The cokeless side of life

Right, then. Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to talk about a very important subject matter of life. I don't really know about you, but I've kinda taken quite a liking to Coca-cola. I've always had that liking. In fact, from my infancy and all the way to adolescence, I frequently counted money in terms of coke. You're not going to take me to an amusement park? Fine, be like that… Just feed me Coca-Cola then, and I'm happy. I was willing to walk amazing distances, ride god-awful public buses and face numerous other ordeals, such as education if only for the sweet sweet reward of a bottle of chilled coke. Hmm. Scratch the first bit. I still count money in terms of coke. Eid came and went, and I wondered how many 250ml bottles of coke I could afford with the obtained money. 10? No, 15! OhmygodBBQPIZZA, yes!!! And now? Only the unit of quantity has changed… How many crates of coke can I afford now?

Coca-cola is awesome. It's life.
For some reason or the other, a lot of people prefer other brands of soda drinks. God knows why, when undoubtedly coke is the best. It's not that I hate the other brands, but it's that, if there was an option, coke would come first, and all else is simply secondary. Including water.

Very recently, something terrible happened… Coke… is out. No more is it being manufactured here in our beloved country. The reason is dubious and mysterious. But, some say that the coke concentrate that we get from abroad has stopped coming in. Some more say that this is BSTI's fault. That they found something within the awesome recesses of the coke concentrate, which may or may not be harmful to us.

Whatever the case, one thing is certain- there's no coke. For us, we have reached the potential end of coke. The coke is over. For coke connoisseurs like me and you, this is a tragedy.

It is a time of crisis, and we must endure through it, just like we endured through many gameless months before, we must now strengthen our hearts, our tongues and our stomach against the oncoming onslaught of alternate drinks. Needs must when the devil drives.

But, what exactly is the reason for all this? Here's what some people say.

As you might know, Tabani Beverage had the license to bottle and market Coca Cola products. But, in Dhaka and Rajshahi. Meanwhile, Abdul Monem Limited holds the license to bottle and market them in the other four divisions. Now, where's the trouble, you ask? Tabani Beverage does NOT have any facility to fill up Coca Cola in PET bottles (the 500ml ones), so Abdul Monem has been supplying Tabani with the PET bottle cokes for years. With Coca-Cola's consent, of course.

So, what does this mean? Nothing much. Except that Coca-Cola (Fareast) has refused to renew Tabani's license, because they supposedly failed to comply with quality compliances in production, and has yet to setup its own plant for bottling Coca-Cola in PET bottles. This has taken a toll on everybody.

If we want coke, we must either transverse great rivers and massive lands and into the other four divisions or buy imported 330 ml cans at the throat-cutting price of 80 taka (or more). OR, what we can wait and bide our time as Tabani is able to obtain the renewed license.

This was very bad management in Tabani Beverage's case- they should have set up that plant when it was supposed to, and they should not have failed any compliancy issues. Because of them, they suffer, we suffer, everyone suffers. Vae Cocacolamator- Woe to the Coca-Cola lovers…
Coca-cola is life. It's gone.

By Emil

The monotony of school life and the classroom can come into play very easily, instilling boredom, in otherwise super-active minds. Therefore, it is with much delight that the students of Adroit School welcomed the much awaited picnic. The setting was Fantasy Kingdom with the water park on top of everyone's agenda. There was much uproar from the students of Class 3 up to A Levels, who took part in the event, as they were greeted at the gate by Prince Ashu. That helped set the mood for a day of relentless fun.

The children specially enjoyed the rides and the special attention that the teachers showered them with on that day. The sound of laughter and aura of excitement was rather infectious and even the park attendants began to get into a festive mood.

'This is the best picnic of my life.' Exclaimed one tiny tot from grade three as he got out of the very popular wave pool. It was enjoyable in itself, just to witness the happy face, which were literally all around. The teachers also stepped out of their strict character for a little while as they enjoyed the rides and a little dip in the pool.

'This is the perfect opportunity to not only let the children let off some steam but it also is the ideal time to bond with our students, which helps us to strengthen the Adroit Family of ours. Plus, children should be ensured of having a super time, at least once.' Mr. Waqar Ahmed, the Principle, says with his ever present smile. 'This proves that Education is fun.' Quips a student from behind.

After a whole day of all play and no work, the students reluctantly head back to dining area, which signals that the much waited day is coming to a close. The students linger back as long as permissible to delay the day of fun for a little while longer, joking, talking and simply enjoying. But soon it is time to head back home and await perhaps the monotony of the classroom days. Or maybe not, because as long as education can be fun as is Adroit's motto, there should be no boredom in the four corners of the classroom, rather more fun and much more education.

By Osama Rahman

Blessed with an angel

As the saying goes, life is like a stage and we are all actors in it, some stay with us till the very end, and while others just complete their parts and leave us forever. Life is a mixture of laughter, tears, blessings, tragedy, and sometimes, life is just as it is. But there are some without whom it won't be just difficult for us, but it would be impossible to live life. To some, it is their special one, to some his friends, and to some, like me, it's the person we call mother, or just “Ma”!

Just like all the possessions in our lives, this is the personwhom we always take for granted. It's my mom's duty to look after me. But we always seem to forget the duties we have for her. Why do we turn our backs when our turn comes? The person who carried me in her womb for 9 months, taught me to speak, how can I abandon her?

Mother is the angel, who takes you in her arms, when you wake up after experiencing a nightmare, and whispers, “It's alright!” She is the person, whose finger you clutched when you tried to walk. She is the person, who lent you her shoulder when you wanted to cry your heart out. The person, who fed you, morsel by morsel, when you were lying in bed, ill! The person who always shared her food with you with a smile, and even went hungry so that you got you fill. The person, who never said no to you, when you cried for a balloon, even though she knew perfectly well, that you will burst it the moment you get your hands on it! The person who looked sadly at you, and understood what you wanted, even when you couldn't speak properly! The person who told you fairy tales, and made you realize that you are a charming prince, or the most beautiful princess in the world!

If only life was a fairy tale, and we could have live happily ever after…….. But once the charming prince grows up, the time he spent with his mother gradually decreases. The mother stays awake for her son, until he arrives home, only to find that he has already eaten. She yearns for his touch, but he is too busy to have a word with him. To busy to realize that maybe she is the same person who stayed awake the whole night, when he was shivering with fever. Humans are perhaps the most ungrateful creature to roam on Earth. It's his nature to forget…….to realize the significance of things, of people. Of how much his mother means to him. He is too stupid to realize, that he's not her need, but the fact that he's here because of her. Too foolish to recognize the angel, that God sent us, because He couldn't always be there for us

Dedicated to Ma

By The Dark Lord

Jokes

"One thing vampire children are taught is, never run with a wooden stake." --Jack Handey

"When a guy's printer type began to grow faint, he called a local repair shop where a friendly man informed him that the printer probably needed only to be cleaned. Because the store charged $50 for such cleanings, he told him he might be better off reading the printer's manual and trying the job himself.
Pleasantly surprised by his candor, he asked, "Does your boss know that you discourage business?"
"Actually, it is my boss's idea," the employee replied.
"We usually make more money on repairs if we let people try to fix things themselves first."

Just as a surgeon was finishing up an operation the patient wakes up, sits up and demands to know what is going on.
"I'm about to close," the surgeon says.

The patient grabs his hand and says, "Oh, no you're not! I'll close my own incision."
The doctor hands him the needle and says, "Suture self."