Rising Star of The Monthk Raya

As we settled down for an interview with our Rising Star of this month, Raya, we turned on the music system for a taste of her talents. A mature voice began to sing one of Tagore's popular songs. Then, when we saw Raya it became hard for us to connect such an elegant and mature voice to this young teenager.

Raya's love for music evolved from a very young age. Both her parents encouraged her love for music and her mother taught her some of her own favourite songs. Raya started taking Tagore lessons from Nilotpal Sadhya at the age of seven. Then, at the age of ten, she started taking classical lessons from Anup Borua. Thus Raya entered into the melodious world of music.

The recording of Raya's debut album "Elem Notun Deshe" took place in Kolkata, last November. Talking about her experiences of the recording, Raya says that when she and her mother reached Kolkata, they found that something was horribly wrong with arranging the recording studio. However, the man who was in charge of the recording, Mr. Swapan Chatterji, fixed things in no time. Thus commenced the grueling task of practicing and training to perfection. It took about two days to record all the 15 songs. The recording was a wonderful experience for Raya because in the process she met many renowned professional musicians and instrumentalists. She says that these people treated her like their daughter and made things much easier for her. Thus Raya's first album was created. The album came out near the end of last year and was a huge success.

Raya's future plans are to pursue music as a career besides higher studies. For the time being Raya, who is a student of class ten is concentrating on her studies, with her O' Level exams coming up. She spends her free time listening to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston and also playing basketball.

By Nusrat, Shoaib and Rohini

Book review
The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

“The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy," originally appeared as a BBC Radio 4 series in March 1978, created by Douglas Adams [1952 - 2001]. As a book, it went straight to number one in the UK Bestseller List and in 1984; he became the youngest author to be awarded a Golden Pan, the first of three of these awards. Adams followed his success with "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" (1980), "Life, The Universe, and Everything" (1982), "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish" (1984), and "Mostly Harmless" (1992).

"The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is the first of a five book series (all books previously named). The story revolves around two main characters, Arthur Dent, and his alien-cum-best friend, Ford Prefect. Arthur Dent's day starts much as any other day, with a hangover. But from there on, events unfold as anything but normal. O Thursday lunchtime, the Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this seems already to be more than he can cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun, and the galaxy is a very strange and startling place. Arthur is saved by an alien called Ford Prefect, who has been visiting earth to update its entry for the latest edition of "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy." They hitch a ride on a Vogon spaceship, and thus begin Arthur's hilarious adventures in space. Along the way he encounters a cast of unforgettable characters, dips in and out of parallel universes, and, as one would expect at the end of all memorable journeys, discovers the answer to life, the universe and everything.

The other four books, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", "Life, The Universe, and Everything", "So Long and Thanks for all the Fish", and "Mostly Harmless" have similar story lines. In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle through space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat. In Life, The Universe and Everything, the unhappy inhabitants of the planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads - so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goals of annihilation, Arthur Dent and his crew. In So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish, Arthur Dent is left at the end of LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING with the address for God's Final Message to His Creation, and he lets this crucial information slip his mind. In, "Mostly Harmless" it is easy to become disheartened when your planet has been demolished for an unnecessary hyperspacial express route, the woman you love has vanished in a misunderstanding about the nature of space/time, the spaceship in which you are traveling crashed in flames on a remote and Bob-fearing planet, and all you have to fall back on are a few sandwich-making skills.

I would say that it was suitable for a 10 year olds and upwards although there are some words in there that I had to find out what they meant and there is also a few swear words in there but they are infrequent. I found these books quite easy to read. Like I said earlier there are words in there that I didn't understand, but that does not prevent us from enjoying the story. They are very amusing and sometimes leave you completely puzzled. The untimely death of the author Douglas Adams has shocked all his fans and readers, because the literary world has just lost one of its best writers, and one of the most unique writers with a strange but interesting outlook on life, the universe and everything.

By Rohini Alamgir

Do it yourself…

The Do-It-Yourself procedure is meant for enthusiastic and self-determined people, who are willing to take up a cha lenge and stand proud of being able to finish a job well done by themselves. You are basically trying to make something on your own which maybe easily available in any shop. However, if you do have the energy and the patience to use the Do-It-Yourself process but don't know how to go about it, try out some of the following and make your time useful.

Live in an apartment and can't own a pet? Find yourself a spot on the windowsill or the balcony to place a self-made birdhouse. To make a basic one, take four pieces of wood and nail them together to make a cube or cuboid. Cut out a big hole in the middle on one side and place in some straws, twigs or threads to make it look like a nest. Then save a corner within the box where you can spread in some breadcrumbs or biscuit crumbs to attract the bird. This is very useful, especially in winter where the birds can be warm inside the nest and if you are lucky, you'll eventually find two or three new-borns crying out for more food!

