March 2025 - Susmita Sikder

The Film Surja Dighal Bari (The Ominous house): A Neorealist Exploration of Bangladesh’s Socio-Political Landscape

Posted on 12 Mar, 202512 Mar, 2025 by user_susmitasikder

The Film Surja Dighal Bari (The Ominous house)

A Neorealist Exploration of Bangladesh’s Socio-Political Landscape

Surja Dighal Bari, a neorealist feature film released in 1979, after the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, was directed by Mashiha Uddin Shaker and Sheikh Niamat Ali. The plot is about a poor family returning to their village from Dhaka during the Second World War in 1943, struggling with the Great Bengal Famine. It focuses on the rural communities and highlights the socio-cultural and political issues. The main characters in this movie, two women, grapple with poverty, rigid societal expectations, generational conflicts, and political struggles, which are grounded in real-life experiences that mirror the challenges faced by many people in rural Bangladesh.

By addressing the political tensions in post-independence Bangladesh, including land ownership, poverty, and corruption, Surja Dighal Bari accomplishes what neorealists portrayed in their films. The film also depicts the problems of the rural poor, whose voices are frequently ignored by mainstream media, similar to neorealist films about the working class in post-World War II Europe. To achieve a sense of authenticity and realism, neorealist films use non-professional performers. While Surja Dighal Bari does not rely completely on non-professional performers, its casting selections and character portrayals appear authentic and unpolished, emphasizing the authenticity of their lives rather than providing a highly stylized, artificial portrayal.

Neorealist films frequently use genuine locations, such as streets, factories, and rural areas, to heighten the impression of realism. Surja Dighal Bari also uses naturalistic settings, filming on location in rural Bangladesh, which adds to the authenticity of its depictions of village life. By focusing on locations, the film avoids the theatricality or artificiality that sometimes comes with studio-based productions, giving the audience a greater sense of immersion in the actual world. This film is a character-driven narrative that centers on the connections, struggles, and daily lives of regular people. The film does not rely on sensationalism or melodrama, but rather on the characters’ everyday lives and emotional journeys, as is typical of neorealism.

The film Surja Dighal Bari shares many characteristics with the neorealist tradition, most notably its desire to represent the true, unadorned problems of the oppressed and the impact of sociopolitical issues on everyday life. By taking a realistic approach to its characters and its surroundings, the film spotlights overlooked stories, which is consistent with the idea of neorealism.

Written by

Susmita Sikder

How do you take care of your Dhakai Jamdani saree?

Posted on 12 Mar, 202512 Mar, 2025 by user_susmitasikder

How do you take care of your Dhakai Jamdani saree?

The original Dhakai Jamdani saree is a centuries-old traditional garment of Bangladesh, considered one of the most expensive and classic sarees to aspire to have in your wardrobe. It is entirely hand-loomed, showcasing exceptional craftsmanship. You can purchase this saree for yourself or as a gift. On any occasion, particularly weddings and ceremonial events, these sarees add a touch of elegance, embodying the most distinguished traditional art form.

However, as much as you are captivated by every glimpse of hand-weaving, transparent, and intricate patterns in your jamdani saree, you cannot help but feel anxious about these sarees, as maintenance is a significant concern. Sometimes, they may get damaged if stored folded in your closet, or you may wear them so often that you risk wearing them out and encountering other issues.

Hence, these kinds of sarees are a treasure for you. Keeping this saree for years is a big challenge for you. Follow our tips to make sure you will not lose out on your precious pieces of the jamdani saree.

Tips on taking care of Jamdani saree

The fact that Jamdani sarees are delicate and dyed with natural colours requires special care, even though they can survive for many years. The slight error can ruin the entire fabric. Let’s look at how you can take care of your Jamdani saree.

Kata wash only: You can clean any expensive saree by dry washing, but jamdani sarees need to be kata washed to keep their patterns as intricate and detailed as they have been for years. Dry washing can displace the threads and cause irreparable damage. So, kata wash is the only way to clean up a Jamdani saree. Even if your favourite saree is damaged or faded, you can protect it by a kata wash. Moreover, keep in mind that only jamdani weavers know about this special wash, and you should have to give it to them for washing.

Way to remove the stain: The worst-case scenario is when your delicate Jamdani saree may stain with a drop of curry or sauce. If it happens, don’t get worried about this. You should wet the stain and apply white toothpaste to both sides of the fabric. Then, let it hang to dry for three days. After three days, use a wet rag, rubbing lightly to remove all traces of toothpaste from the saree. You will find that either the stain has been removed or lighter. If the stain does not go away, you can repeat the method.

Avoid Direct Sunlight: Since the sarees’ vivid colours are light-sensitive, direct sunlight may cause them to fade. To keep its shine, store it in a cool, dry, and away from direct sunlight when you are not wearing it.

Gentle Folding: Make sure your jamdani saree is taken out of the closet every 20 to 30 days and unfolded, then folded gently again in another way. This practice will ensure your saree does not have permanent and stubborn fold marks and remove a musty smell. A Jamdani saree must never be under another saree. Keep these in a white paper packet while placing them in the wardrobe that protects your saree from fungus.

