough to support the elastic strain. Where the crust is thicker and colder they will occur at greater depths and the opposite in areas that are hot. At subduction zones where plates descend into the mantle, earthquakes have been recorded to a depth of 600 km, although these deep earthquakes are caused by different mechanisms than the more common shallow events. Some deep earthquakes may be due to the transition of olivine to spinel, which is more stable in the deep mantle.

Large earthquakes can cause serious destruction and massive loss of life through a variety of agents of damage, including fault rupture, vibratory ground motion (i.e., shaking), inundation (e.g., tsunami, seiche, dam failure), various kinds of permanent ground failure (e.g. liquefaction, landslide, and fire or a release of hazardous materials. In a particular earthquake, any of these agents of damage can dominate, and historically each has caused major damage and great loss of life, but for most of the earthquakes shaking is the dominant and most widespread cause of damage. There are four types of seismic waves that are all generated simultaneously and can be felt on the ground. S-waves (secondary or shear waves) and the two types of surfaces waves (Love waves and Rayleigh waves) are responsible for the shaking hazard.

Damage from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Most large earthquakes are accompanied by other, smaller ones, that can occur either before or after the principal quake — these are known as foreshocks or aftershocks, respectively. While almost all earthquakes have aftershocks, foreshocks are far less common occurring in only about 10% of events. The power of an earthquake is distributed over a significant area, but in the case of large earthquakes, it can spread over the entire planet. Ground motions caused by very distant earthquakes are called teleseisms. The Rayleigh waves from the Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake of 2004 caused ground motion of over 1 cm even at the seismometers that were located far from it, although this displacement was abnormally large. Using such ground motion records from around the world it is possible to identify a point from which the earthquake's seismic waves appear to originate. That point is called its "focus" or " hypocenter" and usually proves to be the point at which the fault slip was initiated. The location on the surface directly above the hypocenter is known as the " epicenter". The total size of the fault that slips, the rupture zone, can be as large as 1000 km, for the biggest earthquakes. Just as a large loudspeaker can produce a greater volume of sound than a smaller one, large faults are capable of higher magnitude earthquakes than smaller faults are.

Earthquakes that occur below sea level and have large vertical displacements can give rise to tsunamis, either as a direct result of the deformation of the sea bed due to the earthquake or as a result of submarine landslips or "slides" directly or indirectly triggered by it. (Short)

A long trilogy in short space

A man prepares for prayers. In parallel scenes of Veils , a girl dresses up with eyeshades and lipstick.

The first film of Monday evening starts with the Quran verses with calls to the predawn payers.

……..
Taimoor N Sobhan
……..
After a short introduction by Taimoor N Sobhan, the short film began at the capital’s Radius Centre on Gulshan Avenue. The film portrays preparation for the wedding of Mariam, an Israeli woman, and Samad, a Palestinian.

Not everyone in their families is happy about the impending nuptials—especially the grandparents.

Maureen Lipman and David Horovitch starred in the 12-minute film, shot in high definition with professional camera work and crystal clear sound.

The young filmmaker believes that eyes see, but ears imagine. For the same reason, Taimoor says, he pays extra attention to sound.

Close shots stand out with sheer dexterity. Dialogues reflect a greater world, where love makes its way beyond the community. The persons are believers of one God.

The dialogues shine the spotlight on the Palestine-Israel crisis, beyond the confines of families.

Veils is an award-winning film funded by the Pears Foundation and the UK Jewish Film Festival 2007. It was also in the official nomination of Atlanta Film Festival 2008.

Next comes Middle Management , one of Taimoor’s works done when he was in Prague.

The story revolves around a man, who experiences a strange day in his office. As the stressful reality of life weighs in, imagination takes him into a different world.

Shot in MiniDV cam, the film seemed too long. But special attention to sound sets the film apart.

Affect was the third film to be screened.

A nurse takes her dying patient out of hospital and to her apartment and begins an extreme form of medical and psychological ‘therapy’.

The film has created a platform, where it is open to multiple interpretations.

It is Taimoor’s academic thesis work. He termed the film “most abstract” among the three. Shot in Super 16mm, the 14-minute film is rich in insights and depth.

“It pictures more than it shows,” a film critic says.

Affect was in the official selection of Rome Independent Film Festival 2006 and Ivy Film Festival 2006.

Taimoor says he loves the short form of film and enjoys the challenge of creating something big in a short space of time.

“If you are given a limited space on paper, you are more conscious about your writing. You can’t just go on. And that’s what happens with me in filming,” he says.

“The creation starts with writing. But the duration is not always predetermined, unless there is a condition attached. It comes up and takes shape,” Taimoor says.

Taimoor has been working as an international producer/director for film and television. He performed different forms of duties in production, from technical manager to director.

