Point of view

'Of Parents & GCE Exams'

This piece of article is purely not a work of fiction. Any resemblance to anyone living, dead or even unborn is completely intentional and not coincidental.

One bad news is that now I don't see even half as many friends as I used to before the revelation of the O' level results. I guess most of them are sitting at home and getting spanked by their mothers. Different parents have different reactions about the results but there are some geeky families who are not even happy with good results. For example:

There is this guy in our class, Z, who is undoubtedly the biggest nerd in our school. His glasses are so powerful, that his eyes look like a pair of bowling balls behind those (bowling balls with black dots). He wears his pants more than a foot above his belly button that sometimes it even makes our teachers wonder about the necessity of his wearing a shirt at all. A few days ago I heard that Z got 9 As in his O levels, so I went to his house to congratulate him and that was when I found out that his mother was not happy with his result. I heard Z's mother saying, "How come you didn't get the highest in any of the subjects? If your results are average like this in the future, then you won't be able to get to any good university. Why can't you be like Aatelu Miya, your elder brother who is studying law at Harvard?" That was one time in my life I felt like the worst student in the world. It is not possible for everyone to be like Aatelu Miya, someone has to fill the places of the 'Taina Tuina Passes (TTPs)'.

Then there is this friend of mine, A, who didn't do well in his exams (unlike the name I selected for him). I was even shocked to hear that he passed in Economics with a surprisingly outstanding 'D' (believe me, he is that bad). The day the results were out, no one at A's home were receiving any phone calls, and at that very moment I understood that something was wrong with his result. Two days later A's mother called me and started crying over the phone. Then she started scolding me for not being a good friend and looking after any of A's subjects (hearing this I almost burst into laughter but fortunately I got hold of myself; usually I don't). For God's sake why should I take care of someone who is as old as I am? Neither am I more mature, nor was I one of the ten private tutors to whom A went for eight of his subjects (yeah, it is true, 8 subjects, 10 tutors and a reputed school). Well as I said before, someone has to fill the places of the TTPs and thank God it's not me.

And there are always the demanding and never-satisfied parents. One of my friends, S, is lucky enough to have a pair of them. S is the average, regular teenager, with nothing extraordinary (reminds you of Archie, doesn't it). But no one can make his parents believe this. S's parents always expect the best from him and are always disappointed (and every time S has to face the music). I think his parents should understand that S is no genius. Before the GCE results were out S's parents were quite sure that he would get straight A's with even a few distinctions too. Unfortunately he ended up getting a 'B' and a 'C'. Now guess what happened at their house. I didn't have guts of steel to go to his house and congratulate him the next day (I didn't want to see any one ending up in Dhaka CMH in front of my own eyes)

There are more varieties of parents and O level results than the number of colours in Govinda's T-shirts. I guess either I'll have to write faster because I am running out of ink or stop my article here . If I write too much I might even accidentally write about my parents and my result (then I won't be able to show up in public). And before I leave here's a joke to switch on the moods of all the TTPs:

Q: How many detectives does it take to screw on a nail?
A: Two, one to screw it on and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end (Z, A and S you guys know who you are, please do me a favour, don't tell anyone my results).

By Mohabeer

With and Without Siblings

Some people with siblings say that they are really glad that they have someone with whom they can laugh with, cry with or share secrets with. Others say, 'I really wish I were an only child! I'm sick of this pain I call my sibling!' However, most of the ones without siblings wish for one. Me? Well, I have had the opportunity to experience both the situations, that is having and not having siblings with me at home, and frankly, I do not know which one I like. There are advantages and disadvantages of both!

First, let me talk about the disadvantages of having siblings. Now that both my sisters are abroad studying, I get to spend a lot of time alone and uninterrupted, thinking things over. Having very little age gap between each other, we have had so many fights and quarrels that I am sure we will be amongst the top ten of the most quarrelsome siblings. And no one could agree to the saying 'Three is a crowd' more that I do. Whenever two of us fought, the other one would be a 'devilish-angel' and report to our parents. While those two got punished or scolded, even if it was a mild 'Don't do it again,' the 'angel' would stand contently in a corner, as if she was the role model (not that I haven't been the devilish-angel myself…). This is definitely the biggest disadvantage of having two siblings!

