Everyday life in villages and towns: prices, weather, food and health, and people’s stories.
Daily lifeOmega-3 in hilsa, vitamin D in rui, vitamin A in catla, calcium in puti, iron in magur, strength in shing. Each of eleven familiar fish on the Bangladeshi plate brings the body something of its own. What each offers, and how to choose among them for everyday meals.
Daily lifeThe national fish carries omega-3, vitamins D, A and E and selenium, good for the heart, brain, skin and bones. Here are the benefits, and the ingredients and methods of 33 hilsa dishes, from ilish bhaturi, paturi and doi ilish to korma, biryani and Bikrampur's pani khola ilish.
Leftover kneaded dough keeps for a few hours in a clean bowl under a lightly damp cloth in a cool, shaded spot; if its smell, colour or texture changes, it should not be used.
FlowersSabdi, a village near Narayanganj city, is known for flower farming; as winter begins its fields fill with sunflowers, marigolds and roses, and it makes an easy day trip from Dhaka.
Daily lifeThe regulated price of a 12 kg LPG cylinder rose from Tk 975 in April 2021 to Tk 1,940 in April 2026; September's fixed price is Tk 1,585, yet shops charge Tk 2,150 to 2,500.
Daily lifeFootpath cooking has stopped in Salt Lake's Sector V under new NDITA rules; 90 percent of the 973 stalls sell food, and cold food brought from home is losing customers and going to waste.
HealthAn investigation found Dhaka biryani sellers using Tk 300-350 textile dye instead of food colouring and salt reused from tanneries, while kewra water declared unfit by the consumer directorate is sold openly.
With everyday prices rising, saving on a limited income is hard, but budgeting at the start of the month, skipping impulse buys, stocking up during discounts and setting aside a share of pay at once can still leave money over.
On the international day on food loss and waste, more than 10 hotels and restaurants in Maijdee, Noakhali, agreed to record their daily food waste and display it to diners; each throws away 50 kg or more a day.
IslamVerse 23 of Surah Al-Isra forbids saying even 'uff' to parents in old age; Our Islam calls checking on the elderly, sitting with them and seeking their advice a duty of faith.
CookingDon't wash mushrooms too much, turn up the heat when they release water, add spices only once it has dried and salt at the very end: five simple ways to cook mushrooms well.
IslamCouples living under one roof are drifting apart; Muhammad Muhsin Mashkur draws on Surah Ar-Rum, An-Nisa and Al-Baqarah and the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) for five ways to strengthen a marriage.
A consumer rights directorate drive around Chattogram Medical College Hospital fined two eateries, a supershop and two pharmacies; cooked food was found stored with raw fish and meat.
Communication specialist and columnist Shahana Huda Ranjana writes in Bangla Tribune that gaslighting, breaking someone's confidence in order to control them, runs through marriages, families and workplaces, and sets out how to recognise it and escape it.
HealthBangladesh now has more than 16.6 million people over 60; on the International Day of Older Persons, physician Shamima Sharmin says a regular routine, protein-rich food, family time and a slip-free home keep them well alongside their medicines.