He has worked as technical manager of the London branch of the New York Film Academy, and more recently on the camera crew for Mira Nair’s short film, “How Can It Be.”

Ibsen and Words of Liberty

This often misunderstood Norwegian playwright once remarked, “With pleasure I will torpedo the ark.” As a young writer, he was discontent with everything. He found himself ……
Centennial Essays On Ibsen / Edited by Niaz Zaman & Sadrul Amin / Published by the Department of English, University of Dhaka. / Cover Painting: Nazlee Laila Mansur / Cover Design: Zahirul Islam Auntor / Price: 200.00 taka
……..
unable to identify with any existing forms of drama, so Henrik Ibsen- the second most performed playwright in the prestigious stages of the world after William Shakespeare, set out to create his own.

Ibsen experienced multiple shifts in dramatic form and philosophy as he gradually came to terms with the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual forces that were at war within his complex psyche. But throughout, his plays are characterized by their rebellious spirit and their unforgiving scrutiny of Ibsen’s own faults and virtues.

The book “Centennial Essays on Ibsen” is the literary piece of work of a couple of days Ibsen Commemoration organized by the English Department of Dhaka University, in May 2006. It is one of the most convivial tributes to the Father of Modern Realistic Drama on his hundredth anniversary of death from Bangladeshi and Norwegian scholars, academics and students.

This book contains seventeen in-depth analyses on Ibsen’s work and his astringent vision towards the modern society. Jon Nygaard, in his paper titled “Ibsen’s Vision of Identity, …….
Henrik Johan Ibsen (March 20, 1828–May 23, 1906)
…….
Freedom and Power” explained ‘Modernity’, which is the institutions and forms of behavior established first of all in post-feudal Europe. Modernism is a system that created an “Iron cage” or a stable, disciplined life which undermined the individuality of each social sector, and produced in the nineteenth century a series of philosophers of anti-capitalism, anti-modernism and anti-industrialism like Hegel, Kierkegaard, Carl Marx and Nietzsche. Including theories of modernity Nygaard focused on several issues like the difference between Classical and Modern condition, the interrelation between the State and the Individual, the paradox of modernity in which Nygaard said that the state of Ibsen was against freedom because the new political freedoms reduced and sometimes killed the amazing dream of freedom. This paradox of revolution is interestingly paralleled in the paradox of modernism. Mr. Nygaard also showed the difference and a little similarity between bloodthirsty French Revolution and the Silent Revolution of Norway.

As a poet, Ibsen dispersedly expressed his thoughts and personal views on politics, ideals, war, cowardice, art and cultural, love and dislikes. Ketil Jensehaugen, in his essay titled “The Poet Henrik Ibsen” had a great observation on Ibsen’s poems. He noticed that at the time when Ibsen was publishing his poems, he seemed to have given up on the nationalistic idealism as a liberating force, and turned to individualism which is a task of the courageous artiste to change the minds of people and the prevailed societal norms in a radical way, and not the politicians with their compromises.

In the article “Strains and Conflicts in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: A Reification of the Drama within the Modern Nuclear Family” by Md. Salah Uddin Al Faruque tried to defend Helmer, husband of Nora, by blaming on capitalist economic system. According to his revelation the sustainability of conjugal happiness depends on a dialectically transformed relationship between husband and wife. And this conjugal happiness can be swept up with the infection of avarice, materialism and a possessive mentality which are offered by capitalism. But the writer of the article ignored the truth that capitalism and modernism are associated with the notions of patriarchy or in other words male-dominating society.

What is a woman supposed to do? And what does she do? Dilruba Jahan, Tasik Mumin and Umme Kulsum made an effort to find women’s role in society as co-writer of the part titled “Nora and Hedda: Disillusionment and Anguish in Search of Women’s Identity”. Nora and Hedda, two major characters of two famous plays “A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler, attempt to unmask themselves from the conventional relationships and strings with their husbands, their fathers, their male admirers and other character of the society by their self-awareness that they achieved from their everyday experiences of their post-feudal families. These two characters have strong feminine approach towards the society by deserting the male-dominated society’s determined roles for women. In another essay by Kajal Bandyopadhyay, we find the same opinion about female power and apostasy. The search for freedom can be seen in Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”. The similarity is noticed by Rifat Mahbub and Jiniya Afroze in their article titled “Ibsen’s a Doll’s House and Chopin’s The Awakening: Nora and Edna’s search for Freedom”. But the basic difference between Nora and Edna is the decision of leaving the house like a runaway to find Nora’s own freedom and Edna’s idea of freedom embodies the freedom of her physical, emotional and intellectual selves.

