The lockdown-days of the coronavirus outbreak gave many a second chance to rediscover their inner fortes. While some resorted to taking up the pen or the painting brush, others looked deep into their recipe books and some honed their baking skills. Quite a few took the next, not necessarily the obvious, step!

This year, Bangladesh celebrates its 50th anniversary, and chronicling half a century of progress is no mean feat! In the last 50 years, we have made noteworthy achievements in almost every field. The last year has been one of unprecedented difficulties, yet our progress has been steady.

We are grounded in reality. But sometimes, one needs to take a bird’s-eye view to gain perspective and see the bigger picture.

Farfetched as it may sound, this is the truth — this is history. Eventually with time, our grandeur subsided. Maybe there were forces acting against us or maybe it was our own short-sightedness that led to the demise of an incredible craft.

The history of this land is obviously not just 50 years old. It goes back much deeper than that; a long, complicated, and fascinating journey throughout several centuries,

“Yes, once upon a time, the handloom taant was at its peak. But then came the powerloom variant, parallel to any other sector in the textile industry. That’s when we had the hardest time to compete, because powerlooms have the capacity and capability to yield in greater quantity.

The pandemic brought travel to a halt. With flights grounded, restaurants shuttered, and popular tourist sites morphed into ghost towns,

History reminds us that this method worked in motivating the locals. Everyone wore khadi dhoti, sari and handloom cotton products to lead their daily lives and ultimately nationalistic attitude took over.

A snow-white, light quilt embroidered all over in neat miniscule run stiches is dotted with floral jasmine motifs in small intervals.

With advances in local manufacturing, nearly all aspects of a consumer’s needs are easily met, without compromising on quality or taste! A simple systematic approach could easily demonstrate the sheer development in variety of local manufacturing and its impact on citizen mindset.

To make the recognition easier to ‘identify with,’ we have tried to group the names in segments.

What GI enlistment or tag does is that it allows customers and producers to create trust and confidence on the product’s authenticity and quality in internal or external markets. It helps create a reputation of the product, facilitating fairer prices and access to lager markets for the producers.

I joined social networking platforms fresh out of university. In the mid-2000s it seemed like the most happening thing to do. Failing to reap the pleasures of poking, or keeping my pet puppy, Whiskey, healthy — I felt I was a miserable virtual socialite.

“A whole generation worked to raise empowered women, but forgot to teach men to live with empowered women.”

Raba Khan was featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list, under the category, Media, Marketing & Advertising in 2020. Mostly known for her satirical videos, she is the youngest person from Bangladesh to be recognised by Forbes.

It will not be a stretch to say that releasing new music is easier than ever before—with little to no hurdles if you have a song ready to go, and access to either a third-party distribution app, or a manager who has access to the same.

Bangladesh has witnessed an alarming increase in cases of gender-based violence over the past few years. According to Ain o Salish Kendra, 1,627 women were raped in 2020. Cases of domestic violence, sexual harassment and cyberbullying have also been on the rise.

In today’s climate of fake news and alternative facts, social and political truth can be inconsistent and fragile. Artists, like journalists and activists, need to define the truth and defend it.

The middle of November saw some of the quickest ecommerce website crashes in recent memory. Hundreds of thousands of gamers looking to cop a next gen console flooded the likes of Walmart, Amazon, and other prominent retail chains. The target? A next-gen console.

With educational institutions shutting down and exams being cancelled or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the lives of students across the world have been greatly affected. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit,