Last for now but not for long…

April 15, 2010 at 7:22 pm (Perception & Precaution)
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Often I remember a memory of my childhood, sometimes after dinner I used to sit on chair of our veranda with some fruits. We lived in a staff quarter in that time. The veranda was open as there were no metal grills like today. I used to sit there, take the fruits and see the open sky above and think so many strange things. Sometimes, my mom used to sit there by taking me on her. Often I asked a question “Mom… Has anybody ever visited moon?”

She used to answer, “Yes, some American guys did”

Then I used to say “ Ok! Then I won’t go there. Has anybody ever visited stars?”

She used to reply “Nop, till now nobody could”

Then I used to smile and say “I’ll visit the starts when I’ll be grown up and I’ll bring one for you”

My mom used to laugh and say “Why my son has to go there, my baby itself a Star, shinier than those”

How stupid I was, I used to tell this to my school friends that I’m a shinier star than those stars they see at the night sky. This is something that I often remember and smile. But till now, somehow my childish mind believes those words and inspires like anything.

It was a wonderful journey till today, it’s not always important to take life as a race. Because if it’s a race, I have to run, and if I run than I can lose so many things that I could get by walking. Someone said “Always try to take the pleasure from small moments, after someday just look back, you’ll find them bigger”… Yes!! It’s true, if I try to win something I’ve to know how to defeat others. But if I try to achieve something I’ve to be passionate about that….

This blog was made for a particular achievement… but you know what?? Already I’ve achieved something that exceeds the power of everything.

Achieved the ability to express

Achieved the way to explore

Achieved the eyes to see the world

Achieved the mirror to show the world

Achieved the words to respect

Achieved the heart to achieve respect

Achieved the smile to appreciate

Achieved the humble to be appreciated

Achieved the truth to love humanity

Achieved the vote to be in humanity

Achieved the love of friends who made my existence

Achieved the way to thank those friends for making my existence

Yes!! I Achieved…

Achieved my Existence….

Achieved my meaning…

Achieved my Love…

Achieved me…

I’m just a little shiny star for my mother…

And a seed for the world that just broke the ground and wondering so meet the nature…

I’ll finish for now with last 4 lines

“Sky makes me feel sometimes,

I didn’t have to grow,

As the eagle leaves the nest,

It got so far to go!!”

34 Comments

A window to look back…

April 15, 2010 at 6:25 pm (Alliance Française DAYs dacca)
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“Yesterday… all my troubles seemed so far away… now it looks as though they’re here to stay…ohh I believe in Yesterday…♪…mmm…” The legendary song form the English rock band The Beatles… Yesterday…. Such a wonderful and touchy part of life that always walks with us… it’s something where we never can get back but somewhere we always want to belong… or its a smile that you put yourself by tasting those memories and feeling like stupid when people laugh out that you are smiling without any reason… Yesterday… 1991… Dhaka…Bangladesh Not a very busy place but busy… Roads are very open… You can find enough green wherever you look… You can breathe in by blowing your heart till it gets filled…. You can hear the sweet song of the birds if you come out for a morning walk… One thing that you might never see again that is the “Baby-Taxi” with yellow and black combined which was the only standard vehicle for little long distance journey within Dhaka…

Alliance Française Road 1991

Alliance Française Road 2010

Alliance Francaise Road 2010

What about Alliance Française?? It seemed more like a Myth when I was checking out the pictures of those golden times…. She was beautiful as a term of olden splendor. She had everything in that time like we have today, a glowing Admission Office, A pleasant library, a café full of life, and the jam-packed classes with the latest technology of that time… but that was the Yesterday where everything is so touchy… Since Alliance is in this country from 1959, I’m just starting to look back from time of my birth….

Alliance Francaise Front 1991

Alliance Francaise Front 1991

Alliance Francaise Front 2010 19 years… so many things got changed, updated or may be forgotten… & most important this the time of my belongingness in this earth so far… 19 Years!! I’m Really Thankful to Mr. Faizul Kabir Sir who managed me these Golden time photographs in just an asking. Mr. Zia Hyder Sir who explained me the history and all the photographs very delightfully that drived me in 1991… according to his words I’m just walking through here… I’m just standing on 2010 and looking back to 1991…with these precious photographs… through the smoky time… Photographs section#1 The Reception

Alliance Française Reciption 1991

The admission office was in 2nd floor, Yes!! It was one of the modern receptions of that time. Even then, they used to put all the arts on interior. The big worldmap in backside, historical photographs, colorful books… That place is now the Classical Guitar Class… But I really feel crazy to see the metal window, that gives the real taste of oldies… and I feel wonder to know, in 1991 that place was as busy as today… Now I really feel lucky that whenever I want I can go and take a look… now the admission office is in ground floor straight ahead to the main gate…the place shines with golden illumination, Colorful Catalogs, Different books and the traditional Photography’s. Now the place is much bigger, two PC is there, colorful file folders. But still the touch of oldies. Photographs Section#2 The Café (La Viranda) and Parties

Alliance Française Cafe 1991

Alliance Française Cafe 2010

Alliance Française cafe 1991 (Front)

Alliance Française cafe 2010 (Front)

jazz night 1991

Disco night 2010

This is the place of folklore we often think but can’t draw exactly. The old steel chairs, a café desk made of wood and bamboo, metal cashbox, Millat ceiling fans (Millat was the only one Brand of ceiling fan of that time) and old lightings… even in that time, the magazines and current posters were there… The early 90’s jazz night, Every Thursday night there was Jazz night in Alliance Française, Even the drinks were also made with tradition of Jazz music… Yes!! in 1991, Jazz night with mono speaker, keyboard, guitar, candles, friends and so many things you may mix yourself as you are in folklore. By keeping the tradition of jazz, today we meet 5 photographs of jazz music legends just after entering the café. Now this place is somewhere light and darkness plays hide and seek. You’ll never know when your heart got colorful after entering the café we have today. We have everything new now, new view, new arts, new chairs, new tables, new food items, new architectures. Since we don’t have the jazz night now, but we have the Disco nights. Full of excitements, best sound systems with a great Dj Mr. Faizul Kabir. Everything is new!! Fulfilled!! If something is old, that is Mr. Francis Biswas, who’s the café in charge from uncounted years…really I don’t know… Photographs Section#3 The Library

Library 1991

Library 2010

Librarian 1991, Shirin roja

Librarian 2010, Zia Hyder Khan

Library 1991

Library 2010

Now days, Library is the most stunning place of Alliance Française as I’ve dedicated a solo post on library. Although in 1991, it was one of the best libraries in Dhaka. Even that time, the collection was huge with famous French Books, English books, magazines, video tapes and audio tapes. Even the historical photographs weren’t missing. The wooden bookshelves, long arrangements, pale wall paints, and the old charger light on the desk, gives a real flavor of prehistoric times… wow…how the time was… The lady in the picture of 1991 is Miss. Shirin roja, who was the librarian of that time. Finding this name was so tough today. Do you know who found this name for me?? Mr. Zia Haider Khan, the current librarian of Alliance Française. Even he is working here from 1997 and he was a French student of 1991. Today’s library is the multimedia library; even everything is customized to keep the flavor of the art and conformability. Even the sitting arrangements for the readers are kept in old flavor with new style. That time there was tree tubs around the chairs to feel in a naturalistic theme, now we don’t have that inside. But we sit in a table from where the total garden and lawn view is clear, where the sunshine falls on the page and talks with the alphabets of our book. This is a place ever old like gold and new like glitters. Photographs Section#4 The Gallery

Gallery 1991

zoom gallery 2010

La Gallerie 2010

Most often I make mistake to write ‘Gallery’ as I’m quite habituated with ‘Gallarie’ now days. In 1991, Gallery would rather mean a lot in Dhaka, if cultural institute had its own. I don’t know exact where the gallery was in that time, but it was a place of real social art promotion that I know. In that time, maybe we had only the zoom gallery, though we have today. But today we also got a large gallery with the best lightings I’ve ever seen. This is the place where people loose themselves in silence and depth. Even in the photo of 1991, you can see the best lighting outputs of that time… Photographs Section#5 The Auditorium and movie festivals

Auditorium 1991

auditorium 2010 Yes in that time there was an own auditorium of AFD and movie fastivals were also there. Most exiting even that time, the chairs of the auditorum were customized as they can be moved anytime they needed. Now we got a colorful and latest cutomized auditorium where evey Friday evening students comes to enjoy french movies. I’m really unlucky that I couldn’t magange my time to enjoy a movie there till now for my stupid life schedule. But hope to join there soon. Photographs Section#6 Technologies

CESTI, Ms. Myriam 1991

Assistant Director of Pedagogical, Faizul Kabir 2010 (this picture only realtes the office beauty not the work..lol)

This is really something I’m feeling great to share, in 1991; they had CESTI, Ms. Myriam. Who had a DOS mode computer as we can see on the photograph. Now days, uncounted latest computers are there. But in that time a computer meant a lot here. Now we don’t have CESTI. But at least we have the memories of Ms. Myriam. Today we have TV, VCD; even our teachers enter class with their own laptop where all the lessons are prepared. But that time, they used Video tapes and audio tapes for lessons. But the TV was there. Most exciting thing is I found 1 machine in some pictures I’ve never seen. Later on Mr. Zia said, that is Magnetophone (Barthe Edu). That was the player by which they played the audio and video lesions. Most shocking those things appeared from France in that time. Even we have the same thing today in our class but it’s the 2010 edition. Photographs Section#7 Classes

Alliance Française Class room 1991

Theater Class 1991

Violin Class 2010

latin Dance Class 2010

Often people think Alliance Française is place where they can learn French language. They are right but not exactly. Cause if somewhere, we can get the full lunch with a great number of dishes, we can’t think of only the rice. From that time Alliance teaches different types of creative and cultural courses they offer today. Beside French there were theater class, drawing Class, Photography class and may be more I couldn’t know. Now we got several new courses by the grace of time like Latin Dance, western Classical guitar, Violin, Interior.

photography Class 1991, Mr. Mujubur Rhman

photography Class 1991, Mr. Mujubur Rhman

photography Class 2010, Mr. Mujubur Rhman

photography Class 2010, Mr. Mujubur Rhman How will you feel if you left someone 23 years ago in a class room, after travelling the whole world, doing so many things, when you got back, saw the person still standing there with a smile and teaching your children. How you should feel??? Yes!! The person in this picture of 1991 is Mr. Mujibur rahman who’s teaching photography. And in the Picture of 2010, this is same person sitting over there. Teaching Photography… Generation to Generation… since 1987… People may fall in love with Paris or London or New York… they can call these places by their own given name… so who doesn’t allow me to fall in love with this place and call her “May Queen”… she got history, she got beauty, she got wisdom, Knowledge, loyalty, festivity and so many generous and kind children… Time Changes so many things… Everything is not changed here, cause it’s not possible here. Still when you’ll walk through this place you’ll surely feel the footsteps of your Grandpa beside… walking with you… whispering the tales… This is the belief of here… where dream and life walks together…. Even I feel sometime, the dust I’m carrying on my shoes, It can be some filth of those dust laid on the floor of 1991, who knows? Who cares? I care… I care to think like that… & I feel fantasized to think like that… Alliance Française…May Queen….

9 Comments

Stars of this heaven… Thank you!!

April 15, 2010 at 6:12 am (Perception & Precaution)
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“Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.” Said by Alan Cohen

It was a search throughout these times, like we all search… I count myself one of the luckiest person cause I found more than I’ve searched… friends… I’ve never seen, never met, even never know from where they are… but they’ve shown me the spark on my eyes that reflects on their eyes…

Today I’m wordless after so many days… cause these whole appreciations, loves, supports and believing made me responsible and heavy. I don’t exactly know what should be the best way to thank them… my heart melts every time I read their appreciating and encouraging words…

I’m putting all the best comments of my blog in this post… I know it’s not enough to thank them…but I believe it won’t be enough ever to thank them…

Friends please don’t think of the order… cause I didn’t follow any best-better order… its each and every word that is gold for me…. Thank you for your love…

bogiebob

http://wensleydale56@hotmail.com

2010/04/14 at 10:34pm

Post : Alliance Francaise (Information and Intoduction)

Your blog is a great ambassador for AF, France and creativity. Don’t think I have encountered content quite like this before. Very interesting and innovative. Must admit I had never heard of AF, but they sound like they are worth knowing about – are they a sort of French version of the Goethe institute?

Fourbar Records

http://fourbarrecords.wordpress.com

jlandero@ucsd.edu

Post: My name is “me”

2010/04/05 at 12:18am

Hello “sami”. I have to say, I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw your homepage. But I’m astounded by your attention to detail, and the personal quotes you added. They gave the piece substance, made it human. I felt as though I was reading the whole thing through you.

If more people had your passion and eloquence, I believe that learning would be the wonderful, exciting experience that it should be.

2010/04/05 at 12:35am

“My name is ‘me’” is one of the most insightful yet enigmatic poems I’ve read in quite a long time. It evokes a feeling of shadowy uncertainty, as though you alone exist in a world that normal people couldn’t possibly fathom, a sort of ‘living’ darkness that only your vision can pierce, though you’ve yet to discover how.

I’m glad you commented, or I never would’ve seen this. Your words have redefined ‘ethereal’ for me. You have truly brightened my day. My name is Travis, and I thank you Sami.

Vie est amour; l’amour de la mort. Pour elle est la seule grande aventure laisée pour nous.

serenityunicorn

http://serenityunicorn.wordpress.com

serenity_unicorn@hotmail.com

2010/04/04 at 11:25pm

Post: My name is “me”

What a lovely intro! Like a perfume, itself. Soft and lingering.

http://vrhuman.wordpress.com

p.ravivarma@gmail.com

2010/04/13 at 1:00pm

Post: Who told to be Française and who hasn’t??

Hmmm… Fragrance by luck is not separated as we are by boundaries, names & customs. Your text again proves as to how like minded are people who are humble and countries. Borders indeed cannot change humility. Sincerely appreciate expressions scripted all over.

Bless you with all the eternal power to move ahead each moment in Life with humble approach and inspire humility to become a religion by default.

Wish U Best in Life

v r human

youta88

http://youta88.wordpress.com

rozalinda_854@hotmail.com

2010/04/11 at 5:01am

Post: Who told to be Française and who hasn’t??

it’s a brilliant article and i encourage your frankness and your honesty.you are so realistic and maybe this is the way for true love,no unfulfilled promises,this is loyalty as i think.

fahim

fahim9mm@gmail.com

2010/03/21 at 3:30am

Post: About & Around

U expressed alliance from the bottom of ur heart and that is great. Great feelings (emotions included). U know people nowadays doesn’t really think or feel about something they do but you do. Thats creative. One day these patience and creativity will take u up to a extent where everyone will unable to be. Only u would be there. Best of very good luck.

—–

anythinghorror

http://anythinghorror.com

anythinghorrorscott@gmail.com

2010/04/10 at 12:21am

Post: Couple more reverie of Chanel

Great blog Sami!!! Really well-written articles and I can SWEAR I can smell the fragrances you’re talking about

Robert

http://walkingtalking.wordpress.com/

1robertgouge@gmail.com

2010/04/08 at 3:42am

Post: My name is “Me”

sami,

What you are making here is a rare, beautiful thing. You could not do that if you were not that in yourself. Trust your heart, always, for it will not lead you astray. You have a true gift, a rare one. Nurture it, love it. Live it fully in all the joy and challenge it brings you. Make the world beautiful with the beauty inside you.

thank you, sami.

Robert again, In a reply of my comment:

smiling…oh yes you exist, sami. More than just ‘exist’. Far more. Be who you are, who you truly are, knowing that you will constantly be in a state of ‘becoming’. Live that becoming.

‘Be’ well, sami.