“Nora as a Witch-Like Figure” by the co-writers, Farhanaz Rabbani and Golam Gaus Al-Quaderi is a very interesting essay to read. The Co-writers presented the history of witch craft and answered the question why the witchcraft was associated with women. They explained different traits of witches such as alienation, pretension and secrecy, and heresy. Judging from the course of history the co-writer said that a witch was different because of the way she perceived society and also by the way society perceived her. If the play was written in middle age, Nora might be portrayed as a witch by the playwright. In this part the writers, through an intriguing angle and a feudalistic way made an effort to look at Nora.

Ibsen’s plays have the universal appeal and that is the main reason why his plays are still staged in almost all countries. The idea of Liberation and Freedom is the main source of power of his plays. From feminism to world revolution, Ibsen’s plays are the most influential elements of performing art amongst the cultural activists throughout the world. Asma Chowdhury in her article “The Relevance of Ibsen Today” concluded that Ibsen’s character came from the middle strata of society.

Ibsen’s treatment of individuals lays bare the innermost sentiments of people who are at once vicious and innocent. Muhammad saiful Islam on his essay “Hedda Gabler: An Explication of power Games” wrote that the desire to control another individual makes the characters of Hedda Gabler shameless manipulators of power. In Hedda Gabler power is a force that subjects, dominates and abuses individuals. The pace and changes of the society of late nineteenth century and its power game within the family and outside the family like nation to nation lead the world into the 1st world war of early twentieth century.

Literature, as the record of universal experience, has gradually acquired certain symbols that have become conventionalized–a kind of stage property of poets and artists and common people. The lily is a symbol of purity, the eagle of strength, red of passion, and gray of peace. These are symbols that carry their meaning in the mere naming of them. In “Symbolism in Ibsen’s The Wild Duck”, by Tania Tahmina, the central symbol is everywhere and it is what helps to tie everything together. The Wild duck represent liars with broken dreams, captivated in the poisonous marshes and never to soar again.

“Patriarchy and Machismo in Ibsen’s Plays” by Afrin Zeenat declared that Ibsen was not merely an entertainer. His plays were intended to change and develop the social relations between people in the world. He always tried to portray female character that is in every sense superior to male character. Over and over again, his female characters get important confronting the male character.

Introducing colloquial prose dialogues of the ordinary people, Ibsen is the first major dramatist of the nineteenth century to write modern tragedy. Unfolding the Christian zeal and fundamentalist insanity K. Rezaur Rahman compares Ibsen’s Brand with The Spire of william Golding. At the end, Mr. Rahman shows the defeat of two characters, Brand and Jocelin, is a yell of silence against the fundamentalism and sense of guilt. In the next essay “Ibsen and Miller” by Sadrul Amin and Nafisa Jamal, we find similarities and to what extent the former influenced the latter. Both the writers can be understood by their lives and works. Though the American playwright Mr. Miller had the seriousness to show a social that defines humanity. On the other hand Ibsen’s works were focused on the regular country affairs. But it is universal that both of the writers had a vision to make this world a better place to live in. Nowadays, that social commitment of the writers is nearly brushed away.

Satyajit Ray counterbalanced the materialism of society and his positive criticism towards capitalism is portrayed in his film “Ganoshatru”, that is an example of trans-culture with the Enemy of the people by Ibsen. In the essay “trasculturation in Enemy of the People and Ganoshatru”, Zerin alam and Nuzhat Amin had few observations like Mr. Ray’s protagonist character was not that radical as Ibsen indicated in his plays.

The most interesting part to me of that book is “Re-reading Ibsen” by Niaz Zaman. Here I found a unique and completely different revelation of Ibsen. One can easily perceive that the writer studied a lot while she intended to write on Ibsen. In her paper she said that Ibsen modified the idea of Greek tragedy by conveying the complexities of his own age, by making his plays far from simplistic portrayal of the world around him, by exploring the mind of women of post-feudal period, by suggesting the necessity of both men and women in art as in life. Dr. Niaz also remarked on the introduction of Nora. She said, her introduction is also a contribution to tragedy by Ibsen. “His plays are in the Greek sense, modified though they are by the passage of centuries which has removed the gods and God form the equation” she concludes.

In last two papers, the experience of Tahmina Ahmed while she was staging a play (A dolls house) of Ibsen and Ibsen’s popularity in Bangladesh by Shawkat Hossain explored the impact of Ibsen in Bangladeshi art and literature. The dialectics of character in Ibsen’s plays can be alive and multi-dimensional when someone directs those on the stage. And the students, who can recognize Ibsen with a floating knowledge of his works, also can get the spirit of refreshing freedom by studying a little more.

