Banglar Kantha-Dibashram

14/05/2021

Cultural Conversations at Dibashram Poet Dr Gwee Sui Li opening a May Day photo exhibition Singapore is a hub of economic activity in this region, with one of the highest Gross Domestic Product in …

07/04/2021

14/03/2021

শততম মুজিব বর্ষ ও স্বাধীনতার সুবর্ণ জয়ন্তী উদযাপনকে কেন্দ্র করে সিঙ্গাপুরস্থ বাংলাদেশ হাই কমিশন ১৭ থেকে ২৬ মার্চ পর্যন্ত দশদিনব্যাপী বিভিন্ন সাংস্কৃতিক ইভেন্টে প্রতিযোগিতার আয়োজন করার উদ্যোগ নিয়েছে।
https://banglarkantha.net/?p=19568

শততম মুজিব বর্ষ ও স্বাধীনতার সুবর্ণ জয়ন্তী উদযাপনকে কেন্দ্র করে সিঙ্গাপুরস্থ বাংলাদেশ হাই কমিশন ১৭ থেকে ২৬ মার্....

13/02/2021

Dear Language Lovers,

The International Mother Language (IMLD) and Language Martyr Day is around the corner.
The Singapore Expatriate Bangladeshi, Bangladesh Centre, Singapore and Banglar Kantha is going to celebrate this day at 12.01am (just past midnight- Saturday night/Sunday morning) 21 February 2021.
We are going to commemorate this day at BANGLADESH CENTRE, SINGAPORE 70A Desker Road (upstairs of Swaad Pure Vegetarian Restaurant) Singapore 209593.
Your presence will be highly appreciated.
This year, International Mother Language Day will be celebrated in accordance with requisite COVID-19 Health & Safety Protocols in place. This will however not douse our ethos for this event, a watershed day in our annual cultural calendar as speakers of the Bengali language.
Attached is the invitation card. Also attached is the special issue of Banglar Kantha on International Mother Language Day.

Hope you will enjoy it.

Warmest regards/

AKM Mohsin
Editor-in-Chief
hp: +65 9663 5924, 8115 9316
ph & fx: +65 6747 0640
70A Desker Road,
Singapore 209593
email: [email protected]
https://banglarkantha.net/
http://banglarkantha.blogspot.com/
http://innereyesfamilyorchestra.blogspot.com/

23/12/2020

The Best of You presents a collaboration with Banglar Kantha to show our support for the Bangladeshi migrant workers community.
The movement has always believed in raising the voices of marginalised communities through our platform - this includes the migrant workers community. It is important to create opportunities for meaningful interactions and find more supporting ways where the migrant workers community could be a part of the greater community they are in.
https://www.the-best-of-you.com/campaigns/migrant-workers/banglar-kantha

The Best of You presents a collaboration with Banglar Kantha to show our support for the Bangladeshi migrant workers community. ‍The movement has always believed in raising the voices of marginalised communities through our platform - this includes the migrant workers community. It is important to...

10/09/2020

By Manishankar Prasad Migration Governance is back on the research agenda as refugee theatres in Africa, Maghreb, Mediterranean and South East Asia are simmering if not raging. The multilateral ins…

12/08/2020

27/07/2020

What do you hold onto in uncertain times?

For Kiron Mahmud Manna, it is the power of optimism and bravery. Through his poem titled ‘Good Days Will Return’, he expresses his belief that things will get better as long as one maintains hope and faith: https://bit.ly/3hyakLG

For many migrant workers like Kiron Mahmud Manna who are currently facing a future filled with unpredictability and loneliness in a foreign land, a source of comfort could be through poetry-writing and the sharing of their culture.

Banglar Kantha, a monthly Bengali newspaper published in Singapore, has been such a source of comfort for these migrant workers. It reaches an estimated 50,000 migrant workers monthly, providing them up-to-date information from the happenings back home and in Singapore, while providing them an outlet to express their voices.

Learn more about Banglar Kantha and how you can help to keep their voices alive at https://bit.ly/2WZTNbK

27/07/2020

What is one thing you would wish for in our current circumstances?

For Asit Kumar Baroi (Bangali), it is making a desperate plea for the defeat of the unknown enemy. Through his poem titled ‘A Request to Covid19 Virus’, he expresses fears and acknowledges the limited power against this invisible entity.

