It was a compelling and novel proposition. A young Stanford dropout wanted to develop a blood test analyzer that requires no syringe and only a drop of blood. And thus began Elizabeth Holmes’ journey with Theranos. Soon, her confidence and eagerness to revolutionize healthcare impressed congressmen, military officials and seasoned professionals to invest millions of …
Book related musings
Here’s my TBR pile, which includes two books by Bangladeshi authors which I got from Dhaka Lit Fest a few years ago. I feel like the English books written by Bangladeshi authors is always a hit-or-miss situation. Most of them focus too much on the expat lives, or on the lives of those living below …
The Regional Politics of East Pakistan and Architecture by Doxiadis
This time period between 1947 and 1971 is somehow deliberately absent in the works of scholars from both East and West Pakistan. However, we must critically consider that absence, an intellectual blind spot, as it is essential in developing our historical consciousness, which affects the practice of architecture. We cannot ignore that time period, and …
Airport Woes
I have heard horror stories from relatives and friends about getting detained at US airports or their luggage getting misplaced or lost during international travels. I myself hadn’t faced any of it until my recent trip to the US. My mom and I landed at Washington Dulles Airport on a Wednesday afternoon in February, 2020. …
The Practice of Sustainability in Everyday Lives
Today, my colleagues and I were having the following conversation in the office vehicle, on our way to a work event. T: Look! That Range Rover in that showroom is a plug-in hybrid! M: Range Rovers are so big, and heavy, it wouldn’t even make a 0.5% difference.Me: It’s like those celebrities who fly private jets …
Lost in (Sylheti) Translation
[This article was previously published on ‘The Daily Star’ on 25th February, 2021. Illustration by Ehsanur Raza Ronny.]
How Aerial Imagery Changed Our Perception
When looking at the Bengali landscape through an aeroplane window, we see scattered settlements with mostly water, paddy fields, trees, and some paths. Additionally, there is also the plane itself being inserted into the scenario, where it acts as the spectator. “The will of the aeroplane represents to me the real spectator who gazes out …
Indifferently Insensitive
[This article was previously published in New Age Youth on 21st June, 2015.]
This Op-Ed discussed how comparing rape as a metaphor to a thrashing defeat in a game of football or hacked status on Facebook by youngsters of the society is not only insensitive but a troubling trivialization of the term that otherwise has a serious social concern
Geometry and Philosophy
For my masters course titled ‘Architecture: Theory and Criticism’, I have been instructed to read the book Geometry and Philosophy, the 1985 book by Liaquat Ali, published by Bangla Academy. Below are some of its excerpts translated in English for my ease of understanding.—–For Plato, mathematics held so much importance that the door of his …
Cities are changing faster than you think
[This article was previously published in The Daily Star on 9th August, 2018.]
Humayun’s Tomb: A Masterpiece of the Mughal Era
[This article was previously published in The Daily Star on 9th April, 2018.]