Biye Bareer khabar (Food from the marriage ceremony)

 In Bangladesh, the food arrangements for the marriage ceremony are considered the best. People say that the food is comparable to what is served at a marriage, which helps you understand how good it is. As they say, the chicken roast from the biye barir (the home where the marriage is taking place) is especially delightful.

Sometimes I hear Bangladeshi people say, 'It's been a long time since I attended or ate at a wedding.' They miss the food. I also miss that food too.

Sometimes people get upset because they are not invited to a wedding. In most cases, they are not upset about missing the ceremony but about the food.

I heard people comparing or judging the food arrangement at a marriage ceremony. They said that the food wasn't cooked enough, didn't taste good, or that somewhere else was great, etc. They judge the bride's parents for not arranging a good marriage ceremony or food arrangement.

In my childhood, I enjoyed the marriage ceremony programs and food as well. They looked very delightful. After growing up, I realized how difficult and costly it is for a bride's parent to arrange everything. It requires time, money, energy, and people's judgments, especially from the groom's family. On the other hand, no matter how poorly the groom's family arranges the program, the bride's family can never speak badly, or they will make the bride's life difficult.

I think we should all be thankful to the bride's family regardless of how they arrange the ceremony. We should appreciate their effort and accept all mistakes and poor decisions. It's not only for the bride's family; anyone who arranges food for you, don't judge them, and try to enjoy the food and moments with them.

Eid Mubarak

 

You don't need to torture those who are seeking help.

 In most cases, when someone asks for help or comes to you seeking assistance, that person has nothing left or no one else to turn to. They are already ashamed of their failures in life and feeling low.

In that time, if you take pictures or videos, or record life moments and display them to the world to show how bad the situation they are dealing with is, that's not fair.

If you want to promote your activities, take pictures of yourself, your products, and the team you're working with. You can also take pictures of the area. However, never take pictures of people who come to you seeking help; they are already feeling vulnerable, and you shouldn't make it worse.

In some areas, the organization makes people stand in lines outdoors in public places. This is another form of torture. Nobody needs to know who is seeking help.

Like Muslims believe, your left hand shouldn't know what the right hand has donated. Be a human!

Paul Walker

He was one of my favourite actors, Paul Walker.

We have limited space to live

 We may have learned a lot about the universe and discovered many new spheres, but we haven't found anywhere humans can enjoy going to like another country. So, we only have one planet to live on.

Throughout the entire universe, people couldn't find any plants on other planets. So, to live and eat, we have to take care of this planet the way it should be.

Even on this planet, we can't live just anywhere. Most of it is covered by salty seawater. Then there are icy regions, deserts with sands and hot weather, mountains which are very difficult for humans to traverse, and deep jungles where survival is challenging.

There are very few spaces where we can live, grow plants, and keep proteins for a healthy life. We can't be so arrogant and greedy that we destroy this planet with our work. It doesn't matter how directly or indirectly we are involved; wherever these occurrences happen, they will cause suffering for all, today or tomorrow, to your child or loved one.

Let's solve all issues through discussion; let's not destroy this planet for the sake of profit. You can't eat money; you need plants and the animals that eat plants.

Let's now act like illiterates about this Earth. Let's make peace for everybody with everybody; we all belong to this earth. 

Biography 335: Lost in the books

 I used to read a lot of books. If I couldn't find any books (it was before the internet era, yes, I am that old), I even read leaflets, manuals, menus, and so on. This way, I actually learned many things. Usually, we don't read manuals, but if you do, you'll find there are many things you didn't know before.

One day, my older sister and I
went to Dola apa's house. We stayed there the whole night to join the next day's birthday program. I am sure they had no interest in taking me because I wasn't very close to them. But Dola apa was close to Boro apa, so they probably just took me with her.

