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Prey Translated by Jackie Kabir There was a deafening noise! As soon as the bullets were fired from my rifle, I saw two birds flying away in the sky, dazzling in afternoon sunlight. And the third one fell down like a shooting star under the very tree they were sitting on. But I could barely see it because the bushes there walled off the view. My chaprasi rushed off with a canvas bag and a knife in his hand. How I love hunting in this mufassil town! Whenever I get some free time during my official tours,I go out hunting. My chaprasi can cook meat really well. Over all, it's been a good life. The cartridge came out as I bend the rifle; I put a new one. My eyes scanned the trees around, shifting from one branch to another. One had to squint even though the sun was soft. Sometimes the birds could really hide themselves among the l...

‘Silent Noise’: Celebrating everydayness Zarin Rafiuddin Published at 08:13 PM April 16, 2018   A book review The stories in Jackie Kabir’s Silent Noise have an element of everydayness to them. Their titles wrap around this. From “Mundane Monday” to “The Visit” and “Arshi,” the stories are about ordinary people and ordinary lives. Yet, Kabir shows, the ordinary and everydayness is not as simplistic and uncomplicated as people think it is. Her stories begin with a certain sense of anxiousness or relaxation that seems to be what anyone living in a city or quiet town can relate to, only to transform in a few sentences the ending into something unexpected, even puzzling or sad sometimes. This is the impression that one is left with, upon reading this anthology. The feelings and themes are known to most readers as they strike down to the heart of the matter. And, from experience, we know that the heart of the matter can be convoluted or even emotionally ...

Translation of Alice Munro works published  “Alice Munro: Nirbachito Golpo” (Alice Munro: Selected Stories”), published by Mowla Brothers, was launched on April 22 at the Edward M Kennedy Center, Dhaka.  Benoit-Pierre Laramée, High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh, was the Chief Guest at the event, says a press release. In his address, Benoit-Pierre Laramée spoke about Canadian literature and the significance of Alice Munro. He then read an extract from Munro's short story, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”. Set in an old people's home, the story sensitively narrates the plight of an old woman suffering from memory loss. Professor Firdous Azim, Head, Department of English and Humanities, BRAC University and Dr Masuduzzaman, Professor, Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka, discussed on the book. She pointed out that more people are familiar with Margaret Atwood, but it was reading the Bangla translations that inspired her to read Munro...