The mothers we live for…

WHEN you lie on the bed with that bad fever, your head exploding and your eyes burning like an inferno, then a loving embrace is all what you would want. When life gets bad and you want to hide in one corner and cry your heart out, a shoulder is what you would want. You finally get that A grade you were working so hard for, you would want to share that with someone you love. A mother will always be the person who would be there for you without any condition. But in life, we have more people who love us unconditionally and care for us just because they want to. They are our mother figures, the people who have been there when 'mom' could not have been there. They are the ones whom we love, just as much as we love our mommy!

The Nanny- We've heard of the women who look after the family while the mother is not available. These women leave their own personal family to be with the family of that child. Traditionally, these women were considered as being the house maid, like the Amena Khala we had in our house when we were little. The idea evolved into women taking up the job as a profession. A major population of UK actually depends on the nanny, and these days a moderate chunk of Bangladeshi families have to have a nanny to look after the kids.

The Grandmothers- The Grans are the people after nannies who look after you, and love you more than anything in this world. The times when you hid from your momma because of the vase you broke, you took shelter behind your Gran and she would help you defunct your mother's jharis. The bond between the Grans and the child is an exception. When a child is born, s/he means a lot more to the Gran than your own parent. You are their second generation, the proof of how they lived the glorious moment of her life. 'I used to stay with my grandmother all the time. She used to tell me stories about her time, and she was the most modern granny of all times. When I first fell in love, she was the first one to know and give me advice on what to do. After her death, nothing is the same. Nobody can cook that dim er halwa like her, and nobody can understand me more than she did', says Auronee, studying in NSU.

The Sister- We have heard tons of stories where the sister is more important than the mother at times, and how the big sis takes care of the little one when any obstacle comes on her way. 'My sister holds a place almost higher than my mom. She found out which school I was supposed to go to, she used to teach me, and she would always force me drink milk before I went to bed!' says Mowrin, studying A levels. 'Now that she's off to Canada with her own family, I miss her more than anything.' she says. 'My sister fights with me on an average of eighteen hours a day, but at the end of the day she makes sure if I was alright. She was the only person holding the family together when my father died, and I am glad she is my sister.' says Aman, studying in O levels.

The Aunt- They say after the mother, the aunt is closest to being the mother. When I was twelve, my aunt was my roomie and my mother used to be envious of the relationship we both had. The bond we had was unbreakable, and she would share every detail of her life to me. She was the only one who made sense when things got worse, and she became my role model at a point of life. She used all of her first job's payment to buy me that dress I always wanted, and when I used to sleep she would tuck me in the blanket at night.

The Best friend- Sometimes, friends are all one has. Best friends can be more than sisters, and that place can only be called the place of a mother figure's place. 'When I was stuck in USA with a bad attack of pneumonia, my best friend was the one who was always there to take care of me. She managed time from her tight schedule and took care of me.' says Rajib. 'My two best friends took care of me the time was extremely sick and my mother was out of town. I would not forget the times they actually yelled at me like a mom!' says Tasnia.

Mother's day is a day we celebrate those moments spend with the angel bestowed in our life, but sometimes we fail to acknowledge the mother figures in our life who love us and care for us just like a mom. This day is also their day, so a very Happy Mother's Day to the mother figures who make our life a beautiful place to live in!

By Raida Reza

DIY

presents for your mom

IT'S exam month and if you're obviously looking for excellent excuses to keep you away from those books, then look no further than Mother's Day.

Mother's day is just around the corner, in fact, its on Sunday, 10th May. Of course you're going to need to get your mommy a present. You could either go out and find her something completely commercial and utilize about an hour of study time OR you could be smart and make her something thoughtful all by yourself (and this way, you get to shop too as well as spend oodles of time on it. It's a win-win!).

Here are some GREAT mother's day time-consuming gift ideas that will show mommy you really truly care:

Now use your creativity. Cut out rectangular pieces of colourful construction paper and glue it onto the jar. Use contrasting colours to cut out shapes (flowers, hearts, etc) and paste them on top. Or paint them on. Whatever you little heart desires. Don't forget the glitter (life lesson # 1: glitter just makes everything better). Now go online and search out funny, inspirational, loving mom quotes and/or how to say 'I love you' in several different languages. If you have good calligraphy skills, or good handwriting in general, then write the good ones down on little pieces of colorful paper and fold them (a good idea would be to make 365 little notes so mom can read one for every day of the year) and then put them in the jar. Is your handwriting indecipherable? No Problem! Print them out. Finish off your present by tying a pretty bow just below the jar's lid.

Growing Love
Materials-
Plant Pot. [Sold by street vendors selling clay items]. Seedling. Poster Paint.

This mother's day, go green! Save the environment and give Mom the present of fresh O2. Get yourself a plant pot and paint it! You can paint it one solid color or go wild and make fun candy stripes/polka dots, alpona (geometric designs/traditional designs) etc. Head over to the nearest Nursery and buy some seedlings of Mom's favorite herbs or veggies or spices. Plant the seedling into the pot and help Mom grow it. The idea is that your love gets to grow with the plants.

A Date with Mom
Materials
Yourself!

This is by far, one of my most favourites. For one day, devote yourself to Mom (like she has all the times when you were in diapers or sick in bed). Spend some time with her; wait on her hand and foot. Give mom a break and take care of her for once. She'll definitely appreciate the not having to work and the extra time spent with you.

We take our mothers for granted. While we know we love them with all our hearts, we don't really take the time out of our oh-so-busy schedules to show them that love.

So make this mother's day special for your mom by using my uber-special/creative ideas! Show her that, even if your all grown up, you'll always be her baby .

By Musarrat Rahman

Book review

Isaac Asimov

Second Foundation

PEOPLE are always obsessed about the future. Predicting the future is a very tricky business. And the more obscure the methods are, the easier it is to manipulate predictions to tell the audience what they want to hear, so that they like it and keep coming back for more expensive supernatural answers.

What if science could predict the future?

According to Isaac Asimov, about 24000 years later, science will be able to. Of course, Hari Seldon's brilliant psychohistory is only applicable to a great number of people. A genius mathematician, Hari predicts the fall of the Galactic Empire through psychohistoric predictions. So he sets up two foundations, at opposite ends of the galaxy to serve as the core of the new Empire.

Up until now, everything was going smoothly with the Seldon Plan, until a mutant called The Mule came out of nowhere and with his incredible mental powers, overthrew the First Foundation, and indeed most of the Galaxy. But he can't find the Second Foundation, which is hidden because it guards the secret laws of psychohistory.

This is without doubt, the best book of the whole Foundation series. There are so many twists and turns that it will leave you with a vague feeling of paranoia. The reason behind the hidden Second Foundation is quite interesting. If the people about whom the psychohistoric prediction is made [in this case, the populace of the galaxy], can calculate the future themselves, they will obviously act on the predicted results. But if they don't act spontaneously, the future will change and who knows where we may end up. The Seldon Plan will be ruined. But if the Second Foundation doesn't stop The Mule, Seldon Plan will still be ruined.

Although the Foundation series was initially intended to be a trilogy and finished in 1953, after increasing pressure from fans and publishers, Asimov wrote three other books in the series: Prelude to Foundation, Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth. Prelude to Foundation deals with Hari Seldon and his actions during the First Galactic Empire. It retains Asimov's epic style somewhat. Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth are basically one story stretched over two books. They are the merger of Foundation series with the Robot series and are different in style.

The series is available in New Market. Shouldn't be hard to find.

By Kazim Ibn Sadique