Journalese? Englishese?

Here's a little something from the News Today of 4 June 2006. The story is about a TV channel owner's estranged wife feeling insecure because she is being threatened by her husband's "cadres."

"Naznin alleged that her husband had tortured her for two years since their marriage on June 16, 1983. Later, she was divorced in 1995 as she had complained against her husband’s extramarital affair. Later, she was forced to remarry Bhulu by giving her Tk 2 crore in cash."

"Forced to remarry Bhulu by giving her Tk 2 crore [20 million] in cash?" Umm ....what exactly does that mean? Could it possibly mean that Bhulu forced her to remarry him by giving her 20 million in cash? Hmm, some forcing .... Apparently it does mean that she received the money, because the story goes on:

“With this money I bought shares of Dhaka Bank and Jumuna Bank. Bhulu started torturing me again for two reasons—I used to protest his extramarital affair and he wanted me to transfer the shares to him."

Curiouser and curiouser ... forced by the 20 million, she is now "tortured" for the shares which she bought with enforcement money. Perhaps another 20 million enforcement was being anticipated and wasn't forthcoming?

One wonders at the private lives of Bangladeshi tycoons ... and of course the reporting of Dhaka English newspapers.

Meanwhile, on the same page, "Law enforcers are yet to unearth the mystery behind the story of giving birth to seven children at a time by the wife of the ex-DIG seven years ago." This story should be read in full. Go to No Progress in Seven Kids Probe.

Dog Stories and multi-cultural heritages

Badly written stories and articles in Dhaka's Daily Star are legion. But occasionally these days one is surprised and delighted to find both well-written and interesting articles. One such in The Dog of My Dreams in the Star Weekend Magazine. I never knew that dog-hating Bangladesh actually had a rare breed of hunting hound -- what this writer calls the Sarail. The article actually mentions people who breed dogs (or used to) for sale and the writer himself sounds so knowledgeable on breeds of dogs. Strange thing -- in a country where children are told to kill puppies on sight as if they were snakes. (On the other hand, the whole thing -- the entire article -- may be pure fiction. I doubt if the editors of the Star's magazine would be able to spot the difference between a make-believe article and the real thing!)

In the same issue of the magazine there is this article with a highly unusual theme and the provocative title of Our Inclusive National Past: Islam, West Bengal, and Pakistan in which the writer argues that "by creating a cultural break with West Bengal and Pakistan, [we have] shut ourselves out from claiming the beautiful literary and cultural legacy we have been historically a part of." He even goes so far as to admit having read the Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz (who in popularity and lyricism is rapidly becoming the Rabindranath of that country) and even quoting him -- though he only repeats two stanzas from that oft-quoted (but beautiful nonetheless) "Du'aa" or "Prayer for Pakistan's Independence Day 1967."