Having to share goodies all the time is another disadvantage. If, by any chance, anyone brought five (not three or six or nine) chocolate bars for us, it would create one huge dilemma. Who should be left out? Since no one wants to be left out, the two extra bars had to be divided into three parts. Dividing them into three equal parts is a difficult task. So a little bit of unjustness had to be practiced. Youngest one got one whole bar, and the two elder ones divided the other bar into two equal halves and shared them. And who was the youngest?

Yes! Me! For once, unfair life was in my favour! Muhuhahahaaa! But, if I did not have any siblings at all, I would have had the privilege of hoarding all the five bars!

Those who want a room of their own but can't due to a shortage of rooms and a surplus of family members, might find this sharing-of-a-room the biggest problem. When you are trying your best to concentrate on something, the presence of someone can be very distracting indeed! Also, if your taste of music differs from that of your sibling's, you will find yourself in a very irritating situation. Your sibling will protest when you listen to your favourite song for the ninth time; you will have to listen to his/her favourite song nine times too, even if it is the trashiest song by the trashiest boy band.

For me, however, sharing a room is the biggest advantage of having siblings. Being the scaredy-cat that I am, I would hate to have a room of my own. If, at night, I hear footsteps right outside the window, I need someone next to me whom I can pinch and ask, 'What's that?' If ever I needed a glass of water in the middle of the night, I would wake my sister up and say, 'Could you please accompany me to the dining room? I'm really thirsty.' Amazingly, she never said 'no' to this absolutely irrational plea occasionally made in the middle of the night. I guess at times like these, her drowsiness did not allow her to protest. Good for me! But now? I just have to stay without having that glass of water.

Another advantage is fighting! Yes, I know I just mentioned that fighting is a big disadvantage, but think about the endless laughs that the petty issues over which you fought, had brought. The after effects of fighting are definitely worth the fight. I am sure that a lot of us derive a secret pleasure from screaming, kicking and punching at our siblings. Although for those few minutes, you might feel that you will never talk to your sibling again, it might be the source of very entertaining conversations for years to come.

If, at school, you have just heard the latest, hottest news, but can't tell any of your friends because you promised you wouldn't, it is your sibling you can turn to. Your sibling will soon tell you the hottest gossips s/he found out, and you will realize in no time, that you know a whole lot about a person you have never met! So nowadays, if I have some news that is bursting to come out, I rush to my room to find that I can't tell anyone after all, and that I have to painfully digest it. Even if I decorate my room in the brightest of yellow colours, it actually lacks luster. The cheerfulness, exuberance is actually missing.

Oh well! I guess having siblings isn't something we should complain about. It probably is worth it!

By Marwa

Poems

Solitude
A half-sleeping night
Some twinkling stars
Seem to be sitting far away
Lodging with the setting moon.

My two legs quite silent
But I'm walking hither and thither.
But still there I am…

Where was I?

Here I am amongst man
Conversing with someone
Yet I am alone.

Garden trees, tinselled garment wear
But no light
With an unquenched moon in the sky

Alone I am, and silent
But what noise all around me?
I am sitting here in loneliness.
With a lot of eagerness
I appeal to the rest
What business am I drowning in?
I am sitting here alone
But there's shouting all about me
My mind is restless
But I am motionless.

By Hossano Jaman

True Story

Way to go Simon
Simon Cowell might have all the attitude in the world when he's choosing the next JLo on American Idol but looks like he could use a little help back at home. The unsuspecting judge was shocked when he emerged from his bathroom wearing nothing but a towel and found his newly appointed maid standing in his bedroom all dressed up in tight jeans and T-shirt. Before anything could be said or done, Ms Chutzpah started bopping around the room, singing at the top of her lungs!