As usual, I was alone in their home. I am used to this kind of situation. I started looking for something to read. Our uncle liked to read a lot. Wherever he went, he made a library there. Most of the books were about politics or very advanced topics for me. I was very young. I didn't expect anything for a teen in their house, but I was still looking at the books. Then I found some great books that could be good for me. I started reading. The whole day and the next day, I just read and read. I got so absorbed in the books that I didn't notice who had come home or how they were engaging. I found a wooden, comfortable chair on the balcony; I just sat there and kept enjoying the books and their stories. I spent good moments in that house.

Biography 334: My father didn't get the birthday cake

 It was Dola apa's birthday. We visited their home to join her birthday party. I don't know where they ordered the birthday cake, but it was very delicious.

You know, when you have a room full of people and need to distribute a medium-sized cake, you slice it into small pieces and hand them out to everyone. Sisi Apa did the same. As I told you, the cake was very delicious. I really wanted to take some more pieces because less than half of the cake remained on the tray. But I felt really shy about asking or taking any myself. The food was served by the host family, so I assume they weren't expecting the guests to serve themselves. It was probably due to how they manage things, I thought. So, I didn't help myself.

I saw a lady taking a cake by herself. I told you the cake was very delicious. But my shyness didn't let me ask for any or take a piece. After a few minutes, Lisi apa came; asked did everyone have the cake? Some nodded their heads affirmatively. She took the cake away, probably to store it in the refrigerator.

The reason for this long explanation is that there was another person, who felt shyer than I—my father. Somehow, the food distributor didn't give him any cake. He didn't sit near me, so I wouldn't notice. At night, after returning home, my dad told my mom that he didn't get any piece of cake. But dad didn't want to make them feel bad, so he chose not to tell them.

My mom isn't the kind of lady who keeps this information to herself. Probably the next day, she called her sister and told her that my dad didn't get any piece of cake.

Immediately, my aunt bought a small cake and came to our home with Dola apa. Her other daughters might also be with her; I don't remember. Dola apa and Boro khala cut the cake and enjoyed it with our family, including my dad.

My aunt kept telling my dad, 'You should have asked me.' Dad was feeling shyer and trying to hide under the floor. But anyway, we were happy to have my aunt and Dola apa at home.

I actually didn't know what happened; I was surprised to see them at home with cake. After listening to some conversations between my aunt and mom while enjoying the cake, I understood what was going on.

Happy Women's Day, 2026

 Happy Women's Day to all women, wherever you are living, regardless of your circumstances. May Allah keep you safe, healthy, and in peace forever.

Bangla vs English terms

 In the Bangla language, we have some additional words that don't exist in English. For example, in English, we call him uncle. In Bangla, we have chacha (father's brother), fufa (father's sister's husband), mama (mother's brother), khalu (mother's sister's husband), taloi (sister's father-in-law), etc. If we translate these into English, all of them would be called uncle.

In my childhood, I was very confused about all these relationships. So, sometimes I used to follow what my mother says. For example, I used to call Dula bhai (brother-in-law) to my Boro Khalu (uncle). Later, I figured out that my mother called him Dula bhai. One day, my older sister corrected me. I tried to remember that, but sometimes, by mistake, I used to call him Dula bhai.

Biography 333: She was stealing

 I was very young. During those days, my mom used to have a permanent housemaid. I mean, they had to live with us and work with my mom. If they couldn't prove their work to a high standard or commit any unforgivable mistake, my mom would send them back.

One woman started working in our house, but we were not happy with her work and behavior. So, Mom asked her to leave. She got ready and said goodbye to mom. She was sweating a lot. At that moment, my Boro Khalu (my mother's older sister's husband) was in our house. He told my mom to check her before she left.

My mom generally doesn't do that, but she checked her luggage and found some household items she was taking with her. Khalu also asked for a body check, but my mom wasn't ready for that. She said, 'Whatever you take, just give it to me; I won't punish you.' Then she brought out some sarees that were hidden in her body. Those belonged to my mom. Anyway, mom didn't take them back; let her take those.

I was thinking, my khalu was very experienced in this matter; he knew exactly what was going on here.