Now we are on a conclusion of that book review. After finishing this journey that stopped in seventeen ports I can say Ibsen was in far away from intellectual boundaries. Though we are making our journey increasingly difficult by political and economical boundaries, A Norwegian proved that one can be a universal figure by exterminating the prejudice of intellectuality. We can also conclude that, as a poet of prime importance, as an original and in many ways revolutionary thinker, as dramatic craftsman and artist Ibsen is rightly considered the greatest of modern dramatists, and one of the few dramatists of all time.

International Inter University Photography Exibition 2008

International Inter University Photography Exhibition (IIUPE) happens to be a most anticipated event for amateur photographers everywhere. It is set to assume the proportions of an international photography competition and exhibition, designed to showcase samples of the best in
Color Landscape 1st Prize, Nadi Abrar Haque Nihal, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

photographic art produced by both professional and emerging artists from around the globe. North South University (NSU) photography club was the pioneer here in ……
Color Life Style 1st Prize, Ismail Hossain Ferdous, EWU, Bangladesh
……..
establishing the medium for fine photography by amateur photographers, orienting its members through the experience of successfully hosting such a competition. The purpose of organising such events is to encourage and develop quality photographers, simultaneously offering a neutral platform for sharing members’ creations as well as a network of professional and amateur photographers galore.

At its inception in 2003, the IIUPE umbrella actively involved two international universities and nine local universities. With the passage of every year, the number of entries received by the organisers of the exhibition swelled as universities have been participating in enhanced numbers since. This year, 13 countries participated with 47 of their universities, presenting 502 photographs of 201 photographers. The NSU photography club boasts organising this event rightfully with dedicated support from its members.

This annual opportunity for national and international photographers to exhibit their work in a fair competition features an award giving ceremony, where each category of photography is appreciated, evaluated and rewarded. This year, a total 35 colour and black and white photographs have been rewarded for their excellence under different categories, viz. landscape, portrait, lifestyle, architecture, action, still life and nature. The photographs were judged by a panel of eminent photographers of Bangladesh. The purpose of awarding the best participants is to highlight their talents and to encourage them to excel in their future work. All the photographs were brilliant works of photographic arts, the judges admitted while sweating through the process of naming the winners.

IIUPE has the potential of flourishing in the future, offering examples of dedicated cultivation of various photographic art forms.

Stories

“It’s one…where are you?”

“Yeah I’m right here; I’ll see you in about five minutes.”

“Ok, then I’ll wait right here on level two. Come fast.”

There was a beep at the other end. With a quick glance at his wrist watch Oni smiled and rushed through the crowded pavement. It’s one in the afternoon; he’s half an hour late for his first date. Now that he was almost there – all on a sudden he felt this butterfly effect in his stomach, as if he was anticipating his O-level results! It’s been three years since he knows Amreen and they’ve talked numerous times on the phone, but today everything was so different.

Three years back, one fine but not so sunny morning Oni pressed “2” to speed dial on his cell phone. Next thing he heard Ahaana’s cell ringing. Ahaana who? His newly found best friend! How they met is another story, but within two rings there was a “hello” from the other side. Oni started off the usual way, “Good morning dear and how are we doing this morning?”

“I’m doing good, thank you, but I’m afraid Ahaana is in the shower.”

Oni was suddenly caught off guard and took a while to respond “Oh alright! And you would be…”

“Amreen, Ahaana’s younger sister. So do you want me to give her any message?”

“…Hmmm nah, it’s alright- nothing really. Just let her know that I called.”

That was the starting, and then they met a few times when Oni went over to meet Ahaana. They talked casually; it was more of a friendly acquaintance. However for the next two years they hardly talked, there was a lot more happening in their lives, at least in Oni’s life. To start with, Oni celebrated two more birthdays, passed his A-levels, got admitted in university and, yes, he also crashed into love, or something like it.

A year of love, about a dozen dates, a few gifts, one Valentine’s Day and then – the break up! The sad part, he still loved her; what was worse: he was the one who got dumped! A friend in need is a friend indeed, and if the friend comes with a tissue box, a handful of chocolates and a shoulder to cry on—-what else could Oni ask for? Ahaana was right there beside him all through his thick and thin, she truly has been his best friend. He would now spend most of the day hanging out with Ahaana, or talking to her on the phone or the Net.

Three months back, one rainy evening he looked for Ahaana on MSN Messenger. There came a reply soon, but it was Amreen. She was working on the PC and she would be working pretty late, so he said the usual hi, followed by the casual bye and left her in peace to work. He was wondering what to do, but right then Amreen knocked again, “hey c’mon lets keep talkin! Dis work is getin on my nerves!”

He didn’t have a better option and he reciprocated “okiz… so wats up?”