LamBert

http://thighbrown.wordpress.com

thighbrown@live.co.uk

2010/04/07 at 3:22pm

Post: My name is “Me”

Not sure I can surpass these comments, Sami. The sentiment and spirit of your writing is very striking. There’s a mysticism about it, too, like an early Van Morrison record. It’s a real gift.

benjamin

benjamincarrouer@hotmail.fr

2010/04/07 at 1:57am

Post: Adrien Passelande, A French Teaching Artist

I am very impressed by your blog.

You are very lucky to have a teacher like him because in deed he’s a wonderfull and colourfull person. Try to learn the maximum you can with him and you can be sure he will do the maximumum for you because he is just honest, patient and sensitive.

I am just one of his french friends (Ben from Blain) just say him hello from me.

Could you provide me his email adress please

Sincerely

jteternity

http://jteternity.wordpress.com

jtegtman@gmail.com

2010/04/06 at 11:22am

Post: About and Around

I wanted to first off say thanks for commenting on my writing; I really appreciate your positive feedback. More importantly, I was strongly compelled to tell you that I was deeply moved by what you had to say about life and your experiences with “Alliance Francaise.” I’m kind of intrigued about everything you’ve got going on with this blog-in a great way. Thanks again for inviting me to read it.

Seriously beautiful line by the way: “And at the end of the day our shadow becomes taller than our soul”

solitude01ph

http://magicalmanifestations.wordpress.com

magicalmanifestations@gmail.com

2010/04/06 at 5:01am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

Used to study in Alliance Francaise de Manille! Love ‘em! I’m in Canada now but thanks for bringing me down memory lane

Love and light,

emmaswan

http://emmaswan.wordpress.com

georgannturner@comcast.net

2010/04/06 at 4:26am

Post: La Galerie (Gallery)

Your photographs are amazing! Gorgeous colors, lighting, texture. I’m enjoying your blog.

Mr Fitrambler

http://theob1.wordpress.com

michaeltheobald@rocketmail.com

2010/04/06 at 2:49am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

Hi,

don’t know how you linked into my Blog, but glad you did. I’m still a little thick-headed with cold, thus my last blog entry was cobbled together a little. However, thank you for your kind comments.

I decided to check out your blog and glad I did. I’ve subscribed on the strength of the one article I’ve read.

I’d like to read your blog a little more thoroughly when the cold dies completely. However, I feel I can tell that you have a real love of English; a good feel for it. I am looking forward to reading more,

regards.

daisyrocket

http://daisyrocket.wordpress.com

wannamakelove@gmail.com

2010/04/06 at 2:46am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

You paint such beautiful pictures with your words. I could truly taste the essence of what you wrote.

Momina Tahir

mominatahir@hotmail.com

2010/04/06 at 2:34am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

I love your post. It’s very inspiring as a matter of fact. I am craving books now. The idea of knowledge and illusions and art really clicked in my head. Really interesting.

Paulette Furey

http://pattieparsnips.com

paulettefurey@rogers.com

2010/04/06 at 2:33am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

Thank you for visiting my blog and thank you for taking me on a journey throught such a magnificent place. I can see how easy it would be to get lost in imagination. I too love libraries and wish I had access to those that offer such beauty.

Hope to see you on twitter

Jacob

http://actspot.wordpress.com

actspot@gmail.com

2010/04/05 at 10:57am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

Hi Sami

First of all thank you for writing in and appreciating my posts. I notice that, like me you too write almost everyday and I do appreciate the effort taken by you, particularly in choosing the appropriate pictures to complement what you write.

You got fantastic tastes and I surely hope you can travel and visit the wonderful places that you refer to in yor writing, particularly in France since you so passionate about it.

Best Wishes

Jacob

cathrynwellner

http://cathrynwellner.com

cjwellner@gmail.com

2010/04/05 at 9:07am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

Un jeune philosophe. Bien fait, sami Alam.

As someone in a very different chapter of life yet always seeking and sharing the journey with others, I’ve enjoyed wandering around on your blog. You are a seeker and obviously quite intelligent and mature. While perfume is not one of my interests, photography is. So is poetry. Your exploration of the world of fragrance is poetic. Your photos show imagination and spark.