Well, Judge Cowell certainly didn't like this cheeky performance because the first words he uttered were "You're FIRED!" Shattered, she asked, "You mean I have no chance to be on the show?" Being the gentleman that he is Simon tried to be merciful, "No . . . but you can stay and clean my house." But the opportunity of cleaning Simon Cowell's house didn't seem like a coveted job for the twenty something wanna-be contestant who had been hired only days before: "I'm not really a maid -- I only took this job to sing for you." Snapped Simon: "In that case, pack up your things and leave!"
(Source: Yahoo)

Revenge of the Dead!
Who'd have known that selling a skull was illegal? Certainly not Jerry David Hasson or else he wouldn't have ended up behind bars. Of course, the skull Jerry was trying to sell was an 'artifact' and that seems to have made all the difference. He put the two hundred-year-old skull that belonged to a Hawaiian adult female on sale on eBay in February, claiming that he had found it at an excavation site. A member of a Native Hawaiian group warned Hasson that selling the skull was a violation of law and asked him to return it for ceremonial reburial. An undercover agent even arranged to buy the skull but Hasson tried to get the agent to pay him two thousand dollars and get the skull as a return gift.

Now he could face a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act that protects the rights of the skull!
(Source: Yahoo)

Daddy doesn't care
Hollywood star couples might be clamoring for kids to complete their picture perfect image but what the likes of Julia Roberts should know is: according to a recent survey most dads pretend to be asleep when their babies cry during the night, making many mums resentful. 52 percent of dads do not get up with their wailing children while a further 22 percent only get up after mums have already painfully crawled out of bed. The lack of support leaves six in ten mothers feeling bitter and frustrated toward their partners. "It's amazing so many relationships survive the onslaught of a baby, but sadly, some never recover," said Elena Dalrymple, editor of Mother & Baby magazine, which carried out the survey of two thousand parents across the UK. Oh dear and Julia's got twins!
(Source: CNN.com)

Compiled by the Hitchiker

Story

No Boundaries

These days there are a lot of cool places for teenage hangouts. Like fastfoods, ice cream parlours and even the concerts that are very frequently held these days. Most of the cool hangouts today are Thunderbolt, Pizza Hut, and all the recent mania of the FCs. Many people especially parents have this idea that concerts are places for the teenagers to dope. Well that's individual's point of view but sometimes it is. In our generation everyone or the other, we have exotic dreams of becoming cool and outgoing but that doesn't mean that we can always do the way we feel like.

In our age most of our parents are always worried about us of what we do, and where and with whom we hang out and all sorts of weird tensions. Most of us, we take this as a rubbish and an useless subject to fuss about with our parents. We do whatever comes to our mind and our parents are bound to let us do those.

Today in our country the teenagers have caught up the European style of living, clothing and even speaking and the main cause of this is the media. We tend to live like that and follow them but we have to understand that, that is not our culture and would never be. Even sometimes while speaking our own language, some of us speak in such an accent as if they have just landed from the US.

Teenagers of today are unimaginably fast. They hangout in late night parties, go on date each day with a new one and often make out publicly. It's a new fashion these days to move with a girlfriend or boyfriend and to have good back-ups otherwise they are given the name 'belless'. Well that's a common name for the guys who cannot impress girls.

Our generation has become so fast that they cannot be stopped if even wanted because no one in there to have control on them, not even the parents. It is of course good to enjoy life because what's there without it. We also have so many places open to do that, even concerts because I think that is the best place to get refreshed by the recent types of Bangla music though old people would faint listening to them but we should maintain our culture and do accordingly.

I do not think that being outgoing is bad or not approvable but there should be a certain limit to that. We should not be deprived of what we want because even I am a teenager and I also go to concerts with friends and hangout in fastfoods and other places I like.

So my advice to whoever is reading this is do whatever is defined by your way of enjoyment but never get across the limit because once you do that it is very difficult to step back to the right track. There should always be a boundary to the extent of enjoyment and extravagance in our lives but having no boundaries may lead to destruction.

By Olina Islam