Victory Day-Dawns in the Dusk

Speak of a year synonymous with disaster and the future will hold 2007 in pretty high reckoning - - at least as far as Bangladesh and her people are concerned.
By all estimations 2007 has been one of the most difficult and trying times for the people of this land. Crippled by natural disasters, choked by political strife and caught up in the vagaries of change, Bangladesh has struggled through a year stumbling from one problem to another, never managing to get the new start that looked so probable at the dawn.

Another year that began with optimism born out of resilience nears its end with suffering at top of the agenda. Which is why, December 16th takes on such great meaning. This Victory Day, evoking memories of a triumph against all odds 37 years previously, should provide us not only with a feel-good factor as always but work as a springboard to heal our wounds and move on.

It is something that we do well, have kept on doing for a while now and therefore should use to the best of our abilities to provide us some respite from a year that included Cyclone Sidr, ravaging floods and a huge change in the political landscape.

240 km/hr winds of destruction hit on November 15 killing thousands, affecting millions, ravaging livestock and leaving innumerable not knowing how they will go through the next day.

Unfortunately this was not the only display of Mother Nature's wrath.

Floods continued to wreck their yearly havoc across the length and breadth of the country, leaving over six hundred dead and millions displaced. Although the waters have long since receded damage to crops however, water-borne diseases remain rampant.

And proving three is the number of misery, a dramatic cold wave early in the year left nearly two hundred dead to compound the woes of the oft-suffering people.

That was just in the natural font.

Change swept its flighty wings across the political landscape.

A year, which began with the now well-known 1/11 and which has seen emergency rule and a caretaker government for the most part of it.

As with most things Bangaldeshi, that too started off promisingly but has tended to peter off with the passing of time.

The optimism and vigour that marked the opening few months, the setting right of all who wronged in the past all promised so much but has failed to deliver.

Disillusionment has set in again and all the new beginnings are being judged as false dawns.

The familiarity of failure threatens to overwhelm us yet again. But disappearing into mediocrity is not what Victory Day is about. Which is why it comes at such an opportune moment reminding us that while so many things have gotten away from us this year (and the year before and the year before…), there is one that shall stay with us forever.

The memory of a day when our nation was born is still churned out of folklore by the new generation. But if anything can provide riposte to the certainty of failure it is that. So come December 16, let us celebrate and embrace a great victory, perhaps the only great victory that we have won.

Let us shed all that threatens to swallow us up and revel in the few minutes of greatness that all of us are due. No matter how corrupted we get, how much flood water seeps in or how many promising governments fail, Victory Day is something that will afford us that bit of pride in having achieved something. Maybe it will only be a brief time-out from reality but as they say, something is better than nothing.

Here is, where we raise (for as many times as necessary) our glasses for the hope of a new and improved Bangladesh.

December 16 is our Christmas miracle....as unexpected and impossible as a virgin giving birth....but it happened.

And just once.

Maybe that's what makes it so special.

Hatkora Lemons

For Sylhetis, the true-bred ones, the Hatkora is a legendary and greatly demanded item at the dinner table. This species of lemon is an essential to go along with the curry at dinner for Sylhetis with the finer taste-buds.

Botanically, Hatkora is a species of the Rutaceas family. It looks green and round like any regular lemon, but has a reputation unlike any other. A Hatkora tastes sour and sweet. Sylhetis accustomed to its taste find it delicious while it has very little appeal to non-Sylhetis. One reason for that is that although it is available almost everywhere in Sylhet, it is not grown or even consumed anywhere else in Bangladesh.

The Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Monipur are producers of the best kinds of Hatkora. Hilly areas of the Sylhet Division also produce plenty of Hatkora. The demand for Hatkora particularly in Moulvibazar and Sylhet is so high that Bangladeshi producers can hardly cope with it. Some import this variety from India.

If you happen to be invited for dinner to a Sylheti household, you will be entertained with fish or meat or curry dishes perked up with Hatkora lemons. When you try to prepare curry, with Hatkora, you must be very careful about the quantity. Too much would ruin the whole curry. Hatkora is strong, so all that is required is a hint of it.

There is that account of a non-Sylheti man who heard about the lemon and decided to buy a bulk load of it. To get the best out of the buy he advised his wife to use a large amount of it in the cooking. His wife knew nothing about this species of lemon. So she prepared a fish curry mixing it with huge pieces of it. Needless to say, it was too sour for any human to consume. Not everybody agrees on the merits of Hatkora. Some hate it; others can't live without it.

Hatkora is so popular among the Sylhetis that they love to send it abroad to their friends and relatives who live in the UK, the USA, Canada and other countries.

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Skip a meal

When attempting healthy living, this one move could have truly dramatic results. In a recent study at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the hearts of the leaner human calorie-cutters appeared 10 to 15 years younger than those of regular eaters.
In other research, calorie restrictors improved their blood insulin levels and had fewer signs of damage to their DNA. Eating less food, scientists believe, may reduce tissue wear and tear from excess blood sugar, inflammation, or rogue molecules known as free radicals.

Try it

Skip a meal a day- according to whatever suits you best. You don't need to try to cut calories; research suggests you'll naturally consume less that day. Or try fasting one day a week. Just drink plenty of water.