Ever felt that you could do better things with money than spend it on buying brand new furniture? For instance, you may need a new bookshelf because of all the books that are scattered all over the floor and under your bed. Well, you can always go to Segunbagicha where all second hand materials are available at a cheaper price. The job is to smoothen out the shelf with sandpaper. Then you can paint in whatever colour preferred and finally after the paint is dry, varnish it and leave it for 24hours. You can change in the colour of the glass and all the materials such as sandpaper, wood, paint and paintbrush or varnish can be found in any hard ware shops.

Here's something everybody tends to throw away every year. Clothes! Either you grow and your clothes shrink, or you get sick of that white T-shirt that's beginning to look more yellowish. Why not dye that top or salwar kameez? Dyes are available everywhere and you can turn that boring white fatua into a dazzling garden green blouse! You can always shorten that kameez or super glue in buttons along the sides of the salwar. It may look awkward to others but it sure brings out a unique you! As for the guys, you can always cut out around the collar and around the sleeves and stitch on a new matching material around them. For example with a black T-shirt, one can remove the collar and sleeve-line and replace it with a bright red fabric bringing out a vampire-look!

There are so many other things like glitter, paint or just tiny chunks of metal that can be added to your clothes making your wardrobe look wacky and matchless! You can change the look of your room's furniture by cutting or adding on bits of different wood and paint in all kinds of hues. You make the rules when making something on your own and there's no feeling more satisfactory then the feeling of pride by being able to do it on your own especially at a lower cost.

By Shayera Moula

The capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (fondly called KL), is a modern metropolis complete with booming shopping districts and great cars. In recent times it has also become a popular destination for many Bangladeshi tourists and once you're there you'll know why.

About three hours away if you are travelling by Malaysian Airlines the first thing about this country that will leave a lasting impression on you is its super airport the KLIA, which is simply "heaven on Earth." Shiny floors, fashionable lounges and cool interior décor make it such a great place, I wouldn't mind living there if I could!

Our trip to KL was a little out of the ordinary since (for very strange reasons) we ended up in the city without hotel bookings. As luck would have it all the hotels were filled to the brim with tourists cramming into KL for the Chinese New Year celebrations. Thus at five in the morning, we drowsily watched Kuala Lumpurians wake up for a new day. It was a great introduction to the city but at that particular time and place I didn't think so. Finally after searching and searching and even more searching we found a hotel which had empty rooms. When the receptionist told us that rooms were available I blurted out, "Are you sure?" Incidentally the hotel was called "Agora" and it was not the best of places. I am not complaining however because the very next day we migrated to a much better place next door. Once there even the hotel towels felt like heaven!

Shopping is a way of life for the people of KL and if is for you too then Jalan Bukit Bintang, a posh shopping area populated by large shopping centers filled with brand names, is the place for you. In fact if anyone said that KL is a place to shop, then they would be saying the right thing. Warning: Please do NOT enter this place with your mother or your sister if you want to keep your sanity. You might also want to try out the breath-taking, stylish Suria KLCC home of names like "Armani" and "Versace" if not for the purpose of buying anything then simply for admiring its architecture. However as loyal Bangladeshis we first headed for Chinatown, a modernized version of our beloved Bongo where you will find all kinds of stuff, which are of the "affordable kind". Haggling is one language everyone understands and my mother was successfully able to prove this right there! If you are looking for brands like Nike and Adidas then Malaysia is the place. There are special factory outlets where you will find all kinds of designs straight from the factories and they are relatively cheaper than downtown shops.

As we walked down the streets of KL, one thing we noticed was that ALL the cars were of expensive. By all I mean all. Mercedes and BMW virtually rule the place. Only the taxis are Protons. What a way to live! Another amazing thing is that when these people park their cars in parking lots they don't turn of the engines. Instead they keep it on with the air-conditioning running!

Every trip to KL would be incomplete without a visit to the Petronas Twin Towers, the site of the film "Entrapment". We went there early in the morning and were taken up to the fortieth floor in a matter of seconds for a bird's eye view of the city and it was absolutely breath taking.

Another great place to go is the Genting Highlands resort right outside of KL with a great amusement part and gaming arcade.While there you can also brush up on your Malay, like I did. "Tandas" is the word that I added to my vocabulary, which means "restroom". Any idea why this was the first word that I learnt?

Now, while you ponder whether to make this lively city your next holiday destination, I'll have to go pack my bags for another trip to KL. Anyone knows which way the tandas is?

By Shoaib Alam