Good luck with your musings and your courage with languages.

Joe.L

http://lijoee.wordpress.com

J.li33@yahoo.com

2010/04/05 at 4:58am

Post: Library…Alliance Française…

Thank you for the comment. This library looks like a truly amazing place to study, read or write. I personally love libraries and art. I’m a thinking person so I love to think especially in quiet places. Art with library what a great combination, I’d probably stay in that library for a long time. I’m assuming you’re from France, that’s pretty cool. France is one of the places I really want to travel to. I guess i’ll be browsing through your blog more often.

au revoir for now

-JL

Ji

jiyanwoo@gmail.com

2010/03/18 at 4:00am

Post: Jingle, words for you…

you deserve the award fairly,

please feel free to post the logo in your post,

right click the image, save as, insert image to your post…

you are talented and awesome blogger!

Best wishes!

accidentalhippo

http://accidentalhippo.wordpress.com

profecita@yahoo.com

2010/04/04 at 5:11am

Post: Opium by YSL, smell of another life…

Lovely blog, Sami! it seems you feel about France the way I feel about Colombia! A bientot! (Sorry, don’t know how to do accents en francais!)

Laura

breathelifeblogowner

http://breathelifeblog.wordpress.com

breathelifeblog@gmail.com

2010/04/03 at 4:39pm

Post: Adrien Passelande, A French Teaching Artist

“Yes, it’s possible to explore the world by sitting in a four walled room… only if we believe those walls can’t bind our souls”…I love this line! You are a fabulous writer, extraordinary!

sirflightypencil

http://youtube.com/user/SirFlightyPencil

sirflightypencil@gmail.com

2010/04/03 at 8:53am

Post: About & Around

So very true and deep. Your words have gotten me to truly think of what around me makes “me” and what makes me find the joys of happiness. Truly beautiful.

grapplefighter

http://grapplefighter.com

joey@carolinarealtyforme.com

2010/04/03 at 6:06am

Post: My name is “Me”

hey i checked out the my name is me page and it is delightful. I wish that I could use words in such a way. The way you write is truly an art and I will be back to read more, much more.

Hathor

toxic_hathor@hotmail.com

2010/04/02 at 9:49pm

Post: Dune,feeling of intrigue, sophistication and sensuality…

My mother used to own Dune and she kept for such a long time (about…7-8 years), that it got really concentrated and just running the mouth of the bottle, where the spray comes out, on the skin, leaves a prominent scent.

Nice blog…I can see you’re passionate about fragrances. Keep up the wonderful job.

Hey, I was wondering if you’re interested in writing for my college’s online magazine, called Scientific Mentality. Yesterday, it was the second issue’s release, and the magazine promises to be a really blooming one.

Tell me if you’re interested =D

indigoundecided

http://indigoundecided.wordpress.com

kay_014_218@yahoo.com

2010/03/14 at 8:34am

Post: Adrien Passelande, A French Teaching Artist

Awesome blog!

I was thinking of learning the French language and now I think I will!

Very interesting blog.

4 Comments

Alliance Francaise (Information and Intoduction)

April 14, 2010 at 1:54 am (Perception & Precaution)


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The Alliance Française (AF) is often known as an organization although Alliance seems more like lady to me. Organizationally its mission is to promote French language and culture outside France. It is headquartered in Paris.

Yes, Again I’m getting back to the black and white era, Alliance was created in Paris on 21 July 1883 by a group of eminent men, I heard the scientist Louis Pasteur, the diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, the writers Jules Verne and Ernest Renan, and the publisher Armand Colin were included in that group.

Even, The French government also provides a subsidy covering approximately five percent of its budget (nearly €665,000 in 2003)

More than 440,000 students learn French at one of the centres run by the Alliance, 1071 locations in 133 different countries. In Alliance Française de Dhaka is one of them where I belong.

