Ghum Parani Mashi Pishi Moder Ghore

It's sad I can't sleep. It might be the excitement of tomorrow, or maybe I have become an insomniac, as my friend just told me, or maybe the 'ghum parani mashi pishis' are mad at me, like they're at this friend of mine. Anyway, it made me think about the number of insomniacs around us. Some people spend all their nights online, some on the phone, and some just can't sleep. The sad part is, insomnia occurs 1.4 times more commonly in women than in men. Boohoo.

There are, however, different kinds of insomnia. First is onset insomnia which is the difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, often associated with anxiety disorders. Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia is the kind of insomnia which is characterized by difficulty returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night or waking too early in the morning, which is also referred to as nocturnal awakenings. Then there is middle insomnia, which is waking during the middle of the night, difficulty maintaining sleep. It's often associated with pain syndromes or medical illness. Yay for the docs… they'll get paid more.

If you ask me, I'd say insomnia occurs due to the absence of the 'ghum parani mashi pishis' Too bad science says insomnia occurs mainly due to anxiety, a condition in which individuals feel increased tension, apprehension, and feelings of helplessness, fear, worry, and uncertainty. Then there's the stress factor, or how effectively a person copes with any emotional, physical, social, economic, or other factor that requires a response or change. And then, depression a mood disturbance characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement. However, medical conditions like allergies, arthritis, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, and Parkinson's disease cause insomnia.

Take a warm bath
Warm baths relax the muscles and adjust the body temperature, making it ideal for sleep. Like the times you came out of the shower and wanted to go to sleep?

Listen to music.
This will definitely make you go to sleep; the music will soothe you and make you go to that phantasmagorical world. Play some soft, soothing music that will lull you to sleep. There are, however some weird people who go to sleep hearing death metal. Strange, plain strange.

Eat
People are advised to avoid spicy food before sleeping, as it causes gas. Ideal food is milk and cookies. The milk has chemicals in them that act as a brain relaxant, while the cookies have essential carbs required to fire up the sleep hormones. Do not go to bed hungry!

Get Up Earlier in the Morning
I am not sure how many of you wild kids does that these days, but it helps.

Counting sheep
I know, lame. But some people actually have tried it and got really, really good results!

Day dream
Think of something that makes you happy. Think think think. You'll think until you'll get bored of thinking and finally you'll go to sleep.

Exercise
Exercise regularly at least 20 minutes daily, ideally 4-5 hours before your bedtime

Hope you get your great sleep, because I know I am way too sleepy to write anymore. I guess I got over my insomnia…or they just came back to lull me back to sleep!

By Raida Kifait Reza
Source: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/insomnia/page2_em.htm

After getting many criticisms for the introductory play of this year, the progress of the Maple-leaf Drama Club (MDC) remained relatively subdued. However, oblivious of what was coming ahead we all engaged ourselves to our education.

One of the ex-students of Maple-leaf, currently studying in Dhaka University, proposed that the drama club should perform the play, 'JOGA KHICHUDI', in the first anniversary of the Management Club. We all were in high spirits and started our rehearsal without wasting a single moment. However obstacles awaited the ML IS journey to the DU.The team had to pass the audition in order to perform. Within a very short notice, the creative directors Sadat & Debojit shortened up the 40 min story into 15 min.

Thanks to the unparallel acting of Ishtiaque, the Expression King Jafa,the witty Tasia along with the clever-minded Nazmee,the consistent performer Saurabh, the loudspeaker Azmee & the super villain Raiyan, the audition passed very smoothly. By the way the journey to one of the infamous universities was not all disappointing. For instance, the team celebrated the success by having dalpuri and sipping cups of tea from THE MODHUR CANTEEN. However, there were some moments which I would always cherish. On our way to the DU, when we were stuck in a traffic jam I spotted the guava-seller and insisted on buying some. Just when the car was about to leave I grabbed a packet of chatni without any payment. The seller shouted behind us but unfortunately all his efforts went in vain.

No other obstacles could stop the upcoming achievement which awaited the DC team. Neither the transport problems nor the lack of interest of the Maple-leaf students on hearing the news or the miking problems that we encountered in the DU, since the dramatic entry of the team in the DU campus, the loud applause and the cheers of the audience after watching the play washed away the bitter moments from our minds.

Oops! sorry I forgot to mention that it was a comedy play, named JOGA KHICHUDI , directed and written by Sadat and Debojit. Finally I would like to add that the script was written in Mamur Dokan. However, the concept hit the masterminds while traveling from Rifles Square.

This trip introduced a mainstream of enthusiastic and undoubtedly very creative group of students to the Dhaka University once known to be the 'Oxford of the East'.

