Music mantra

James Blunt has created quiet a stir, apparently and why shouldn't he. But lately there has been a surge of interest for a hitherto unknown band- Switchfoot. Have you ever heard of Switchfoot? Well you could start with the killer track, you which you can find online at Kazaa. However, to really start your interest going try to watch “Dare you To Move” video.

The song is awesome, having that nice acoustic pop rock feel without giving too much into the popish element. But the video is apparently much better. Again you can find it in Aeries or Kazaa. You can buy the album, “The Beautiful Letdown” if you want to but its not that great, so consequently isnot worth it.

While I am on the topic of Switchfoot, let me talk about another Switchfoot like band which is much much better: Goo Goo Dolls! Don't let the name fool you, because Goo Goo Dolls are awesome and there music is nothing to do with dolls at all. Listen to the song “Iris”, which also happens to be the OST of “City of Angels” and be reveled by what I personally definitely rate as one of the best top 10 songs ever! Iris is a love song, but it is a song which can connect with everybody. Let me quote the lyrics and you can see for yourself:

“ I give up fore-ever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel it somebody
You are the closest to heaven I will ever be
And all I can taste is this moment and all I can breathe is this life…..”

Beautiful isn't? Don't you ever feel that way? If there ever is a song which can bring tears and make you feel really close to heaven, this is it. Starting with an awesome acoustic riff and then building up to the fantastic chorus:

“I don't want the world to see me,
Cause I don't think they will understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am”
Remarkably true, ain't it!

Another great Goo Goo Dolls song you can add to the package is Here is Gone, having the elements which makes it immediately lovable, a nice acoustic intro riff, nice lyrics and an inspiring chorus. Mainstream rock never gets better than Here is Gone. Trust me!

Try buying the album, Gutterflower.
Now want a slight twist in your musical senses. Listen to this band which screams out Beetles loudly, “The Killers”. Their music is pop-rock but hey hey let me tell you its god-damn funny. Take this for lyrics, “You had a girlfriend, who looked like your boyfriend, you had last year” Crazy lyrics, or not “the Killers” are right now really popular world-wide. Their best song obviously, “Mr. Brightside” Try to listen to it.
Ok this is it for this edition. Here you have the playlist:
1. Switchfoot “You”
2. Switchfoot “Dare You To Move”
3. Goo Goo Dolls “IRIS”
4. Goo Goo Dolls “Here is Gone”
5. The Killers “Mr. Brightside”
I leave you with the inspiring lyrics from Iris. Boy I do love Iris!
“ I don't want the world to see me,
cause I don't think they will understand
when everything is made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am”

By Reggie

Standing beside nature

Big trip, big group of travelers and equally big amount of time spent planning. It all started a long time ago back in 2004. All this planning finally materialized into reality just at the end of last year. That's when we heard that the Chairman, Gulrukh Hoque, of the Zoology Department of the Jagannath University has arranged a study tour for the students and my mother and her colleague (Rowshon Ara Begum) were in charge of that.

It was 31st December and we started our journey by train at 4:30 p.m. Rowshan aunt's family was also with us in the train. We greeted the new year going to Potenga sea beach and heading off to Foy's Lake. The lake is a beautiful place for the tourist's as a beautiful theme park has been built beside it. We traveled the whole place by boat for half an hour.

Starting the new year
Finally we received our mother and others in the hotel at 3:00p.m and we had our lunch together. We woke up early in the morning to view the sunrise at Cox's Bazaar sea beach. The beach was a peaceful, nice and cool place. There I understood why the doctors always suggest going to a tranquil place for some R&R. The water was really cold and there were sea shells to scoop up. Beautiful marine life included starfishes, jellyfishes, sea feathers and red crabs.

We continued our journey at 12:30p.m reaching Teknaf. The study tour group as we were awed at the beautiful sight of Naaf River and the mountains of Myanmar. The Naaf River is the main border between Bangladesh and Myanmar and Teknaf is the tail of Bangladesh. There were small tents of the Rakhain tribes (people who migrated from Myanmar) near the Naaf River and their facial features were similar to Chinese people. A lot of salt is taken from the Naaf River and we saw the whole process at a salt purification factory.

While my parents were so tired that they would probably fall asleep standing up I did not feel even a wink of weariness. The view from the balcony was impressive as beautiful green mountains spread out in front. That day we decided to visit Teknaf beach but the roads were so narrow a regular bus could not pass through so an open vehicle called “Chander Gari” was hired.

Tribute to love
We were late and missed the beautiful sunset there but the bright orange sky was still visible. From there we headed to Matheen's Kup (a ring well) which happens to be a tribute to love. The love once flourished between Dheeraj (a police inspector) and Matheen (daughter of a Jaminder named Wangthin). Everyday Matheen used to come to fetch water from that well (which was in front of the police station). Dheeraj sat every morning in front of the station to see that unknown beautiful girl. When Wangthin heard about these he was very eager to welcome Dheeraj as his son-in-law but Dheeraj's friend became the obstacle. He sent a letter to Dheeraj's father informing him about his son. The father told his son to return back home. The son left and did not come back. The girl waited and at last gave up hope. She could not take the isolation any longer and sacrificed her life by falling in that well.

Narrow main road
Next morning we set sail for St. Martin on board a small ship named “Keari Sindbad”. The distance of 38 kilometres was taken though a foggy Naaf River that hid the mountains of Myanmar. At 12:30a.m we stepped in the warm sands of St. Martin. It's a small island of about 600 hectare lying near the tail of Bangladesh. It's a dumbbell-shaped island named after a British captain. The only transport was small rickshaw vans, which carried us and our luggage to the hotel. The van driver told us this is the main road which was surprising because the main road could only accommodate a single van at a time.

Turtle and high schools
At night my mother took everyone to show the turtle hatchery. She suggested everyone to bring track shoes but I had to limp because of blisters. This island is often called “Nareekel Jinjira”. After a 2 km walk we met a man from environment ministry called Mahmud Uddin. He said that at night the turtles come out of the sea and dig to lay eggs. Their eggs are like small golf balls.

The human population is nearly about 5,000 and the people are very religious as there are many madrasas in there. He said that there is only one high school with surprisingly only 15 students. End of the day I calculated that I must have walked about 7km and that was good exercise for a fat person like me!

The following morning we went to see a small island named “Chheradiya Island” which is at the end of the St. Martin Island. It's the dead end of Bangladesh. During the time of low tide it looks like the two islands are one. We returned at 11:30a.m at the hotel and having lunch we went to see the museum at the beach where many species of sea animals has been collected and stored. I noticed one thing that at the beginning of a journey time rushes by some time later it seems to stand still. This thing happened to me too, as I was bored.

Back to the din
The tour was about to finish the next day (5th Jan 06) and my mother, along with her students, was about to return to Dhaka by bus. The rest of us returned by plane. Getting back to Dhaka I felt really very disturbed by the noisy vehicles on the road. I guess after staying for one week at a peaceful place my mind was almost changed and so Dhaka looked like a strange new place.

I asked my father to take us back every year so we can revel in nature's gift.

By Rahber E Alam(Raafa)