They chatted for three hours that night and then every night. In no time they were great friends; what related them even more was their eventful love stories, both of which met similar ends. As time went by they found out that they had so many similarities: common interests in books, music, movies, games and even similar tendency of lingering on to their ex! Their pain was what bonded them. Everyday they would talk to each other about how perfect their relationship was, how splendid their chemistry was and how tragic their end was.

Fast forward three months and here he is on his way to his lady love on their first date. They both decided that they have had enough of their ex’s and it was time to move forward. Now that they have been together to share their pain, it was more of an untold understanding they had; they decided to date each other. They both knew that it won’t just happen in a day, they both still loved their ex but dating each other would at least start the process of getting over them. Moreover, not only to move forward, they were perfect for each other, there was the understanding, the caring, the affection, the humor and they would even look great side by side.

He entered the shopping mall and ran up the escalator in a great hurry. Just as he reached Level 2 he saw Amreen standing with an impatient expression all over her face, awaiting his arrival. Just as she saw him, she smiled. He has seen her smile before but this was so different, he immediately knew—this is it, she is the one. They walked across the floor to an eatery to find all the seats already taken. With much difficulty they got a table, placed their order and started chatting. They were talking the usual stuff, nothing mushy but during their conversation she noticed how protective he was being to the fact that other guys were staring at her. With every frown he gave, she would laugh, he would get a bit pissed and then soon would look down, smile a little and turn red. Time passed by and they enjoyed each and every moment of it.

He walked her to the car, opened the door and just as she was about to enter the car she stopped. She looked at him, he looked back and they both started laughing. It was a new, weird and interesting feeling that they both were having—must be something about the way they were standing today. Soon the laughter settled down and she said with some gravity, “I loved it today. Thank you for the wonderful time, it might not have been a typical date, but I guess it works for us. Things can’t be all mushy right away and I hope you understand there won’t be sparks flowing all over—it’s going to take some time.”

“Yeah I understand. I do. But with the way things are going, I’m hopeful. I don’t think any of us are in a hurry, so time shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s just be ourselves and let it flow.”

They both nodded, a goodbye hug and she was off.

On his way back home, he SMS-ed her “reached home safely?” and she replied back “Yea!”

He kept day dreaming all day. He was happy once again, he found a reason to be happy and he knew it was perfect. Finally he felt as if he understood what they mean when they say “All in good time!”

That night they spoke for an hour on the phone, talking about their date and their future. Her tone had this strong acute apprehension about their relationship but he was too hopeful to take that into account—his jokes would wash away all the apprehensions.

Next day he called her early in the morning, but there was no response. He thought she might be sleeping. He called her in an hour again, and then again, and again; he kept calling all day but there was no response. He was getting concerned and tension was building up. He thought possibly she has her cellphone on the silent mode or maybe she is online, so he signed into MSN but she wasn’t there as well. So he decided to wait and thought of checking his mails. Just as he opened the mailbox he saw her mail, in an instant his melancholies vanished and he had a huge smile on his face. He said to himself, “I knew she would leave me a message.”

He opened the mail and it said:
“I’m sorry… I don’t think I can do this! I’m really sorry… but I’m sure you will understand and we will still be the friends that we were!”

He noticed the time tag on the mail; it showed two in the morning.

He spent rest of the night sleepless, wondering—who hurt him more: his ex or Amreen? After thinking for hours and writing this down, he realized: his eleven-hour love story hurt more!

Oral Traditions of Bangladesh : Some Basic Traits

In the USA and some European countries the synchronic method of studying folklore has been a modern trend in recent times. Since this sub¬continent of ours has a history of great antiquity and a perennial backwardness in social development, non-literate culture or oral culture still has an abiding influence. This means the synchronic method in the study of our folkloric corpus will not help us identify the inner significance of many local folk-genres. Therefore, our research paradigm must be formulated integrating both the synchronic and the diachronic methods. Unless we can build a holistic discourse model of this kind, the objective study of our folklore is not possible. A.K. Ramanujan has, as we notice, made an attempt of this kind in his study of Kannada and Tamil folklore1. No such innovative attempt has yet been noticed in the eastern part of the sub-continent, particularly the region comprising Bangladesh, West Bengal etc.

However, it is important to note that the active tradition bearers perform the items of their repertoire keeping in mind the historical continuity of local performance tradition. This is why the performance of a folk narrative or folksong or a ballad cannot be appreciated if it is viewed synchronically.

