Tête-à-tête

Hey People!
Don't you hate hypocrites? People who flash you a 500-watt smile when they're in front of you, and then stab you in the back the moment you turn it? Yet there are so many around you, if you just look hard enough. Maybe it's that girl in school, who takes a comment you might have jokingly passed, dissects it, adds a lot of gura moshola, and then spreads it around the whole campus. Or it could be the kid who works for you, the one who's always extra friendly around you, but talks behind your back.

Okay, okay, I don't intend on launching a bhashon against our hypocritical shotrus here…God knows we've heard a lot of those over the past few weeks.

Anyway, there's a lot of wise wisdom about the SAT on page 3 this week, so I thought I'd share with you some actual answers from SAT tests taken in Arkansas. Enjoy:

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.
Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (E.g., abdomen.) A: The body is consisted into three parts -- the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Q: What is the Fibula?
A: A small lie.
Q: What does "varicose" mean?
A: Nearby.
Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarian Section."
A: The caesarian section is a district in Rome.
Q: What is a seizure?
A: A Roman emperor.
Q: What is a terminal illness?
A: When you are sick at the airport.
Q: Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A: Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and so they look like umbrellas.

Send your polls, opinions, and queries to [email protected]

By The Girl Next Doo

BD Bytes

Pritilata Waddedar

A fearless female freedom-fighter

Pritilata Waddedar was a revolutionary nationalist of the British period. She was born in 1911 to a middle-class family. Her father was a clerk in the Chittagong municipality. As a young girl, Pritilata was an exceptional student. Having passed her Matriculation exam in the first division in 1927, she appeared for her Intermediate examinations in 1929, where she bagged the first position, beating out all the other candidates from the Dhaka board. She went on to study philosophy at the Bethune College in Calcutta, from where she graduated with distinction.

While still a student in Eden College, she began to participate in activities 'subversive to the state'. She joined the Dipali Sangha there. After her graduation, she returned to Chittagong as a headmistress of a local English medium high school.

In 1930, there was a mood of dissension against the British rule, and small bands of revolutionaries began to spring up all over Bengal. Pritilata believed that it was time for women to stand up and take up arms along with their men, and help them liberate their country from the clutches of the British Raj. Pritilata's brother was already a revolutionary nationalist, and it was he who introduced her to Masterda Surya Sen.

Initially, because she was a woman, Masterda had reservations about allowing her to join as a military activist, but like one Joan of Arc before her, Pritilata was a woman of a resilient spirit, and she finally made it as the first female revolutionary in Surya Sen's group.

She was involved in operations for destroying the Telephone and Telegraph Office and the capture of the reserve police line. She took part in the Jalalabad battle where her job was to supply explosives. In 1932, she went to Dhalghat to meet Masterda at his hideout. By that time, her name was already on the police's most-wanted list.

That same year, Surya Sen planned an attack on the Pahartali European club, which bore the notorious sign "Dogs and Indians not allowed". He assigned Pritilata to lead the strike time on September 23, 1932. Members of the team were instructed to carry potassium cyanide with them, and I'm sure there is no need to explain why. The raid was a success, but Pritilata, who was disguised as a man, was nabbed, and had no choice but to swallow the pill.

She was only twenty-one years old at the time of her death. Her martyrdom was a hallmark event in the history of the revolution that toppled the British Raj, and she was an inspiration for revolutionaries in Bengal in the years to come.

By Durdana Ghias
Source: The Banglapaedia

While I was walking…

As I walked down this road, I saw a crowd of people on the bus looking eagerly outside the window and wishing they could afford to travel in a CNG. A little further ahead I observed a bunch of women inside a CNG looking anxiously at a taxi wishing they could afford to travel inside an air-conditioned one themselves. Then I came across an AC taxi where a man sitting inside it was staring outside the window and I noticed that with a sigh he was wishing he could afford a motorbike to travel on. Furthermore a couple on the motorbike were curiously spotting all the cars around them and they were wishing that they could afford to travel by a car of their own. Finally as I was reaching the end of this path, I saw what looked like an old man wearing a lungi sitting on his knees under a tree next to the road. Curiosity arose as I couldn't figure out what this man was wishing for so I went over and asked him,

" Chacha, what is it that you are wishing for?"

With shadowy eyes filled with tears and a trembling smile he replied,

"Ma, I wish I had two legs so that I could travel on foot."

By Shayera Moula

Do it yourself

The art of arranging flowers

Want to create a natural, floral masterpiece? How about a gift basket of exquisite colours, plucked right out of your own garden? Perhaps you've already attempted to turn the odd bunch of flowers into an elegant floral arrangement. No matter how much you've tried, however, it still ends up looking like - a bunch of flowers. So, just what is the secret to artistic flower arranging?

The answer lies in following the basic principles of design as they relate to flower arranging. These are balance, contrast, proportion and harmony. Let's consider them one at a time.