The organizations outside Paris are local, independently-run franchises. The Alliance Française brand is owned by the Paris centre. In many countries, the Alliance Française of Paris is represented by a Délégué général…

In 2005, along with the Società Dante Alighieri, the British Council, the Goethe-Institut, the Instituto Cervantes and the Instituto Camões, the Alliance française was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for outstanding achievements in communications and the humanities.

Alliance had written its name in our land before we got an independent name, Bangladesh. Yes, In 1959, Alliance Started it’s journey our ground. Alliance Française de Dhaka is placed in Dhanmondi, the most active place of capital and even the heart of the cultural and artistic activities in Bangladesh.

Our courses in French as a foreign language are conform to the CEFR and are offered for each level.

In 2009 they opened to new branch, one in Baridhara the other in Uttara.

I heard, every year more than 3000 students learn French at Alliance Française de Dhaka, about 1000 students enroll for the artistic courses; and thousands of art lovers visit for the versatile cultural activities…wow…

Usually Alliance follows 3 exclusive type of French learning section-

-French courses for adults

-French Courses for Teenagers/Ado (13-15 Years)

-French Courses for Children/Enf (9-11 Years)

4 sessions in year as January, April, July, October in two different type of packages as Intensive and Extensive.

Most of all, you’d rather discover yourself in France every time you walk through Alliance Française. Intelligence of the teaching style, multimedia classes, glowing café, an artistic library, photographs, Portraits on the wall and the each of art flows there with the dust….

Perceptibly reminds you the softness of life, gentility of heart….

Students not only come here to learn French… there are so many creative courses offered…

Photography,

Videography,

Digital Cinematography,

Screenplay Techniques,

Screenplay Writing,

Working Directors,

Art of Interior Designing,

One Year Comprehensive Course – Interior Design,

Piano, Western Classical Guitar,

Violin & Cello,

Music Composition,

Latin Dance including Salsa, Tango, Rumba, Mamba, Cha-Cha-Cha, Waltz.

And you know something; all these courses are most rare courses in Bangladesh. Even the fees are least according to the things you’re goona acquire…

Always you’ll find here Parties, Workshops, Competitions, Exhibitions… Even the subjects are sometimes really so shocking to find in Bangladesh… In one of my earlier post, I’ve said Alliance opened me so many windows to see same view in different facets… Yes, it’s a social place you’ll never find it low… Every second there’s a new view… new exilic… new color… new taste…

I remember, after reading my few posts in this blog about alliance Française and checking the photographs I’ve taken here, 4 of my friends Shuvo, Ananad, Fahim and Shafkat knocked me with a doubt

“Is the place is in Bangladesh?”

I smiled and said “Let me take you there”

They went with me, as knew that they’ll feel unlucky after meeting Alliance Française that they didn’t meet her before…

Yes!! It was unbelievable to them and very proud feeling for me… That I belong here…

Here are some photographs I’ve taken there…

4 Comments

Who told to be Française and who hasn’t??

April 11, 2010 at 4:51 am (Perception & Precaution)
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A seed falls in the ground & it starts to grow… oneday it breaks the earth and rise it’s head over the ground…than it meets the world…sunshine, wind, rain, clouds and so many things… they meets different trees through bees, butterflies, bugs… and after that?? They come up with beautiful flowers and than the fruit… for which we wait for years…

Is that possible that, trees give us this whole thing without having any connection with root from where they came…may be not… they are still connected till death… a branch can break but the root can still make branch alive from where it got broken…

Yes!! Our own land is our root where the culture born… it’s true for each and every integrand of this earth… the earth is the mother and each and every land located in the map is her generous and adorable child… she taught us to love our lands, nature, our sisters and our brothers…

If we know French or while knowing we fall in love with French that doesn’t mean we are becoming French… All we are becoming is a Lover who knows how to love others. It connects heart to heart, bones to bones.

Exchange

Knowing other culture is just like the basic things like we learn from school. Again I’m walking backward, when there was no money, what was the procedure to live?? We exchanged our goods with each other. Now the world became populated and updated and we got so many maps now… but what the root tells us???

