While Dhaka’s traditional kushti is dying down, the scenario in other parts of the country is not bleak by any means. Many kushti events still take place outside the capital.

Kushti, also known as pehlwani, a form of traditional wrestling contested in the sub-continent, was once a popular sport in Dhaka after having originated during the Mughal period.

How vast is our planet? The answer may lie in how we perceive it. On the grand cosmic scale, the earth is minuscule, a mere speck invisible even under the most powerful microscope. However, on a human scale, it is truly enormous. 

With falling leaves, worn-out epitaphs and gravestones, and rustle of breeze whispering tales from four centuries ago -- Dhaka Christian Cemetery, known to city dwellers as Narinda or Wari cemetery, has been the resting place of many known or unsung heroes for decades.

“Throughout the journey, death knocked at my door several times, but I never lost my focus, I never gave up,” said Ikramul Hasan Shakil, the intrepid conqueror of the Great Himalaya Trail (GHT), home to three of the highest peaks in the world.

Bidyut Kumar Mondol, a farmer from Kamardha village in Naogaon’s Porsha upazila, finds himself grappling with a challenging predicament. He had prepared 23 bighas of land for cultivating Aman paddy, but his dreams have been thwarted by a relentless lack of water.

Due to decades of excessive water extraction, over 40 percent of unions in the high Barind region are facing severe groundwater depletion.

Arial Beel, one of the largest wetlands located in Munshiganj, is facing an invasion by illegal real estate developers. These business entities have acquired portions of the wetland, filling them up with sand and strategically placing signboards to attract potential buyers for residential development.

In the heart of Old Dhaka, there lies a neighbourhood with a captivating history, centuries-old buildings and a thriving spice market. Farashganj is located on the northern bank of the Buriganga river. Established in 1780, its principal thoroughfares are BK Das Road and Ahsanullah Road. In today’s issue of the Weekend Read, we will explore the history, mystery, and spice of Farashganj.

Due to lack of maintenance, the once-vibrant mill compounds now appear to be haunted places with weeds and vines growing all over

Palichara, a remote village in Rangpur district, is not an unknown name in the local football fraternity ever since it emerged as a breeding ground of female footballers in the country.

Once upon a time, egg collectors used conventional earthen wells to hatch spawns after collecting eggs released by broodfish in the Halda.

It rained in Hathazari, and there was turbulence in the Halda. When the clock struck midnight, quite a few boats gently glided down the river.

The ever-memorable song starts playing while children, sitting on the metallic horsebacks, delightfully start going round and round -- this is a memory many Dhaka residents can still relate to.

In a shabby, derelict building located at Gulistan’s Bangabandhu Avenue, lies Bangladesh’s only state-run organisation that looks after non-government libraries and takes initiatives to popularise reading books.

There was a time not so long ago when Bangladesh Film Development Corporation was abuzz with various activities -- from shooting films to dubbing and editing.

After joining Abahani from BJMC in 1984, I had to endure abusive words from the fans for some off-target shots during a practice session ahead of the match against Mohammedan.

Almost every major football crazy city in the world has a historic club rivalry that it can brag about. Kolkata, London, Manchester, Milan, Madrid – you name it and there’s at least one colourful and storied rivalry to whet the appetite of football fans.

Kamal Hossen is a recently retired professor at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Science of Chattogram University. In a conversation with The Daily Star, he emphasised the importance of the conservation of mangrove forests.

Coastal residents at great risk of cyclones as mangrove forests cut down, leased and grabbed for ‘development’