Purpose of Narijibon Blog

Nari Jibon Project seeks to increase our students’ and staffs’ abilities through different ways: classes, practice, computers, internet, and now the Narijibon Blog. Readers and writers (our students & staff) of the Blog will both learn about our lives, culture, Nature, activities of people in Bangladesh and the Nari Jibon Project.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Jarina Begum: Who Makes & Sells Cake

By Nina Sultana Mim

Pitha [cake] is a traditional food of Bangladesh. Pitha is the most favorite food both in village and town of our country. It is very favorite food as breakfast in the winter morning.

Pitha is sold in many places in the city. Maximum women are done this pitha making business on the roadside of the cities and villages of Bangladesh. They make and sell pitha. Most of the customers are rickshaw pullers, CNG and Taxi-cab Driver etc.

Recently I have talked to a Pitha Nari. Her name is Jarina Begum. She makes and sells Pitha from morning to evening. She makes pitha by using smash of rice, sweets. She uses stove and a pot of soil. She sells Pitha in cheap price.

Jarina Begum told me that she tries to maintain her family by selling these Pithas. Her husband is a rickshaw puller. She has two sons and two daughters. They can not go to school for lacking of money. She passes her life in sorrow and poverty. She lives in a dirty environment with her family.
For their poverty they do not get fresh food, water and good shelter. Her children are also deprived from education, though education is the backbone of a nation. None can prosper in life without education.

She told me that her family members are suffering from malnutrition. She also told me that they suffer for flood, storm, mosquito, dirty smell and many diseases.

It seems to me that their position is very bad. Their life is very difficult.

She had also told me that she needs rice and sweets to make pithas which are very expensive to buy. She makes Vapa Pitha, Chitoy Pitha and different types & delicious pithas. When I was talking with her then I bought two Pithas. She was very happy to sell.

She also told me that: “Sister we have many sorrows; but there is none to realize our sorrows.”

After having the pithas, I found that Jarina Begum makes very sweet, delicious and wonderful Pithas.

One day with my Brother & Cousin

By Rumi Akter

Some days ago my brother and I decided to visit in Sonargaon with a cousin, Shumi. We went to the Maghbazar and bought three tickets from the Himalay bus counter to go to Sonargaon. We waited for the bus for sometimes at the bus station and when the bus came we started our journey to Mogar Para. My cousin sat beside me and my brother sat at other side.

When we reached at the Mogar Para bus station, we took a rickshaw to go to Panam Museum. It took some minutes to reach at the Panam Museum. I saw a big gate, which was so beautiful. My brother bought three entry tickets of the Museum.

In the left side of the entry gate, we saw a cart which was made of stone and in the right side there was an old building. There were kept many useful things. Besides the building there was a pond. There were two statues of two horses beside the pond, which were made of stone. Around the Panam Museum there was very large place.

At noon we took our meal in a hotel. After finishing our meal we visited the whole area. Then my cousin felt sick. My brother and I felt very nervous for her illness. She took rest for sometime. When she felt better then my brother told to return Dhaka. But my cousin wanted to stay there for more time. So we passed more time there. But we didn’t visit anywhere. We just passed our time by gossiping.

We started our journey to Dhaka at 5:00 pm. We were very excited. It was a great experience for me. We enjoyed our journey very much. I wish I will go to Sonargaon again with my brother and cousin.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Celebrated Friendship Day in 2006

By Kamrun Nahar

1st Sunday of August is friendship day. It is an enjoyable day in the whole world for friends. Most of the friend groups try to celebrate this day with a great joy. I also celebrate this day with my friends.

We are six friends in University. Every year we celebrate this day. But the most memorable and enjoyable friendship day we celebrated in the year of 2006. Then we were in honors 3rd year. That year we decided to wear same dresses. We had selected blue and pink combination dresses.

On the friendship day our friend Lina’s mother was very sick. So Lina could not attend the party. We were very upset and thought that we would not celebrate the day without Lina. But Lina requested us not to spoil the day. So at last we decided to celebrate the day.

On the friendship day we went to Dhanmondi by wearing same dresses and enjoyed the day very happily. Our friend group was a little bit different from other groups for wearing same dresses.

One of our friends Mimi increases our enjoyment by giving us very good news, that-- she is pregnant. Mimi was so happy and she wanted to give us a treat. Then we went to a restaurant and took our lunch. After taking lunch we went to a studio and took a group photograph.

In the afternoon we sat at Dhanmondri Lake for some time and passed the happiest period of my life.

We enjoyed the day and decided to celebrate all the friendship days of our life in this way, if possible.

That day we realized that we can’t live without one another. I wish we will be able to keep our friendship for ever.