By Shifat

Boys beware…the ladies are joining the underground!
With such a catch phrase, Street Kings II, an underground street football tournament got rolling as the sun started knelling down, on this very 27th of August till the 31st! This happens to be the first underground tournament featuring both the sexes (as the caption suggests :P ), so need I say more that there indeed was a “this time's special” as per a “today's special” on the list! This whole plan was actually brought to reality by Walee, the organizer of Street Kings, who is an AIUB student and a player of the underground football team, Seven Nation Army. If this was the “sowing of seeds for girls in underground”, then it has to be said that for the boys, it's “a forest changing colors every season”! So naturally, it was a total carnival-in the-air like atmosphere when the team registration came about!

Eminent teams of underground, like Seven Nation Army, 9.0, Soccer Knights and others were spotted. Baridhara DOHS Park's basketball court, with the beaming flood lights, was the ground to hold this convention of rising football talents. With a total of 16 teams head to head in the tournament, there were 12 teams in the qualifying round on the 25th August, fighting for 3 remaining spots, where Lucky Strike, Partisans and Galacticos could put the last icing on.

Accelerating up to the semifinals were Celsao (SWAT) (a team from Banani) against Vagabond and Lucky Strike (an IUB team) facing Seven Nation Army. On the 31st of August, as the curtains were raised up from the final match between Vagabond and Lucky Strike, after a fine exhibition of competence and bravado, Vagabond won the ultimate show down 6-1, leaving Lucky Strike as the runners up.

With an approximate budget of Tk 132000, with chip ins from team registration fee of Tk 2000 for each, Street Kings II had a prize money of Tk 25000 for the champions Vagabond and Tk 12500 for Lucky Strike the runners up! Celsao securing the 3rd place received Tk 6000 after getting a walkover from Seven Nation Army, the reason being, “we don't play for 3rd place!” as stated by a 7NA player ;P !! Other rewards included 3000 taka for Walee (7NA) for being the top scorer of the tournament with 21 goals and 2000 taka for Nadeem (Vagabond) who was the man of the tournament.

In the girls division, S.w.a.t (an AKS,D, SJW, South Breeze mixed team) became the champions over S.O.S (a team of AKS,D ex and present and 1 from SJW), where the latter one putting up a brave face with a down morale when half of the team did not show up(!) Both the girls' team had won trophies and medals (no prize money here..ei?? :/ )

As the name suggests …Street Kings “II”, to let you all know Street Kings I was held about two months back, by the same organizer, and was won by Seven Nation Army and this time Street Kings II is the outcome of a great result of the former plus a provision of a new horizon of opportunity for girls in football (Arman of 7NA was a help in here).

Underground football really became a significant part of young lives in our country nowadays. While scooping out its' importance, Rasiqh (9.0) said, “underground has been my life from class 9. I've got to know so many people and so many good, talented football players and playing with them has improved my own football skills”. Where Azaan (7NA) explained, “It is a major part of my life; the most important activity that I am part of, after school and education. Underground football is actually the only thing that is keeping football talents alive in Dhaka, be it for people who are still in school or for students who graduated.” And on the note of “Street football” or “Futsol”, Azaan describes, “basically street football is new in underground football and the 'Street Kings' tournaments are making a huge impact, and showing the players here, what real street football is like - 5 aside football in a court, small posts, flair play, graffiti on walls and courts, and even sound systems”. What we can say is---a total feel of football festivity!

By Saveem Shama

Walking as fast as I could, I entered the premises of St Joseph high school and I saw clusters of kids and parents standing, chatting, standing and waiting for the exam to begin. The Macmillan International Assessment for Schools (IAS) exam started this month, with more than twenty five schools registering for it. The exams are not only being held in Dhaka, but Sylhet and Chittagong with more than forty two schools participating in it. The key schools participating were Sunnydale, Maple Leaf International, Mastermind, Oxford International, Southbreeze and so on. IAS helps one understand the students and their current academic achievement levels in the context of the immense possibility for excellence that awaits them. It was however; open for students of all backgrounds.

The crispy morning was a cherry on top of the beauty of the premises for students who went there for the first time, and the anticipation of what would happen went through minds of everyone. My friend who was the calmest one looked as if he would cry any moment when I said, 'Is it okay to freak out now?' The exams that were provided were English for classes 3 to 12, Mathematics for classes 3 to 12, Science for classes 3 to 12, and Computer Skills for classes 3 to 10. All participating students receive a comprehensive diagnostic report of their strengths and weaknesses, including their comparative performance. There are however, medals and certificates given to the most meritorious students.

The exam went on smoothly, but there was so much noise by the invigilators that you would want to beat them up…like literally. Moreover, you would want to kill the person who set the paper, because I kept on saying “I want to give A levels. Please. End this”. The exams will hopefully end this month, and the results will be there next month hopefully. Whatever the conditions were, at the end of the exam the students did not regret giving it, because it would assess their qualities and let them know what to do in the future. The intellectually elevating atmosphere indeed inspired the candidates to get a better ground on what they would want to do. As the exam ended and I got in my car, the only thing on my mind was, 'How can be a square divided into eleven parts?'

By Raida Kifait Reza