The Daily Star Literature team heartily congratulates Syed Manzoorul Islam, Saiful Islam Khan (poet Hayat Saef), Subrata Barua, Robiul Hussain and Khalekdad Chowdhury (posthumous), who have been awarded the Ekushey Padak 2018 for their contribution in language and literature.

With the gathering helpless compulsive rage

One evening, while standing on the veranda of their 6th floor apartment, Sonia fell—with a big thud—in love. The thud was so loud

They sit on the veranda every afternoon; an old man and an old woman. The man is in his seventies with white hair thinning in the

Since whether you keep me in mind or not isn't in my mind at all,

“So, Monsieur! What are you going to sing for me today? Neele neele ambar, perhaps?” she asked flaunting her azure saree. For once,

And I come here to take your hand,

Caricature boys

Here are the steps leading down to the lake

Ammu is crying in the next room. Incessantly. I can't stand it any longer. Why did she do it? I have no doubt that she did it even

Go hush hush, go shh shh

In one of my trips to the USA, I had a ticket on Royal Jordanian Airlines with a stopover at Amman. I halted there for three days, saw

I imagine the lives of others,

As I was just leafing through Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in a feeble attempt to cope with the emptiness

Alone upon the housetops, to the North

I knew it was Tipu, without even looking at the blanket-wrapped body they were carrying on their shoulders. I knew it was Tipu, because as always, he had filled up every space with his presence. He was my only child, and I often

Dr. Syed Manzoorul Islam – or SMI sir, as he is popularly known to us, his current and former students – is one of the most dynamic people I know. I first met him about twenty-five years ago in an undergraduate classroom where he

Much like the famous German song “Ichhabmein Herz in Heidelberg verloren” by Fred Raymond, which later became the theme song of

I confess: music for me is intimate. I don't know about genres and canons. Nor do I know the reasons that compel a composer to

I am Bengali. I am a writer.