Golden yarn Sir — Storytelling is an art that not everyone can master. Deft storytellers often have a rich pool of life experiences to tap into. Perhaps this is why grandparents make the best s...

Temporary relief Sir — The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated a wellknown phenomenon known as ‘emotional spending’. Even before the pandemic, many would splurge on a new article of c...

Neglected shelves Sir — Libraries have been repositories of knowledge for millennia. Even a few decades ago, public and community libraries were integral parts of almost every neighbourhood in ...

Rewrite the past Sir — Witch-hunts resulted in the trial, torture and execution of thousands of women — although it was mostly the poor, the vulnerable and the social outcasts who were ta...

Grey is golden Sir — Recent research from the University of Singapore has shown that although it is reputed for being the virtual playground of teenagers, TikTok is popular among the elderly, s...

Unfair privilege Sir — The saying, ‘Baro mashe tero parbon’, aptly conveys the abundance of rituals and festivities in the Bengali calendar. Unfortunately, several of these arcane r...

Beyond age Sir —The American actor, Bill Pullman, who is known for starring in the cult classic, While You Were Sleeping, recently noted that the term, “late bloomer”, can be quite ...

Dystopian reality   Sir — Netflix recently announced that it is launching a reality television show inspired by the popular web series, Squid Game. Like the series, the reality show will ...

Precious memories    Sir — The idea that even the most quotidian of objects in our homes have important stories behind them is at the heart of a project called the Museum of Material...

Safe return   Sir — Those who have borrowed books from a library are familiar with the niggling pressure of returning lent titles within a stipulated period of time. Recently, a copy...