By ignoring the central authoritarian and hegemonic pressure and studying the ancient scriptures in the minutest detail the rural bards have succeeded in building a liberal cultural worldview of their own which is tolerant of others views and free from the bondage of religious fanaticism and scriptural injunctions. Rabindranath Tagore said, “Bangladesh had always been free from scriptural obsessions. The doctrines of Buddhism and Jainism had always an abiding influence in this country or its neighborhood. Both Magadha and Bengal were treated as outcastes. In other words they enjoyed freedom. One can notice such freedom among the Vaishnavas and the Bauls of Bengal. They always threw off the yoke of ornamentation and high-sounding scriptural edicts from their literature and song. The encumbrance of holy book is not present there but they are liberal, profound and expressive of suggestions free from prejudice 2.The Kirtans, Bauls and Bhatiali songs of this country have so very deep meanings that it is difficult to get at them.

The monks, hermits, ascetics, kabials (professional versifiers), Bayatis and Bauls of Bengal have evolved a tradition of humanism after a thorough study of religious scriptures, myths and puranas. The Buddists and Jains of ancient Bengal in their philosophical thought attached importance to man rather than divine power. They refuted the Vedic philosophy and said, “The basic truth of a religion is to create subtle and impalpable sensitiveness of human instinct and purify it.” The physical ascetic practice of the Sahajiyas was further added to this thought. During the pre-Aryan age the Nathyogi-Tantriks (the followers of the doctrines taught by the Tantras) used to practice this. The Atharva Veda approved this practice as well. That’s why the Vedists (Vedic Brahmins) looked down upon the followers of Atharva Veda as Brattya—the outcaste. In pre-Aryan Bengal, the religious practice of the common people centred round the psalms involving physical ascetic practice. The Atharva Veda further maintains that man is adorable not because of his devoutness but because of his being a ‘human being’. It glorifies the world of mortals rather than the Eden above.

During eighth and ninth centuries and in particular during the reign of the Pala dynasty the cultural manifestation of Shahajiya philosophy had an overwhelming influence on the simple rustic people to the grass root level of Bengal. A new philosophy of life based entirely on humanism gradually developed as a result of the synthesis of certain religious practices, namely, the Sahajia of the Buddhists and the Vaisnavas, the Tantrick practice of the Nathyogis, the sufism of Islam and the like. From its very inception Bangla folklore was always vocal against the Aryan ideal propagated by the Vedic authorities and central authoritarian hegemonic power because of its dull and lifeless burden of religious rites. The Baul song, the Jaga song (night-long winter folksong sung especially in northern part of Bangladesh), the Kabigan (a popular and unique folksong genre in which two parties led by their respective chiefs alternately present songs and verses on debatable themes in the form of arguments and counter arguments composed extemporaneously) and the Bichar gan (argumentative folksong) bear testimony of it. Kshitimohan Sen remarks that, ‘the Bauls do not hanker after celestial bliss but the supreme ecstasy of emancipation’.

Bauls opine that this mundane love is much better than the nectar of heaven and that human love is truer than the dull religious scriptures. Lalon, the mentor of the Bauls, speaks thus: “Ache Hindu-Musalman dui bhagey/Thakey Bhester ashay momingan/Hindura dei Shargetey mon/Bhesta-Sharga Fatok saman”. This song can be translated thus: the Hindus and the Muslims are having two different ways/the believers in Allah long for entering paradise/the Hindus cherish to go to heaven/But both paradise and heaven are nothing but prisons. So he says, “Kaliyuge manush avatar, meaning man is as good as avatar of the Kaliyuga (the fourth or last age of creation according to the Hindu Purana)”. He further says, “Sarva Sadhan Siddha hoi tar bhove manus guru nistha jar” (he who ardently adores human guru accomplishes the ultimate goal or summum bonum).

It is very unwise to establish similarity between the clear manifestation of social revolt and humane qualities of the Bauls, Bayatis and Kavials of Bengal and the partial renaissance of the urban Hindu literate middle-class of nineteenth century Bengal. Both Raja Rammohan Roy and Lalon were born possibly in the same year (1772 AD). Both of them propagated the hjgh ideals of humanism. But this realization of theirs sprang up from two different origins. One originates from the soil of Bengal while the other one is the result of colonial western influence. Both these ran parallel and boiled down to the same conclusion. But we have to bear in mind that it is not the urban humanist but the Kavials, Bauls, Kirton singers and the Vaishnavas who play the most important role as a catalyst of social change throughout vast rural Bengal by imbuing the people with the sense and sensibility which was tolerant of other’s views, rational and non-communal. Some of them were persecuted and harassed by the orthodox mullahs or the Hindu fanatics but they held high the banner of humanism. That is why the role of folklore is unquestionably significant in the socio-cultural and intellectual history of Bengal.

Now let us address another significant issue: the depiction of women in our folklore. In the folk-literature of Bengal the role of women is comprehensive, manifold and multidimensional and if we consider ‘folklore1 as a whole then we will see that their presence there is enormous and sometimes it is totally feminine affair. Herein lies the basic difference between written literature and oral literature of Bengal. In written literature women are represented as weak, unequal and to some extent as less influential personality. But in folk-literature women are not tongue-tied; rather they are eloquent, creative and innovative. One need not go far to find out the reason. It lies in the very formation of our rural society and its historical manifestation.