Appreciate Asit Kumar Baroi (Bangali)’s literary work in its entirety at https://bit.ly/2WPtogy

In partnership with Banglar Kantha step into the world of the migrant workers through a series of poems that illustrate their experiences in life through their eyes for the next couple of weeks.

27/07/2020

We seek strength and comfort from the ones we love.

In his poem titled, ‘Agony’, Md. Shahidul Islam expresses his pain and loneliness working in a foreign land through his longing of his mother, who is far away from him. He recognises the responsibilities he has to fulfil but it does not stop his constant wish to be reunited with his mother one day.

In partnership with Banglar Kantha, step into the world of the migrant workers through a series of poems that illustrate their experiences in life through their eyes for the next couple of weeks.

Click through to appreciate Md. Shahidul Islam’s literary work in its entirety at https://bit.ly/39dbHwD

27/07/2020

How often have you contemplated about Time in your life?

In his poem titled, ‘The Defeat’, Mohosin Akhbar expresses his thoughts on the complexity of the interaction of time and life, while reminding us of our own eventual mortality.

In partnership with Banglar Kantha, step into the world of the migrant workers through a series of poems that illustrate their experiences in life through their eyes for the next couple of weeks.

Click through to appreciate Mohosin Akhbar’s literary work in its entirety at https://bit.ly/2DNT2vG

27/07/2020

How much do you know about the migrant workers in our community?

For the next couple of weeks, step into the world of the migrant workers through a series of poems that illustrate their experiences in life through their eyes.

In his poem titled ‘Worth of Labour’, Md. Shpun Wahid pens his experience as a construction worker in Singapore. He expresses the challenges he faces while going about his daily physical work and the desire for his voice to be heard.

Click through to appreciate Md. Shpun Wahid’s literary work at https://bit.ly/2WbyB29

27/07/2020

SOURCE x Audible Lands: First Vodcast by Eric Lee, Banglar Kantha-Dibashram Cultural Group and The Observatory Experimental band The Observatory, filmmaker E...

24/07/2020

করোনাক্রান্ত অভিবাসীর ডায়েরী ৩
করোনায় ভীত হওয়ার কিছু নেই, মনে সাহস রাখবেন

"অমনি দেখি দরজা খুলে ১০/১৫ জন নার্স একটা কেক নিয়ে হাজির। সবাই একসাথে করতালি দিয়ে বলে উঠলো HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU। আমি তাদের এই আন্তরিকতা দেখে আশ্চর্য হয়ে গেলাম। সেকি ওরা এভাবে আমার জন্মদিনের শুভেচ্ছা জানাবে কখনো কল্পনাও করিনি। আমি শুধু ভেজা ভেজা চোখে, হাসিমুখে দুই হাত করজোড়ে ধন্যবাদ জানালাম। বুঝতে পারলাম, একজন রোগীকে ওরা কখনো ঘৃণার চোখে দেখে না। সে হোক করোনা রোগী বা হোক যে কোন রোগী। জানতে ইচ্ছে করে বিধাতার কাছে এরা আসলো কোন মাটির তৈরি? এত সুন্দর এদের আচরণ, এত সুন্দর সেবা যত্ন। সত্যি অতুলনীয়।"

https://banglarkantha.net/?p=7397

১৫ই এপ্রিল থেকেই রুমে। ঐদিনই শুনলাম আমাদের কোম্পানির একজন এবং আমাদের হাউসে বসবাসরত অন্য কোম্পানির দুইজনের করোন.....

24/07/2020

করোনাক্রান্ত অভিবাসীর ডায়েরী ২
পৃথিবীর কাছে চাই করোনা নামক ভাইরাস থেকে মুক্তির বারতা

