Top 10 TBS features that you loved most in 2023
With the promise to go "Beneath the surface", our brilliant staff of writers have kept their pursuit of extracting stories with hope of reaching hearts of readers and ended up producing articles covering all the happenings across Bangladesh and beyond throughout 2023
At the dawn of 2024, as we look back to the days we came across, the e-portal of The Business Standard generated readers in the millions.
With the promise to go "Beneath the surface", our brilliant staff of writers have kept their pursuit of extracting stories with the hope of reaching the hearts of readers and ended up producing articles covering all the happenings across Bangladesh and beyond throughout 2023.
Of all the stories, here are our top 10 features published in last 365 days that attracted the most attention from you, the readers.
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1. The rise and fall of Anik Telecom: How a warranty card brought down a successful business
In 1996, 36-year-old Mashiul Azam, along with a few of his friends, set up a phone fax shop on the second floor of the Mogbazar Plaza market in the capital. They named it Anik Telecom.
The business venture started off as an outsourcing company that provided telecommunication-related servicing work to the country's first mobile phone operator, Citycell, as well as to other companies.
2. Rafa's journey from BUET to Tesla
On a winter morning in 2001, Rafia Rahman Rafa, dressed in a sky-blue and white uniform and swathed in a black sweater, stepped through the gates of Viqarunnisa Noon School, accompanied by her parents. With sleepy eyes but brimming with dreams, she embarked on her academic journey. Her excellent academic results throughout her school and college years testify to the fact that she lived up to her dream and nurtured her aspirations.
As expected, Rafa earned a coveted spot at the institute that most students dream of—Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). In 2014, she gained admission to BUET's Industrial and Production Engineering (IPE) department.
"It was a dream come true moment for me," said Rafa.
3. Unemployed, in debt and expired work permit, this Bangladeshi youth built a US company through his Twitter feed
Abdullah Al-Rezwan, a finance graduate of the Institute of Business Administration, went to Cornell University for his MBA in 2017, after three and a half years of working in Bangladeshi financial companies. After graduating from Cornell in 2019, he landed a job as an equity research analyst at Madison Investments.
Everything seemed to be going well for him. But fate took a sharp turn. Covid-19 was raging in mid 2020 and in June, he had to leave Madison Investments due to the expiration of his work permit in the US.
He hardly had any idea about what he would do next. He had a sizable student loan he had taken to finance his MBA at Cornell. He applied for PR in Canada but because of the pandemic, the procedure was taking a lot of time.
4. Why we should be asking more 'Deho Pabi, Mon Pabi Na' questions
Suppose you are a university teacher who has to set a question on the topic 'hegemony' for Honours first-year students.
You have two options: Ask a question which will challenge the analytical ability of the students and make them borrow examples from their cultural context to explain how hegemony works in real-life situations, or simply tell them to write down the literal definition of hegemony.
As a former student of the Social Sciences faculty at the University of Dhaka who has just completed his Master's programme around four months ago, I can share my personal experience.
5. 38 years on, DU's semiconductor research centre barely scratches the surface
Mohammad Farhan Shahriar, a student of the Department of Physics, was busy depositing zinc oxide thin films on a glass slide, using the Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis machine, at the Semiconductor Technology Research Centre's (STRC's) laboratory, at Dhaka University.
"I am working on spintronics and setting the parameters now. In spintronics, firstly, there will be a magnetic layer, then there will be a semiconductor layer, and then again a magnetic layer," he said, adding, "For the time being, I will work with all three layers."
Farhan said that his experiment may work as a gas sensor in a machine. He also said that in quantum computing, it may be used in data processing as well as data storage.
Located on the second floor of Curzon Hall, which also houses the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the centre has its own laboratory and equipment for conducting research and experiments. It has almost been four decades since the centre was first set up.
6. Sadeka's magic lamp: How a garment worker became an RMG CEO
Sadeka Begum had a very busy schedule in Japan in the second week of March. She went there with her alma mater Asian University for Women (AUW).
Apart from delivering a key speech at a summit in the American Club Tokyo – where business leaders, ambassadors, financiers and other significant industry insiders attended – Sadeka also had meetings scheduled with various stakeholders and potential investors.
Dressed in a traditional saree, the story of Sadeka's struggle and transformation captivated the audience. At the end of her speech, applause and cheers resounded from all corners.
7. Exploring the difference between Judaism and Zionism
If you have been following the Israel –Palestine issue for any length of time, you might have come across photos or videos of members of the Jewish community protesting the actions of the Israeli government and holding placards like 'Zionism is not Judaism' or 'Anti- Zionist is not Antisemitic.'
So, what do these terms mean and why is it necessary to make those distinctions? Although Judaism and Zionism are two distinct terms often intertwined, in reality, they represent rather distinct concepts with different historical, cultural, and most importantly, political implications.
Judaism is a religion and cultural identity that has evolved over millennia, while Zionism is a political ideology centred on the establishment and preservation of a Jewish state in Israel. Understanding these differences is crucial for appreciating the complex dynamics within Jewish communities and the broader political landscape of the Middle East.
8. Restoring the Dhaka Gate, a historical part of our 400-year-old city
If you want to know how big Old Dhaka was during the Mughal era, you have to know about Dhaka Gate. At that time, one had to enter the city through this gate.
Dhaka Gate, which stands close to the Doyel Chattar on the Dhaka University campus, was on the verge of being completely ruined due to negligence and lack of proper maintenance for ages.
However, the Dhaka South City Corporation has taken up a project to restore this historical monument, which was once an integral part of our 400-year-old city.
9. Watching aeroplanes and visiting flyovers: What recreation means for Dhaka's residents
Afif and his father, both wearing blue shirts, matching black sunglasses and sandals, were busy taking photos, when a giant Emirates plane flew over their heads with a roar and a gust of wind. The sunglasses were not enough to prevent the dust from getting into their eyes, and their light-coloured clothing were obvious dirt magnets.
But the father-son duo seemed to truly enjoy the experience. Others around them also gasped in delight at the sight of the plane, as if they had seen a celebrity.
As another plane was soon spotted in the sky, Afif exclaimed, "This one's quite small!" His father nodded in agreement.
10. Hangman Shahjahan Bhuiyan: Life after 60 executions and 44 years in prison
Shahjahan's face was beaded with perspiration. He walked into his one-room home, sat down on the bed and asked a young boy Kamal (not his real name) to turn on the stand fan. "I get dizzy even on short walks now," he said apologetically.
He recently stopped making doctor's visits. "The last time I went to see a doctor, they billed me Tk400 for the visit, and Tk60 for the medication. And then there are follow-up tests with a high price tag. How will I pay?" he asked.
Shahjahan has heart problems, "and pressure," and respiratory difficulties. He uses an inhaler that's kept by the cigarette pack on the only table in the room. He also has two phone sets.
As you loved the feature section of our site throughout 2023, we at TBS are grateful and would like to let you know that your readership is the fuel to our storytelling.
Here's to another year of going beneath the surface, together.
