'Our publishers need to have editors'

Anisul Hoque is a versatile author -- with his repertoire covering novels, poetry, plays and even screenplay. Hoque, who is an assistant editor at the daily Prothom Alo, has also amassed a large fan following through his 'Godyo-Cartoon' articles.

This year, the writer has been honoured with the prestigious Bangla Academy Award, conferred on him for his contributions to literature. He received several other awards throughout his illustrious writing career, including the City Bank Anondo Alo Award, Khalekdad Chowdhury Award, Khulna Writers Club Award, Poet Mozammel Hoque Foundation Award, Sukanto Award and the Euro Children's Literature Award. He also received the Bachsas Award and Tenashinas Award as a playwright. The Daily Star caught up with the author.

How many books by you have been published at this year's Ekushey Book Fair?

Hoque: Three novels and a compilation of small stories have been published. Among the novels, Prothoma Prokash published “Jara Bhor Enechhilo”; Somoy Prokash published “Na Manushi Jomin” and “Bhalobasha Dot Com” was published by Pearl Publications. Kakoli Prokashoni meanwhile published the short stories, titled “Oshomapto Chumboner 19 Bochhor Por”. Besides, a selection of my regular newspaper articles under the columns 'Godyo-Cartoon' and 'Oronye Rodon' have been made into books. The titles are “Priyo Pathhok Ektu Hashun” and “Ei Bhalobashar Kono Maney Hoy Na”.

What is your reaction to winning the Bangla Academy Award?

Hoque: I'd say the award should've come earlier. But I can take consolation by looking at the other 9 recipients of the award who are all much senior to me, especially Abdullah Abu Sayeed Sir; Khalikuzzaman Ilias and my teacher from BUET, Ali Azgar Sir. I consider Abdullah Abu Sayeed to be my mentor. When I first started writing, I asked Sayeed Sir why he doesn't get awards. When my books started coming out, I thought to myself “who am I to get an award, when Sayeed Sir hasn't received one yet!”. Then he received the Magsaysay Award for literature -- which we consider to be the Nobel Prize of Asia. But still Bangla Academy did not award him. So I started hoping that maybe Sayeed Sir and I would get the award the same year. It is a dream fulfilled. Having the chance to share the same stage with him while receiving the award is consolation enough.

What do you think of this year's book fair?

Hoque: I've been coming to the fair since 1984-85. Compared to those times, Dhaka city and its population both have grown, but the space inside the Bangla Academy has shrunk. The fair used to stretch near the pond inside; but buildings have been erected at the spot. It is amazing how the authorities are being able to maintain the overwhelming pressure of the ever-growing literate crowd in the capital. I believe a good stall arrangement has given the fair a better vibe.

Do you feel that the fair space should be extended?

Hoque: I feel that such a small venue cannot accommodate a book fair in a city of 20 million. However, Somoy Prokashoni proprietor Farid Ahmed disagrees. I think the fair should be moved to a larger venue -- with better access and car parking facilities. It should be a book fair of international standards. The Bangla Academy premises lack these necessities. We should rise above our sentiments. An alternative can be holding the fair at separate venues simultaneously throughout the month of February. At least two venues -- for North and South Dhaka -- should host the fair.

What is your opinion on the abundance of publishers?

Hoque: I don't know why there are so many publishers in the country. The focus should be on the quality of books. Our publishers also need to have editors, which all international publishing houses have. The publishers in Bangladesh have achieved solvency, now they need to be professional.

Living gets tough Inflation dwarfs wage growth

All's not well when it comes to cost of living and wages in the country.

According to the data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), due to high inflation the real wages of the working class people have suddenly marked a sharp drop last fiscal year.

As the inflation has exceeded 10 percent this year, the common people should expect more economic misery than any other recent years.

And it is not just the working class that is being affected by the rising inflation and low wage growth. Middle and upper middle class people are also feeling the bite now.

"My salary increased by just five percent last year while my cost of living, I believe, increased by two to three folds," said Kalabagan resident MS Rahman, an employee in a private company.

Rahman said he now works extra to cover the rising living cost.

From essential food items to transport cost, and from personal care products to house rent -- prices of everything have marked sharp rise in the last two years.

The wage growth rate in manufacturing and construction sector fell by 6 percentage point and in the agriculture sector by 10 percentage point.

Around 90 percent of the total labour force is employed in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and fisheries sectors, according to BBS.