ফ্রি চিকিৎসা, ফ্রি খাবার সিঙ্গাপুর সরকার ঘোষণা করেছেন। জানি না পৃথিবীর আর কোন অঞ্চলে টাকার বিনিময়েও এরকম মানবতার চিকিৎসা আদৌ পাওয়া যায় কিনা। চিকিৎসা নামের এ কাজে মমতাময়ী মাতা বা পিতাদের ধন্যবাদ দিয়ে তাদের কাজকে ছোট করে দিতে চাই না। তাদের জানাই স্যালুট। সিঙ্গাপুর সরকার বলেছেন, সিঙ্গাপুরিয়ানদের মতো করেই সকল চিকিৎসা বা যাবতীয় সেবা দিয়ে যাবেন বিদেশি শ্রমিকদেরও। ক’দিন আগে দেখলাম প্রধানমন্ত্রীর ফেইসবুক স্ট্যাটাসে করোনাক্রান্ত ৪১ নম্বর কেইস বাংলাদেশের শ্রমিক, যিনি আইসিইউ থেকে রিলিজ পেয়েছেন এবং নিজে থেকেই শ্বাস প্রশ্বাস নিতে পারছেন, ¯স্বাস্থ্যকর্মীদের ধন্যবাদ দেয়া এবং শ্রমিক ভাইটির ফুটফুটে বাচ্চার ছবিও এতে পোষ্ট করে এতে তার আনন্দের কথা জানিয়েছেন। পৃথিবীতে এখনো ভাল মানুষ আছে। আমি চিৎকার করে জানতে চাই, পৃথিবী কেন সুস্থ্য নাই? পৃথিবী কেন করোনা নামক ভাইরাসে আচ্ছন্ন হয়ে আছে? ইয়া আল্লাহ, উত্তর দিন, আর আমাদের ক্ষমা করে নির্মল পৃথিবী ফিরিয়ে দিন।

https://banglarkantha.net/?p=7392

কোভিড ১৯ বা করোনা ভাইরাসের থাবার মধ্য দিয়েও ক’দিন রুমের দরজা পেরিয়ে নিচে নামতে পারলেও বা হাউজের মূল সীমার মধ্যে চ....

24/07/2020

করোনাক্রান্ত অভিবাসীর ডায়েরী-১ (কোভিড১৯ নিয়ন্ত্রণে)
সিঙ্গাপুর সরকারের মানবিকতা ও আন্তরিকতায় উদ্বেলিত হবে সকল প্রবাসীর হৃদয়

CoronaKaal-Migrants Narrative
by Asit Kumar Baroi Bangali

The circuit breaker has been underway since April6. When i came to the dormitory in the evening after work on Monday the 6th, the management and security came and said that he would not be able to go out of the dormitory from the next day. In the same way, all the rules and regulations issued by the Singapore government and dormitories due to the COVID-19 or Coronavirus - such as maintaining social distance from each other, people in one room cannot go to another room, even in the bathroom and toilet.
Officials from the Singapore Ministry of Health will come and speak to all workers. It is worth mentioning here that I live in room number 6 on the third floor of the Senoko Lop 21B dormitory. There was a total of 23 Bangladeshis in the room then. This is our company KT & T's own dormitory. The canteen / or dining hall on the ground floor of the 6-story building has 600 to 700 people on the second floor, and the company's head office from the third floor to the sixth floor, most of whom are dormitory managers along with working expatriates.
We all lined up, took our ID cards, and called one by one to measure our temperature and register our names as well as those whose temperature was 36 degrees. More than five of us told them to stay there separately and the rest of the necessary documents and one thermometer to go to the room. The first time my temperature was 36 degrees, the second time I measured it again 36degresSo he told me to go to the hospital with a few others.
Since I had a fever I immediately agreed. A total of 13 people, including two workers from our room, me and colleague Mohiuddin Bhai, from our 3x9 feet room, including workers and supervisors, were told to go to the hospital, and it was almost evening. An ambulance was called. At around 7.30 am, ambulances started arriving one by one and in each ambulance, started couple of personnel took them to different pre-arranged hospitals.
At 8:22 pm, an ambulance rushed to Tan Tok Seng Hospital. I reached the hospital at 8:40 am. After finishing the admission process at 6:53, I waited in the designated chair for the X-ray and COVID-19 examination. A nurse came and said that it would take 8 to 12 hours to get the report. So, stay here tonight. And he took me to a good bed on the 6th floor.
I wanted to know if there was dinner. Not to mention that he said there are usually breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm and dinner between 6pm and 7pm. So there will be no more dinner today. I can have tea and coffee biscuits if I want. Then I asked him to give it. He showed me everything in the room and thanked me with a smile. He left twenty minutes later. Another nurse brought me coffee-biscuits and measured my fever and said good night.
I ate fresh biscuits, drank coffee, and probably fell asleep on either side of the net. I woke up at 6:30 in the morning to the sound of the room phone ringing. As soon as I picked up the receiver, I heard ancultured female voice from the side.