Balance: All parts of the arrangement relate to one another. The design does not appear top heavy. Dark colours look heavier than light ones, so it is important not to have too many dark flowers at the top of an arrangement. Symmetrical balance can be obtained by placing similar flowers on each side of the vertical centre. It is often more desirable, however, to achieve asymmetrical balance, that is unequal distribution on either side of the centre, but with equal visual weight. This can produce a more casual look.

Contrast: Variety can be added to the arrangement by contrasting dark with light, rough with smooth, small with large. Repetition of a particular shape, or the combination of related colours creates a flowing line or rhythm which is aesthetically appealing.

Proportion: A generally accepted rule of proportion states that the arrangement should be one and a half times the size of its container. The setting of the arrangement must also be taken into account. The display area should not be too sparse or, on the opposite extreme, too cluttered for the arrangement to achieve its desired impact.

Harmony: All of the component parts of the arrangement should harmonise with each other. The colours should be harmonious and the container well selected for spirit, texture, shape and colour. A successful arrangement must also be in harmony with its surroundings.

Here are 5 additional tips to ensure your arrangement is a success:

(1) For best results, pick the flowers a few hours before they are to be arranged.

(2) Cut the tips of the stems on an angle, put them in deep, lukewarm water and keep them in a dark, cool place until ready for use.

(3) To prevent bacterial decay, remove all foliage below the water line when you start on your arrangement.

(4) To keep flowers fresh for longer, place a lump of sugar or a spoonful of honey to each pint of water in your vase.

(5) Do not change the water daily, but keep the level constantly topped up.

So, why not try your hand at a little flower arranging? You may just discover that you have the right touch the touch that can transform a bunch of flowers into an eye-catching work of art.

Word Power

Answers:
1.exuberant. 2.philanthropic 3.capricious. 4.tenacious. 5.scatterbrained. 6.rudimentary. 7.retaliation. 8.oriental. 9. meticulous. 10.cosmopolitan.
Taking one point for every correct answers, your result:
0-2: Poor.
3-5: Average.
6-8: Good.
9-10: Exceptional.

Bits & pieces

Things you notice only in Bangla Films

1.The leading female roles are given in hierarchical order according to body fat. Hence the fatter an actress, the more important her role in the movie.
2.The resemblance between the leading actors and apes is simply remarkable. If Charles Darwin ever saw a Bengali film, he would have proven his theory of evolution a long time ago!
3.The fatter the actresses, the tighter are their dresses.
4.The fatter the heroes are, the higher they jump during fight scenes.
5. The villain is almost always bald. What do the directors have against bald people??
6. There must always be a 'dancing in the rain' scene.
7.Ninety percent of the time, the heroine falls in love and elopes with her driver.
8.Hundred percent of the time, the heroine's dad is portrayed as an evil Scrooge who is willing to kill anyone who comes near his daughter.
9. The hero can dodge bullets in ways that can put Matrix's bullet time scene to shame!
10.Towards the end, one of the important characters of the film always dies trying to save the hero or heroine's life.

Canteen and still a teen

Ah yes, University life. The very sound of it somehow arouses a feeling of maturity and dignity from within, no? You feel a sense of responsibility over your life and bid farewell to those girlie days oh so full of mistakes!

Here you don't take "subjects" but "courses". You are not a "new student" but a "freshman". You don't carry a "lunch box" but you eat inside the University "canteen". Speaking of which I decided to, somewhat, eavesdrop on a conversation for a matured understanding of the 'experienced' seniors living style during the final amazing and liberal years of their educational life. Of course I was pretending to critically examine every alphabet in my Psychology book as I placed myself opposite to them listening attentively to their conversation as follows:

Girl X: "So there he was just staring at me, can you believe it?"
Girl Y: "Really? Well what did you do?"
Girl X: "Nothing, but he then came over and started talking to me."
Girl Y: "So what did you do?"
Girl X: "Nothing. You know he told me that he really loves me!"
Girl Y: " Oh my! What did you do?"
Girl X: "Nothing, still he added that he would kill himself for me!"
Girl Y: "That's crazy! So what did you do?"
Girl X: "Nothing. He told me that he's going to wait for me after class today?"
Girl Y: " For the love of God! What are you going to do?"
Girl X: " I don't know, but I always make sure that I do NOTHING wrong."

So yes NOTHING much really changed as girls are girls but I did decide to drop my Psychology course. I believe it had something to do with my mental behavior and thinking process.

By Shayera Moula

Atheist

An atheist professor was teaching a college class and he told the class that he was going to prove that there was not a God. He said, "God if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you 15 minutes!"

Ten minutes went by. He kept taunting God, saying, "Here I am God, I'm still waiting"

He got down to the last couple of minutes and a Huge 250-pound rugby player happened to walk by the door and heard what the professor said. The rugby player walked into the classroom and in the last minute, he walked up, hit the professor full force, and sent him flying off the platform.
The professor got up, obviously shaken and said, "Where did you come from, and why did you do that?"
The rugby player replied, "God was busy; He sent me!"