The scenario of wage growth was quite opposite between fiscal years 2008 and 2010. According to the BBS data, general wages of workers in major sectors like manufacturing and agriculture grew at an excellent rate of more than 11 percent back then.

With inflation hitting 8.8 percent, the wage growth rate dropped down to a frustrating 3.95 percent last fiscal year. A Bangladesh Bank official said if the inflation is adjusted with the wage growth rate the real income has decreased in the recent times.

The data for the current fiscal year might be available after June this year.

The recently released Bangladesh Bank annual report (2010-11) observes, "Purchasing power of the poor people has been slower due to lower wage rates against high inflation."

This finding contradicts with the BBS chief's recent remark that while inflation has been on the rise, the peoples' purchasing power has also gone up.

World Bank senior economist, Zahid Hussain, explained the decline in real wages.

"This happens when the labour supply growth exceeds labour demand growth. The labour supply has grown steadily at 3.6 percent per annum during 2006 and 2010. Domestic employment growth during the same period was 3.5 percent per annum. Nominal wages grew at double digit rates in all sectors and far exceeded the inflation rates during fiscal years 2008 to 2010."

He wrote in an email, "This was a period of booming manpower exports which tightened labour supply in our internal labour markets leading to increase in real wages. Manpower exports slowed considerably in FY11 relative to the annual average number exported during FY08-10. Consequently, supply side pressure in the domestic labour market increased, thus lowering real wages."

The wage growth rate fell while general inflation grew by double digits over the last 11 months. In the last two months both food and non-food inflation were in the range of two digits.

Apple testing smaller screen tablet: WSJ

Apple is testing a tablet computer with a smaller screen than the hot-selling iPad, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper, quoting unidentified people familiar with the situation, said the California gadget-maker was working with component suppliers in Asia to test the tablet computer with a smaller display.

The Journal quoted officials at Apple suppliers as saying the company has shown them screen designs for a device with an eight-inch (20.3-centimeter) display.

The iPad has a 9.7-inch (24.6-cm) screen. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since launching the device in April 2010.

The Journal said Apple was working with Taiwan's AU Optronics Co. and South Korea's LG Display Co. to supply the test panels.

The newspaper cautioned that Apple frequently works with suppliers to test new designs and "could opt not to proceed with the device."

Apple reportedly plans to unveil a new version of the iPad in the first week of March. According to the Journal, the "iPad 3" will have a higher resolution screen than the iPad 2 but will be the same size.

Both Amazon and Samsung offer smaller and lower-priced tablets than the iPad.

Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs once famously dismissed tablets smaller than the iPad saying they were "tweeners" that were "too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad."

He suggested in October 2010 that makers of seven-inch (17.8-cm) screens "include sandpaper so users can sand down their fingers" to be able to tap onscreen keys.

The piracy of online privacy

Online privacy doesn't exist. It was lost years ago. And not only was it taken, we've all already gotten used to it. Loss of privacy is a fundamental tradeoff at the very core of social networking. Our privacy has been taken in service of the social tools we so crave and suddenly cannot live without. If not for the piracy of privacy, Facebook wouldn't exist. Nor would Twitter. Nor even would Gmail, Foursquare, Groupon, Zynga, etc.

And yet people keep fretting about losing what's already gone. This week, like most others of the past decade, has brought fresh new outrages for privacy advocates. Google, which a few weeks ago changed its privacy policy to allow the company to share your personal data across as many as 60 of its products, was again castigated this week for the changes. Except this time, the shouts came in the form of a lawsuit. The Electronic Privacy Information Center sued the FTC to compel it to block Google's changes, saying they violated a privacy agreement Google signed less than a year ago.

Elsewhere, social photography app Path was caught storing users' entire iPhone address books on their servers and have issued a red-faced apology. (The lesser-known app Hipster committed the same sin and also offered a mea culpa.) And Facebook's IPO has brought fresh concerns that Mark Zuckerberg will find creative new ways to leverage user data into ever more desirable revenue-generating products.

This is the way we're private now. It's ludicrous for anyone who loves the Internet to expect otherwise. How else are these services supposed to exist let alone make any money? Theft or misuse of private user data is a crime, certainly. But no social web app not one can work without intense analytics performed on the huge data sets that users provide to them voluntarily (you did read the terms of service agreement…right?).

And the issue compounds when people connect one site to another. By linking their Twitter to their Facebook to their Google+ to their Foursquare to their Zynga to their Instagram to their iOS, users are consolidating their lives, and in the process making them more attractive to marketers. While Facebook, Twitter and other services have made attempts to warn users about hitting the “connect” button, many of us hit that button with reckless abandon, without a thought of who's slavering on the other side.

