Teen Central
Weighty issue

Actually…no! There aren't many fat people around, and that is what makes you mad! You get dissed in school, your teacher considers you lethargic, and you even get scolded at home, more than your thin sibling who is your same age and who gets almost the same marks at school!

So why does the world behave like this towards you? Why can't they just let you alone? Why do they have to act weirdly towards you when they can't even dress properly?

These questions are probably what you ask, when you get dissed anywhere. People comment at you when you pass by malls. They say how fat you are and how they wish they could avoid you. All these combined make you want to die. It makes you sick of this world and its people!

In fact the slim models on TV, have forced us to change the definition of fatness. Hang on there! In fact, you are not the only one! Some people somewhere are getting these kinds of negative responses, just because they are fat, and the poor kids do not even know that it is not their fault.

If you are fat, it must be for a reason. Maybe it is genetic; maybe you eat a lot whenever you are depressed. My dear, there are other ways to deal with depression. You can listen to music at full volume (helps in my case) or you can hang around your trusted friends in the mall (there isn't any fun place in town) or you can simply pour down your thoughts in Rising Stars!

For some people, it is hard for them to start moving their bodies (exercising). They need help from friends and family members; they need to be pushed around to do the chores, so that they can flex their muscles a bit. Not much…just 20 minutes of exercise a day keeps your tummy tucked away! (Hey that was a nice jingle!)

And for those of you who are not fat; a word of advice… you are going to turn like that in your middle ages unless you exercise. So please do not tease obese people.

It plunges down their self-esteem and confidence on themselves. What you can do however is help them lose weight by advice and, if you are a good friend, you can actually talk to their parents and arrange for your obese friend's therapy.

For parents who are worried about their fat teenagers, please do not simply scold them all the way. They need special care and your support to once again regain the lost confidence in them. Genetic obesity maybe cannot be cured, but proper diet can definitely help them prevent further fat depots. Liposuction, regular gym exercises and even plastic surgery can help them have a healthy body once more.

According to Dr. Raghib Manzoor of Central Hospital, there are four causes of fatness; one is genetic, another is due to metabolic imbalance, and others due to less exercise and due to more intake of food. The last two are not related anyhow. If you eat more and then exercise equally more, then you will not get fat.

I am not sure about genetic fatness, but fatness due to metabolic imbalance can now be cured (Techmedica). Obviously obese people run the risk of having a heart attack and other life-threatning diseases, it is best to be healthy, and not kill yourself in the process of slimming down.

By Shamma M. Raghib

February 7, 2006
JAMES Joyce, Virginia Woolfe, and other such writers used the 'stream of consciousness' technique because they believed the human mind was an amalgam of unconnected, fragmented thoughts; wild and untamed and free. They should have come to RS High...the linear, unidirectional minds of the people here would have been a real eye-opener for them.

Today began with a school assembly, where, after the morning prayer, the Chairperson got her 5 minutes of fame and glory with a well-rehearsed 'extempore' speech, welcoming the students and faculty to another 'productive' academic session. I've no doubt that she was mentally doing a head-count of the assembled crowd and calculating her revenue from all those school fees. The teachers for their part, hung on her every word, fawning over her like any eager brown-noser would do; you could literally smell the lust for raises and promotions.

As for the students themselves, their reactions varied according to the cliques they belonged to. The pro-establishment types stood proud and tall in their uniforms, happy to be in school. The 'rebels' lounged in the back, or in the 'late line', trying to break the uniform code in a dozen imaginative ways. Then there were those, like myself, that were resigned to their fate. We stood there, listening to all that BS about 'school pride' and 'academic integrity', waiting for the singing of the national anthem to be done with so we could just go to our classes.

Once within the four walls of our classroom, the school's social system kicks in. We're talking laws of the jungle...phwoaarr!

From my vantage point at the back of the class, I get to witness Prianka in action. She always sits somewhere in the centre, not at the front row with the teacher's pets, not near the back with the rebels. For all her tendencies towards mindless gossip and meaningless flirtation with half the basketball team, she's really not the hare-brained floozy one might mistake her for. Nope. It takes a certain kind of training to modulate her voice just so, to have everyone leaning in for a share in the conversation. It takes more than just charm to have the teachers look the other way when you're bending the rules. This girl knows how to get maximum mileage out of her assets.

Then there's her little shadow, the ditsy Lamia...honestly, that girl gets on my nerves! How someone could not have a single original thought or opinion in her head is beyond me. I guess there's no room in there because of all the air! She just sat through the entire Economics class, with this bored expression on her face that was just irritating, and actually yawned during this particularly interesting discussion on development. It just killed the mood.

Recess was spent picking on the new girl again. By that, I mean to say Prianka got it on again, with Lamia cheering her on, and the rest of the girls looking on. The stupid git (Sadia) didn't fight back! No self-respect in that one...but I saw that b-ball boy Saquib making moogly eyes at her....ooh...Prianka's going to hate that... This should be so interesting. Somebody hand me the popcorn.

Found Mom in my room when I got back. She was going through my CD collection, shaking her head like it made no sense. I suppose it doesn't really...you'd expect us to be each other's rock after the divorce, but we're strangers living under the same roof. Well, she made a choice...I didn't ask for this.
Afrida

By The girl next door

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's 100th birth anniversary was celebrated in a befitting manner around the world, and here in Dhaka, as a part of the celebration, some of Ibsen's most famous plays were acted out by various different theatre groups. Most of them are Bengali renditions of Ibsen's plays, translated and used in Bangladeshi context.

On the 14th and 15th of the current month, The English Department of Dhaka University organized a two-day commemoration on Ibsen's works of plays and poetry, the main attraction of the evening being back-to-back performances on both the days the dramatization of Ibsen's most celebrated play on woman in society “A Dolls House”

The drama was staged in Nat Mondol inside the Dhaka University. For the play, the entrance to the venue was decorated like that of a Doll's House. The stage too was very well decorated, with 'antique' furniture along with a small decorated Christmas tree on one side. The ambience was befitted with the sound of Norwegian “White Christmas”, giving the audience a feel of Christmas time around us.

The Dolls House is a three-act play about a happy family of Nora and her husband Torvald Helmer. On Christmas Eve, they're joined by Mrs. Linde, Nora's friend and the ailing Dr. Rank, a friend of Helmer. A cloud gathers to disrupt the happiness of the family as Krogstad comes in and threatens to disclose Nora's secrets to Helmer. Will Helmer accept Nora after the terrible truth is revealed, or will the perfectly arranged Doll's House be destroyed? Will Nora reconcile with the status of her life?

Nora is easily Ibsen's most strong and yet under shadowed characters. The role was portrayed by English Department's Fatima Tuz Zahra, while Helmer was played by Upol Biswas. Both lead actors fit perfectly into their roles. Dr. Rank was played by Md. Afzalul karim and it was his first appearance of any sorts on stage.

But he managed well and was never seen to lose composure. Munasir Kamal was Mrs. Linde; her use of authentic English accent added to the believability of the settings. Md. Tanvir Ibna Alam was Krogstad, the villain to the story. Finally there was Mrittika Kamal, who played the role of the Maid. This too was her first stage performance, and yet she performed remarkably well.

Tahmina Ahmed of the Dept. of English directed the play. Working with a groups of students with tight schedules is never easy, there are the exams and class hours, add to that the frequent political disrupts. The EDDS (English Department Drams Society) can easily call this their most successful big project till date.

The event was attended on the last date by Kristian Jarvell of the Royal Norwegian Embassy and Prof. Dr. Sadrul Amin. Thank yous were given on behalf of the students to Proffessor Dr. Niaz Zaman.

By Tanvir Hafiz