The people of the agro-based rural society of this sub-continent of ours have an idea of their own about this life, world and the universe. Because of the co-existence of the aborigines of the country and the outside racial stocks of people of various colour and creed a significant process of synergetic assimilation took place between the Hindu religion and culture, Muslim way of life and many a minor religious and Tantrik and Shahajia practices of Buddhism and Nath religion and thereby developed a pluralistic life-style in Bengal. Though unlettered and fanciful the people of the country are imaginative and practical at the same time. So they design their life style in a way to coexist peacefully. This quality of accommodating different ideals and many other facets of their chequered way of life are reflected in their folk-literature.

Therefore, folk-literature can be considered as a dependable instrument to have a thorough understanding of the way of life of the common people and of their belief, custom, culture, sense of values and morality, aesthetic sense, amusement and recreation.

The non-literate but life-oriented people of the sub-continent lived a life of concerted and densely-bound-populated rural agro-based society for a long time. The ’society1 of such people was so very powerful that their folk-literature, folk-art, folk-drama and folk-song became a medium of their vibrant expression; hence an integral part of the society.

Through these main folk rubrics and minor ones the Bengali society not only quenched its thirst for mundane amusement and pleasure but also for testimony of its love of art and culture, aesthetic sense and deep religious philosophy. And the contribution of women folk in this respect was enormous. They used and practised folk items like fairy tales, rhymes, lullaby, proverbs, songs and dances. So far as rites and rituals and observance of religious vows and festivals are concerned women play the leading role. Womenfolk were also unrivalled in the art of embroidery, alpana, cooking and cake-making. Khana, the lady of ancient Bengal celebrated for uncommon proficiency in astronomy and mathematics, made a great contribution through her rhymed saying that have passed through the ages as valuable guidance for tillage of the soil, plantation, harvesting etc. The aesthetic sense of the womenfolk of Bangladesh has already found expression in their art of embroidered quilts, shikas, embroidered seats, table cloths and many other items of folk-art and this has received world-wide recognition. This contribution of the Bengali womenfolk is uncommon not only in the cultural tradition of Bangladesh but also in the domain of global civilization.

Sree Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar and Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen have depicted female characters who are pregnant with humane qualities and high spirit in their popular series of folk-literature as against the high ideal of the classical character of womanhood prevailing in the sub-continent. It is said that the characters like Kanchanmala, Malanchamala, Mahua, Malua, Sakhina, Kajalrekha, Kamala, Leela and Chandravati are but flowers of the same garden. It has further been remarked that they can be compared with Behula, a character found in our old mythological literature. Such soft-spoken, gentle but highly spirited female characters are hard to find in the written Bengali literature of the middle ages.

Dr. Dinesh Chandra Sen has identified the geo-political cause that enabled the folk-poets and bards to portray such freedom-loving female characters. He says, “Now if we take a bird’s-eye view of the tract of land covered by Susunga and Garo hills on the north, run over by the rivers Someswari and the Kangsa, and gradually passing to the south-east, glance at the sub-divisions of Netrakona and Kishoreganj, and then wend our course to the south-west up to the limits of Bhowal including Kapasia, Tangail and some portions of Savar and Manikganj, now forming the northern limits of the Dacca district, we have a well-defined boundary-line of a large country which had once formed a part of the old province of Assam under the ways of the Rajas of Pragjotispur, and which never bore any sign of the priestly influence, that has marked Bengal proper under the domination of Brahminic revival. The nickname given to this part of the country by the Brahmins of the Renaissance is baju which is derived from the word barjita (prohibited). It is a prohibited area, because the Rajas who reigned there were found too formidable for the Sen Rajas to cope with, and the Brahminic canons with their ‘Kaulinya’ and stringent marriage rules could find no access into it. But this tract of land, ruled by a different society and a different standard of moral and communal life, is extremely interesting to us; as its culture is indigenous, and far more natural and fresh than that of the Renaissance 3.”

This was how the traits of the female characters of folk-literature of that region have been shaped. Herein lies the difference between the female characters of Bengali folk-literature and those of the classical text of the Ramayana pertaining to the other regions of India. Prof. A. K. Ramanujan says, “Folklore (where ethos, aesthetics and world view meet) is an excellent place to examine such notions. For instance, classical texts like the Ramayana and Cilappatikarm present no unchaste woman”, or where they are presented, they are chastened by unchastity (ahalya, etc.). But folklore is full of ingenious, promiscuous betrayers of the ideal. In legend, woman saints break every rule in Manu’s codebook, disobey husbands, take on liaisons, walk the streets naked 4".This contrast between classical and folk literature presents us women of different traits. The women of folk-tradition are protesting and out to express their freedom.