The reason social media and digital information companies want that data is because of what we refuse to give them: money. No one wants to pay for the privilege of chatting with their friends or using a coupon, and to this day, no one has to: Go ahead, ring their doorbell or pick up the free coupon book from your front stoop. But if you want to chat using Facebook or Gmail, or you want to buy a groupon for an 80 percent-off Botox service, you will have to tell those companies who you are. And those companies will use that information to tailor their offerings to you, increasing your value as a user and a customer. They will slice their data sets into a million different pieces and show those pieces to people advertisers who will pay them money for the privilege of using their service. They'll use it to get to you.

This is an update on an old media model. Magazines and newspapers for decades could only guess at the readership of their product and the demographic of their customers. But now social and new media demand to and can know exactly who you are before they agree to let you use their free services. Even email newsletter services like the increasingly hot Thrillist which might innocuously start you on their service by asking only for your simple email address deploy click trackers, pixel trackers and other online data-gathering techniques to start to put together a picture of you as a user, both individually and in aggregate. A deceased magazine like Spy could only dream of that kind of intel.

Without such strategies, social web companies like these couldn't exist. Every user has a choice when it comes to privacy, sure. But the second people sign up for Gmail, Facebook, Mint or Gilt Group, they have reaffirmed their willingness to be a mouse that the cats will chase. And these cats need mice. Otherwise they will starve. So they do their best to hide their intentions. Indeed, as a longtime and well-known advocate for the transformative power of technology recently told me, true believers like Mark Zuckerberg actively stake out radical positions on privacy, then talk about them as if they were natural or normal. It's not too much different from the political process, where the best way to effect a shift in society is to present it as if it were a fait accompli and then expend energy actually moving the levers of power toward the shift rather than wasting time arguing with people about the implications.

That's what the last five years have been about. Mark Zuckerberg, for example, wanted a collection of all our Facebook actions called an Open Graph to be part of our lives. Now, lo and behold, it is.

Today, we straddle two extremes the offline and the online. Each comes with its own expectations and realities of what privacy is.

Mobile devices to outnumber people on planet this year

Smartphones and tablets. It appears that we can't get enough of them. According to the latest research by network firm Cisco, at some point this year there will be more mobile devices on the planet than humans. So that'll be about 7 billion then.

But it won't stop there. Consumers will go on consuming, with those in emerging markets getting connected in ever greater numbers. Many people will soon be carrying with them not just a smartphone, but a tablet too. In fact, Cisco predicts that by 2016 there will be more than 10 billion mobile-connected devices among an expected world population of some 7.3 billion people. Tech companies will be salivating at the very thought.

Of course, such proliferation will bring with it a set of challenges that'll need to be dealt with in a timely manner or else the entire mobile communications system will be in danger of simply seizing up. The more mobile devices there are, the more pressure there'll be on mobile networks, and the companies operating them.

Faster networks
Faster networks will also create a challenge. According to Cisco, 4G currently only accounts for 0.2 percent of mobile connections but is responsible for 6 percent of mobile data traffic. Furthermore, a 4G connection generates 28 times more data traffic than a non-4G connection, Cisco said. So if the next iteration of Apple's expected-soon iPad supports 4G, as some have suggested it will, that'll help push data usage even higher.

Cisco predicted that by the end of this year, 100 million smartphone users will belong to what it calls the 'gigabyte club', with users generating more than 1GB of mobile data traffic each month. And over the next four years, that figure will fly off the charts.

“By 2016, 60 percent of mobile users three billion people worldwide will belong to the gigabyte club,” Suraj Shetty, vice-president of products and solutions at Cisco, told the BBC.

Tablets
The huge popularity of tablets, a device which only came into being two years ago with the launch of Apple's iPad, is also helping to ramp up data consumption, with those devices generating three times more traffic than smartphones. Cisco says that by 2016 tablets will be responsible for over 10 percent of global mobile traffic.

While manufacturers of mobile phones and tablets will be rubbing their hands in eager anticipation of the possible riches that await them in the coming years, one question remains: In 2016, which maker will be dominating the mobile market? Apple? Samsung? Or a company we haven't even heard of yet?

Softexpo 2012 kicks off Feb 22

All is set for the SoftExpo 2012, the largest exposition of software and ICT enabled services (ITES), to be held on February 22-26 in the capital.

Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) is organising the event at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

The theme for this year's softexpo's is 'Empowering Next Generation'.

Over 140 exhibitors are taking part at the event with participation of 10 countries. There will be 30 seminars and technical sessions at the 5-day fair.

Organisers are expecting huge crowd at the fair.

Code Warriors' Challenge, IT Innovation Search Programme, BASIS Freelancer of the year award, IT job fair and the gala award night would be the highlights of the SoftExpo

AZIZUL HAKIM @ DS CAFE

Azizul Hakim - once active on theatre with Aranyak - began his journey on television with a small role in the 80s. He earned bigger roles as his career grew more dynamic, dominating the TV screen throughout the 90s. After all these years, Azizul Hakim continues to perform both on TV and the silver screen, along with stints as a director. The veteran artiste recently chatted with The Daily Star (TDS) and his fans at DS Cafe.

TDS: You were once a good football player. Would you choose a career in sports if you did not become an actor?

Azizul Hakim: I had such plans, while it was also my father's dream. He was a football player himself and he always patronized my footballing ambitions. I played football for my school and college as well as taking it to the professional stage by playing for Victoria Sporting Club in Dhaka First Division football. Undoubtedly, I would become a professional football player if I didn't enter the world of acting.

Fardin, Dhaka: Was becoming an actor your childhood dream?

Azizul Hakim: I always had an aspiration of becoming an actor. Cinema was a major source of entertainment at that time, and watching the favorite stars on the screen always inspired me. Anyway, the chance to work on the stage came to me while I was playing football. I joined Arannyak in 1977. Thanks Fardin for your question.

TDS: Does it cause you pain that cricket is more popular than football now?

Azizul Hakim: No there is no such regret. We also had a glorious past in football when players like Salahuddin and Gazi bhai played on the field. They were the star footballers of that time. Football used to be the most popular sport in our country. Cricket earned its place gradually. Hockey also used to be a popular choice before. But I think patronization is a crucial thing in sports. Cricket started drawing more patrons than football at one point. When our cricket team claimed its spot in the international arena, we leaned further towards the game. Football, however is yet to make a major leap. Our football in the global arena has gone stale.

TDS: Are you involved in any social welfare projects?

Azizul Hakim: I'm not directly involved, but I participate whenever I get the chance. Whenever there is a natural disaster, we artistes collect funds for those affected. We collected donations for the Sidr victims.

Lonny, Dhaka: Do you read novels? How would you feel if you had the chance to portray a character from a book?

Azizul Hakim: Reading books is my hobby. I always carry a book with me at shootings. Whenever I get a break, I indulge in the pages of a book. For your information, I've already played roles from a book. I would love to do it again in the future.

Sagar Chowdhury, Sylhet: From a veteran's perspective, how much respect do you think the young actors have for each other?

Azizul Hakim: I feel that the rookies and the veterans in the acting world have a very friendly relationship. Mutual respect is greater in the theaters, as it is the place which teaches the basics of acting.

Towhid, Comilla: Nowadays TV dramas use a mutated form of language like "khaichho, gechho". What is your opinion on this?

Azizul Hakim: I want the use of proper language to be practiced on the dramas and am against the practice of colloquial tones. I strongly believe this practice will not last, as viewers will always want the proper form of language.

Mahbubur Rahman Khan, Brahmanbaria: Do you remember your performance on the drama 'Shomoy Oshomoy"?

Azizul Hakim: Definitely. Thank you for mentioning the play. I played the role of Haradhon in the play - which was written by Mamunur Rashid. Raisul Islam Asad, Hanif Sangket and Chompa acted with me in the drama.

Riaz Khan, Dhaka: You always manage to blend in with the character you play. How is it possible?

Azizul Hakim: Acting is my passion and profession. I always try to blend in with the character and think of nothing else during acting. Thanks for your observation.

TDS: You and Zinat both work in the same field. Does it create any friction?

Azizul Hakim: No it helps us instead. We have a better understanding of each other.

Asif, Rangpur: You were once active with the theatre. Did you go abroad to perform?

Azizul Hakim: I began my journey with Theatre Group Arannyak and I am still a member. I visited England, USA and many other countries to perform on stage.

Ripon, Jagannath University: Where is your native home?

Azizul Hakim: I hail from Comilla.

Tithi, Dhaka: Do you go to the Ekushey book fair?

Azizul Hakim: There was a time when I regularly visited the fair. This year I plan on going even if I just manage a single day for it.