“So You Need Some Day Treatment Here No Tension No Or Now You Finish The Morning Work And Breakfast OK? Letter I Coming,,,,,,”
In fact, I was not ready for such news. And I didn't see any symptoms in my body except for a little fever, so I did not lose my morale and made myself firmly convinced to overcome this difficult time with patience.

At half-past eleven, Dr. Aslan took the inquiry. After a while the nurse came and went with lunch and told me to change the room in the afternoon. At three o'clock he was taken to a room on the 9th floor where there were already two beds at a certain distance. Going there, I got to know that he is also a Bangladeshi man. His hometown is Comilla, and his name was Kader. We are both about the same age.
At half-past eleven, Dr. Aslan took the inquiry. After a while, the nurse came and went with lunch and told me to change the room in the afternoon. At three o'clock he was taken to a room on the 9th floor where there were already two beds at a certain distance. Going there, I got to know that he is also a Bangladeshi man. His hometown is Comilla, and his name was Kader. We are both about the same age.
He had come here two days ago. Already a call came from Bangladesh and I talked to my three-and-a-half-year-old son and his mother via the internet. I did not receive the first video call. When the call was over, I gave an audio call. When they wanted to know the reason for not receiving it, I lied to them that the old mobile was not receiving the video call, and the reason for saying this was that the motherboard was at fault. Hence there will be problems.
Abrito Baroi, my son will stop eating and start crying/worrying. Meanwhile, since my wife is a nurse, she can understand by speaking patterns in a hospital setting and I can't explain anything to them about the current situation around the world, so I didn't want to tell any of them then. And so, in the absence of my wife, I talked to my parents in a video call on my cousin’s Facebook Messenger for about a day or two. Anyway, at half-past three or four, the nurse came again and asked me if I wanted coffee or tea.
Honestly, it is the cordial sincerity and good nature of nurses and doctors that serve the patients here. Although there is no separate vaccine or medicine for the coronavirus, they continue treatment with fever and colds depending on their physical condition. Since I came to the hospital in the early stages, my condition has never been worse, I have never felt sick, and every morning the nurse comes in with a new dress and measures the fever four times in twenty-four hours. And there is regular food, fruit, coffee biscuits.
Quader was in the next bed was referred to the Expo Government-appointed Isolation Center on Wednesday afternoon. And I was told to go to the Expo Isolation Center on Friday the 24th. The nurse came and put everything in his bed in the dustbin, sprayed it, and arranged it anew.
In the evening another person came to that bed. A Bangladeshi man from Khulna tested positive without any symptoms! Anyway, on Friday morning, the nurse came and explained the paper containing the 36-day medical leave with the medicine and told me to get ready to travel to the Expo Isolation Center.
He told us to get ready to come to the Expo Isolation Center and at ten o'clock in the morning, we left the Expo in the authorized transport of the hospital. I arrived there and went to the room through the guidance the nurses or volunteers provided via the instructions of the doctor laying down the rules of the center.
I came to observe that 460 rooms have been constructed in each hall room with two people in each room with a certain distance. There is a bedsheet/cover on each bed, two pillow covers, one pillow, two small towels, one water pot, one toothbrush, two kinds of toothpaste, body wash
Shampoo, detergent powder, mask, a pair of slippers/sandals, and even toilet tissue are provided. And for every four or six rooms, there is a blood pressure monitor and, the computer is kept there so that our key health indicators are mapped every four hours.
Now millions of expatriates like us, are receiving free medical care in quarantine, under the supervision of the government. The hearts of all expatriates will be overwhelmed by the humanity and sincerity of the Singapore government. We wish to convey our heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister of Singapore and the leadership team for taking care of us!
Writer: Migrant Poet & writer & the President of Banglar Kantha Literary Council, Working in Singapore

https://banglarkantha.net/?p=4771

একজন সাধারণ শ্রমজীবী প্রবাসী হিসেবে সরকারের অনন্য দৃষ্টান্ত স্থাপনকারী যুগান্তকারী পদক্ষেপ এর জন্য সিঙ্গাপুর.....