In Prag-Jyotispur (ancient name of Kamrupa) there was a matriarchal society. That’s why in the songs, we come across, depict freedom-loving woman characters. In this region women could indulge in love-affairs before marriage and they had the liberty to choose their life-partners. But it is hard to find an example of this in the written Bengali literature of the middle ages. Which is why the modern outlook of the folk poets about womenfolk simply surprises us. They have vis-a-vis this truly portrayed the lasciviousness, wickedness, diplomacy and cruelty of male characters. They have also depicted the characters of women who are fallen and unchaste. For example, Chikan Goalini, a character of folk-drama ‘Kamala’, is both crooked and a messenger but she is nevertheless a human being of flesh and blood.

The history of women and their quality of outspokenness have been interestingly depicted in the works of the women themselves. In the western world the expression of feminism does not date back to the hoary past, rather it originated almost in the recent past. But we are taken aback when we see that Chandravati, a sixteenth century folk-poetess hailing from Kishoreganj district of our country has uniquely depicted in her tale of Ramayana women’s character from a feminine perspective. This reflects her deep feeling and farsightedness. This effort on her part in a patriarchal society is exceptional and historical. So she deserves to be held in high esteem. Two woman writers 5 of Bangladesh and West Bengal have in their recent writings delineated this pioneering role of Chandravati,

By evaluating the role of womenfolk in Bengali folk-literature we have tried to draw an outline of Bengal’s culture and intellect and understanding of her people. But we have to elaborate it further to understand the spiritualism as practiced in folklore of Bengal, the concept of creation, the Puranas, myths, cosmologies and so on. The culture of the Bengalis has its origin in the Austric-Dravidian-Mongoloid-Chinese elements. The Sankhya system of philosophy, Yoga and Tantrik practice, tribal anthropomorphism, pantheism and witchcraft all had a pervading effect on it and this has strengthened their firm belief in gods of trees, gods of birds and beasts, goddesses and local deities. Moreover, the customs and rituals of the Koles, Veels, Santhals, Onrao, Koach, Rajbamshi and others have also influenced the way of life, religious and cultural practices of the Bengalis. Though Bengal came under the Muslim Rule, the monotheistic religion and the way of life of the rulers did not have any serious conflict with local culture. The reason is that the Hindus and the Buddhists of the lower caste embraced Islam. Though they were Muslim they could not give up the age-old culture, belief, rituals and the way of life of the lands 6.They just expand the indigenous cosmologies to accommodate new superhuman beings introduced by the Muslims. As a result, their religion too had its influence on it. This is how cultural blending in Bengal came into being. So, Islam here has turned into a form of local nature. The converted Muslims gave up worshipping Hindu gods and goddesses but they tried to find their alternative in their newly accepted religion. This trend had been reflected in myths and mythology and folk-protagonists and even in historical characters. For example, the heroism and the skill in archery of Hazrat Ali have been compared to those of Visma, Dronacharya and Asatthama. Amir Hamza and Rupa Banu have been compared with Shiva and Parvati. ‘Iblish’ (Satan) has been compared with Narad Muni. We also notice this trend in Satyanarayan/Satyapir, Bano-Devi/Bano-Bibi, Olaichandi/Olabibi, Manikpir-Gorachandpir and so on.

The predominence of woman (goddess) as an emblem of strength in Bengali Hindu religion and culture is absolute. The Muslims of Bengal too have attributed this quality of strength in Fatema, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SM). Poet Syed Murtaza of the Middle Ages named Fatema as Viswamata (Mother of the world) and this tribute became a central point of Bengal’s religions and cultural practices and efforts were made for its parallelism. Folk-poet Pagla Kanal compared/Maa Fatema” with “Maa Tara or Tarini7“.

This is how Bangla folklore has created its worldview with the hopes and aspirations of the common men and women and their philosophy of cultural synthesis and peaceful co-existence. At the beginning of a Mymensing ballad performance the formal invocation (bandana) is a fine example of cultural integration. Richard Eaton wrote: “Clearly, the religious culture of the area in which this ballad was sung included a broad spectrum of super human agencies, ranging from nearby pirs and rivers to the distant Himalayas and even the sublime Absolute of Indian Philosophy. Above all, the invocation illustrates how easily Islamic super human figures could be included in what appears to have been a fluid, expandable cosmology”8. Social dynamics of rural Bangladesh is rooted in this syncretistic cultural tradition and religious tolerance.

SAARC Folklore Seminar, Delhi (6-9 December 2007)