Polly, Barisal: Class Six to Ten, or Intermediate to University, which life do you prefer?

Azizul Hakim: I prefer the former. The time of pure youth and teenage spirit. Those were wonderful times. I often wish of going back to those days. The teenage years are the golden period in a person's life.

Tuli, Rajshahi: How much of a friend can parents be for a child?

Azizul Hakim: Anyone can see their parents as complete friends. Friendly relations with parents is always a good thing. All sons and daughters should remember that there is no one as close to them as their parents.

Kamrul Islam Mamun, Dhaka: Our rivers and environment are under threat. What ways are there to escape the impending dangers?

Azizul Hakim: Thank you for asking such an important question. I'm as concerned as you are about the decaying state of our rivers. The environment is also being polluted for many reasons. However, we can be optimistic regarding the works of some pro-environment organisations. But the fact remains that we all have to be aware and cautious on the issue - for protecting the environment.

Sharmin Sultana, Patuakhali: Is acting your passion or profession?

Azizul Hakim: It is both.

Nazmul Ahmed, Uttara, Dhaka: What is your definition of love?

Azizul Hakim: Everyone has their own definition. The pain of not getting what you want is love.

TDS: What do you do in leisure hours?

Azizul Hakim: I hardly get any time off. The little I get, I choose to spend at home. I give time to my children and wife. I like to watch movies and listen to music. Sometimes I also get the chance to travel.

Ishita turns author

Popular TV actress Ishita is set to make her debut as an author at this year's Ekushey book fair. Her first book “Nirobe” has been published by Shobdo-Shilpo Prokashoni.

On the book, Ishita says it is the story form of a TV drama that she wrote in 2008. The play was aired then and has four to five characters, she adds.

Ishita began practicing her writing skills during her childhood, with teen magazine Kishor Tarokalok featuring several of her stories. However, “Nirobe” is her first serious work, Ishita adds.

Apart from acting, Ishita is busy directing TV dramas and writing new screenplays for TV. So far she has written 11 plays for television and wants to try her hand at more serious forms of writing if she can manage the time. Although the artiste is keen to visit the book fair, she is busy taking care of her ailing grandmother. But Ishita asserted she intends to go to the fair whenever she can get time off.

Manipuri Theatre's Kohe Birangana and Shree Krishna Kirtan go to India

Manipuri Theatre will hold two shows of its productions “Kohe Birangana” and “Shree Krishna Kirtan” at the International Manipuri Literature and Cultural Festival to be held in Guwahati, Assam in India. The Bangladeshi troupe will hold the shows on February 18 and 19. Moreover, the troupe will hold a couple of more shows of the plays in other places in Assam and Tripura during its ten-day tour.

Chief of the troupe Shuvashis Sinha informed that the local Bishnupriya Manipuri Writers Forum in Guwahati will organise the festival, where Manipuri communities from Bangladesh and India will uphold their ethnic identity through different cultural performances.

Both the Manipuri Theatre productions have been written and directed by Shuvashis.

“Kohe Birangana” is based on Michael Madhusudan Dutt's “Birangana Kabya”. The play articulates four verses among 11 from the original text. The play features agony of female characters from the epic “Mahabharat”-- Shakuntala, Draupadi, Dushala and Jona.

Jyoti Sinha played the four characters. Other performers, who helped Jyoti in chorus, were Smriti Sinha, Shukla Sinha, Sunanda Sinha and Bhagyalokkhi Sinha.

On the other hand, “Shree Krishna Kirtan” is adapted from medieval period poet Baru Chandidas' writing with the same title.

Chandidas wrote “Shree Krishna Kirtan” to highlight the anthropomorphic aspects of Lord Krishna. It was an arduous process as he had to pore over puran and religious books. In the play, Shuvashis worked on only seven episodes out of 13 from the original piece.

Jyoti Sinha and Aparna Sinha play as Radha and Krishna respectively. Shukla Sinha will do another lead character in the play.

Tangled Fields Earth's magnet dances to the Sun

This image, released this week, shows a computer simulation of the complex and crazy magnetic fields that make up Earth's magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is the result of the interaction of charged particles from the sun and the magnetic field that surrounds the planet. When solar storms send particles flowing toward Earth, the result can be stunning space weather the kind that creates beautiful auroras but also can disrupt satellites, telecommunications and electrical power grids. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee are trying to understand how these storms work in order to better predict how storms on the sun will influence life on our planet.