Creative nonfiction / Growing up with a new nation: The Dhaka we once knew

It is perhaps not an overstatement to say that humans are, at their core, wanderers.

Whether you’re planning your next trip or just dreaming with a wanderlust of far-off places, these travel book recommendations by our readers will take you on unforgettable journeys—one page at a time. From classic travelogues to the best epistolary novels, here are six essential books that will fuel your passion for adventure.

Books are often staple travel companions. But as the reader leafs through its pages, they are blanketed by the warmth of its faint-yet-familiar scent, and submerged into a linguistic hinterland hiding infinite possibilities. As pages and letters metamorphose into a world unfettered by human limitations, books become much more than mere companions we literally travel with. Rather, they are transfigured into vehicles through which we embark on a more figurative journey—one of the intellect and the imagination.

A review of ‘Spatial Justice, Contested Governance And Livelihood Challenges In Bangladesh’ (Routledge, 2024) by Lutfun Nahar Lata

The night smoke carries out the riots of innocents,

Rose-tinted glasses are just red, and I have painted myself with the color now that the hollow of your eyes isn’t there, now that 

I plead but I know there is nothing I can do. Akbar, in a rare fit of courage, tries to intervene. But the old man does not budge. Maybe he knows about Mina and me.

“The roads are too clean. The sun is too bright,” she thought.

Kiriti Sengupta is an award-winning poet, translator, editor, and publisher based in New Delhi, India. Oneness is his latest collection of poems. The seemingly unassuming thin volume does not prepare readers for the multi-sensory experience that is in store for them as they open the book. Even before one’s mind and eyes get used to reading, the poet jolts readers as he writes “I rived my eyes / for inditing poems. / Would you reckon them / by their length?” 

Dear readers. I want you to do something with me. Take three long breaths—as deep as you can. Now hold it for two minutes! How long did you hold? I only survived one minute and 23 seconds. And I’m used to spending time in the water.

Sumedha replied with annoyance, "I will make him say the words. It's so simple, 'Apni kemon achhen, bhalo?' Why can't he say it?"

The history of the novel being published, too, is surprising, as the author himself neglected the existence of the novel. Despite being Bankim's debut novel, it wasn't published as a book before the author passed away

While reading it, one might feel that they are reading a mother’s confessions while she takes care of her son.

Somehow, the taste of tear gas

Hold on to the hand of your lover. Because when the baton falls it will be between the spaces where we stand.

The village folk remembered the moon of that night, and they described it.

These are our shared dreams that inspire a sense of community–we are all in it together.

When it comes to the history of Bangladesh both pre-and post-Liberation War, certain aspects have either remained hidden from the public or been deliberately obscured.

Bangladeshi Literature in English: Critical Essays and Interviews, edited by Mohammad A. Quayum and Md. Mahmudul Hasan, focuses on critical essays on Bangladeshi literature in English—both from Bangladesh and its diasporas (US, UK, and Australia).

The experience was hands-on, intimate, and vulnerable, as many paid tribute to the lives lost in the July Revolution, as well as writing and creating art dedicated to their own personal struggles.