19/07/2020

গত কয়েকদিন ধরেই শোনা যাচ্ছে, এবারের আইপিএল দুবাইয়ে হবে। এরপর ভারতীয় ক্রিকেট বোর্ডের (বিসিসিআই) এপেক্স কাউন্সিলের...

18/07/2020

Bangladesh Literature Singapore’ and ‘Migrant Band Singapore’ tying up with the same non-profit who evicted Mohsin from his official workplace at Rowell Road in 2015. Opportunism often triumphs, national pride, as Mohsin is as much Bangladeshi as the temporary guest workers, albeit a Singaporean Permanent Resident.

https://changethinker.com/2017/04/26/navigating-migration-ngo-politics-in-singapore-the-banglar-kantha-narrative/

by Manishankar Prasad The unassuming AKM Mohsin, 53, is the editor and founder of Banglar Kantha, the only Bengali Language community newspaper in South East Asia. He operates out of a rented shop-…

06/07/2020

"We are living here without our family, so sometime we are feeling depression [...] If Singaporean people support us, if they encourage us migrant workers, we can make more entertainment and we can share with Singaporean people about our culture.”
- Sumon Mobarak, 30, from Comilla, Bangladesh. He plays the bamboo flute and keyboard.

Nabilah Said speaks to The Observatory, filmmaker Eric Lee and migrant musicians about SOURCE x Audible Lands, a film & music programme presented by Singapore International Festival of Arts. They talk about why they make music in Singapore, the impact of COVID-19, and their hopes and dreams for this project.

https://artsequator.com/source-audible-lands-sifa/

Banglar Kantha-Dibashram | Guitar Hobby Singapore Group (GHSG) | Billal and Friends | Isan Band สมาคมเพื่อนแรงงานไทยในประเทศสิงคโปร์ | Malay Ghosh & Probasi Sur

SOURCE X Audible Lands, commissioned for SIFA 2020 and presented by The Observatory and Eric Lee, features migrant music groups in Singapore.

30/06/2020

I am happy that migrant workers in Singapore and Malaysia write their own stories, their own poems – and they do it in Bangla, Tamil, Bahasa, and Tagalog. If these migrants don’t write their own histories themselves, then some western academic will step in and write it for them, on a Routledge contract. And that book will cost a hundred quid.

COLUMN The Write Line

24/05/2020

Source x Audible Lands: First Vodcast [25 May]
Experimental band The Observatory, filmmaker Eric Lee, and music groups from the migrant-worker community were in the initial stages of collaboration on Source × Audible Lands, a documentary screening and live-music performances, when circuit-breaker measures kicked in. From 25 May, these budding cross-cultural encounters will be presented through 5 teaser videos. In this first vodcast, we spotlight the processes and performances of the Banglar Kantha-Dibashram Cultural Group.

23/05/2020

https://banglarkantha.net/e_paper/%e0%a6%ae%e0%a7%87-%e0%a7%a8%e0%a7%a6%e0%a7%a8%e0%a7%a6/ #.XsljqjRGSn4

সিঙ্গাপুর থেকে প্রকাশিত দক্ষিণ-পূর্ব এশিয়ার অভিবাসীদের বাংলা কাগজ

28/04/2020

The Creative Pursuits of Bangladeshi Migrant Workers - Alaigal Oivathillai
2 MIN
By Vasantham Published: 03 Apr 2020 Audio: Tamil

After working hard during the week, the migrant workers from Bangladesh indulge in their favourite pastimes - music and poetry, during their leisure time. While the Bangla Kantha newspaper run by AKM Mohsin provides a voice for them.

https://www.mewatch.sg/en/series/alaigal-oivathillai/extras/the-creative-pursuits-of-bangladeshi-migrant-workers-alaigal-oivathillai/932097

After working hard during the week, the migrant workers from Bangladesh indulge in their favourite pastimes - music and poetry, during their leisure time. While the Bangla Kantha newspaper run by AKM Mohsin provides a voice for them, the store run by Nashirul islam give them a taste of life back hom...

06/04/2020