Handle with care: To prevent its threads from sagging, you should be humble when wearing it. Be careful about sharp edges of jewellery or accessories you wear that could pull threads. Besides, you must use a false border under the saree. Otherwise, your favourite saree may tear by the pressure of your shoes.

Keep away from water: Unlike regular sarees, jamdani sarees should not be cleaned with soap powder and water. It deteriorates in contact with water. So, they should keep away from water to maintain them as new. While creating a Jamdani saree, the weavers apply starch to the yarn to strengthen it and prevent it from loosening, ensuring the integrity and quality of the fabric throughout the weaving process.

Avoid leaving it too long: Usually, women wear jamdani sarees occasionally. The fact is, the more you wear it, the better it stays. For this reason, it is the best way to put jamdani on every so often.

Repaint the saree: If the colors of your Jamdani sarees have faded and become stained from frequent use, you can rejuvenate them by dyeing them with a rich, deep colour to restore their vibrancy and beauty. It is important to remember that in this situation, colour should be used in plain sarees. There is no way to paint the multicoloured jamdani saree.

Proper maintenance can extend the life of Jamdani sarees to several years or generations. Following these simple instructions, you can keep your unique Dhakai Jamdani sarees in perfect shape, and continue to stun with their boundless grace.

Written by

Susmita Sikder

“The Echoes of My Childhood”

Posted on 12 Mar, 202512 Mar, 2025 by user_susmitasikder

“The Echoes of My Childhood”

I would like to illustrate a village portrait that always holds in my mind and takes me back. If I had left my village for many years, I could remember all my childhood memories, even a single thing would not be erased from my thoughts.

The village I cherish has a stunning landscape with plenty of agriculture, trees, birds, flowers, and a spiral canal running through the hamlet. The boatmen and their traditional Bhatiali song enhance the picture of nature, making it seem serene and vibrant.

I used to get up listening to the chirping of birds, swimming and jumping into the water, playing in the open field, running through the crop field, and rushing to move after the grasshoppers and butterflies had given me endless delight and happiness.

I have a lot of uncountable memories building up right now. We have greatly enjoyed the village’s seasonal splendour and events. During the summer days, we went on a lengthy vacation. On those days, we youngsters would stroll in the sun all day without feeling tired, playing sports or picking green mangoes from the trees, smearing them with pepper and salt, and then putting them into a rolling banana leaf. The mango juice would gradually drip, and we licked it off. What a delicious and mouthwatering food it was!!

Another fascinating and refreshing thing was the village fair. Many things attracted me to the fair, among them Sweets! A big-size rasgulla called ‘Mohonvog’ struck me as the most alluring. I would also love to buy clay dolls, toys, and pots. Indeed, we didn’t have as much as today’s children, but we were satisfied with what we had.

In the monsoon, our community took on a poetic scene when rain drizzled on the tin roof creating mesmerising sounds, rivers, canals, bills swelled, and water lilies bloomed all over the wetlands. We, bathed in rainfall, picked up water lilies, rode on a boat, caught fish, and soaked in the canal until our eyes turned red.

Autumn gave me another fragrance of the clear blue sky with white clouds, creating different shapes like faces, animals, birds, and many more. In addition, there is the Jasmine (Sheuli) flower, which blooms during the night. I enjoyed picking it off first thing in the morning. It seemed like a bed of white flowers under the Jasmine tree, spreading a great smell around.

The winter mornings were wonderfully graced with dense fog. Nature was shrouded in such thick fog while dew fell like raindrops. As the sun emerged from the mist, it gleamed off the dewdrops that had dropped to the grass, giving the impression of pearls! We had shivered in the morning and enjoyed basking. Another most attractive one was drinking Date juice. What a sweet taste it was! As if honey!! From its jaggery and molasses, delicious cakes, sweets, and dishes were made that were just mouth-watering!

What to say about the beauty of spring! The trees were covered with vibrant blooms, the entire environment seemed to be on fire, and the sound of the Cuckoo brought joy to the surroundings. We kids enjoy mimicking the cuckoo’s sweet sounds.

Some more memories are making me nostalgic. On the moonlit night, the horizon had flooded with moonlight while we siblings sat beside Grandmother in the yard. She used to tell us many fairy tales. Sometimes, she pulled me onto her lap and stroked the line in my hair. At the same time, we used to love to count the stars in the sky. However, the gloomy night had a lovely appeal as well. The cricket insects and fireflies would light up the night with loud chirping or ‘calling song’ and flashing lights. The fireflies would flicker their light over the pitch-black night, embracing the beauty of nature with lit-up trees and bushes that looked as though they were by professionals, a far cry from the contemporary modern urban lighting.

It is a great regret for me that the natural beauty of villages has mostly disappeared. The moonlight beauty has become invisible because of electricity—the Fireflies are almost entirely extinct in rural areas. The narrow soil streets transform into paved roads where vehicles are moving regularly. The canal has dried, and the boatmen are singing no longer. As a result, the tranquillity and beauty of the village have immensely disappeared. Children are not eager to play sports or be mischievous anymore due to their addiction to mobile phones. When I visit my community, I can not find my childhood village, it always remains in my heart. In this context, two lines have come to my mind from William Wordsworth-

The music in my heart I bore,

Long after it was heard no more.

Written by

Susmita Sikder