To Exchange!! Our beliefs, our living ways, our histories, our heritage, our joys, our sorrows…

That can make us “All are one and one is all”

You may think … I’m one of those crazy people who boldly dream about utopia… Yes I’m!! At least I can fabricate utopia at my home… but I believe all of us can… at our home… There’s a big gap between good and bad… but the line between love and hate is thin… very thin to cross… cause it’s a human soul we are carrying inside…

Oneday someone asked me between a mass discussion,

“How much you love your country?? Can you sacrifice you life??

I said “No”

“Can you sacrifice all of your wealth??”

I said “No”

Bangladesh

“Can you be a leader and direct the country in a right way?”

I Said “No”

“So, what can you do for your country??

I said “I can be a responsible citizen”

I knew this line wasn’t enough for him…

After that I stood up for leaving, paid the bill of my tea and took the packet of chips that he thrown after having andput that into the trash…

I didn’t look to his eyes again because I know he got the answer and my intension wasn’t insulting him… I’m not saying that I’m responsible… I try… if I don’t try than I try to reach the level of trying…

“It’s a Bangladeshi Soul i’m carrying inside with a red sun inside the green who’s trying to love others who really honor our love and love us as well.”

This is something I learned from my sweet family; you don’t have to buy the whole apartment for your mom to make her happy, if you give her a flower by yourself… that won’t make a difference to her…

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Couple more reverie of Chanel

April 6, 2010 at 11:40 pm (Chanel, Fragrance of divinity)
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The Eternal Chanel

 

Once Again back to Chanel…

With love to Chanel…

With Love of French…

Chanel No. 19 needs no words of praise because its beauty renders them superfluous. This perfume was first marketed in 1971. The number 19 was chosen to commemorate Coco Chanel‘s birthday. Its seemingly difficult facets—the aggressive verdancy of galbanum, the woody duskiness of iris—are arranged in such an exquisitely harmonious manner that one cannot but admire how the accords meld into each other, from the emerald dew of the top notes to the leathery suppleness of the base…

Chanel no19,1976

The number 19 refers to Coco Chanel’s birthday, August 19th. The story goes that No.19 was her personal fragrance; however, this is unlikely, since the perfume was composed only in 1970, less than a year before her death.

No. 19 was created by the Chanel in-house perfumer Henri Robert, who is also responsible for the chypre austerity of Pour Monsieur (1955) and the shimmery bite of Cristalle EDT (1974). Robert created only a few fragrances for the house; however, his contribution cannot be measured by the number of perfumes linked to his name. Being responsible for maintaining the quality of Chanel No. 5, searching out the best quality materials and adapting the formula for the parfum de toilette and eau de toilette, Robert has to be credited for the continuing success of No. 5. …

Sir Henri Robert, perfumer

And yet No. 19 remains a testament to his talent as an artist. It is said that upon approaching the Taj Mahal, one is teased by its ornate whiteness looming in the distance, until suddenly the magnificent edifice is right before one’s eyes… how touching…isn’t it??In No. 19, the iris magically transports one from the soft luminosity of florals into the intensity of a leather-vetiver embrace. The elegance of No. 19 is underscored by the seductive allure of its seemingly chilly effect. A few rose de mai petals caught among moss-covered roots conjure a passionate yearning constrained by feelings of decorum.

At a time when women are encouraged to smell like chocolate covered confections, No. 19, with its strength and regal beauty, proves that femininity is not defined by “sugar, spice and everything nice.” That being said, lacking sweetness or floral opulence, No. 19 would definitely be suitable for a man, especially in the EDT and EDP concentrations, where the accent falls upon the vetiver and leather.  If I were to choose between concentrations, the EDT and the parfum would be my preferred picks, for the radiance of iris-vetiver and the richness of iris-leather, respectivelly….

I wonder… cause it makes me wonder…

Chanel No. 19 includes notes of galbanum, hyacinth, neroli, bergamot, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, vetiver, sandalwood, leather, musk. Chanel fragrances are available directly from Chanel, Gloss.com, Sephora, and various other retailers…

Coco Mademoiselle, Chanel

 Now comes a latest fantacy of Chanel, Coco Mademoiselle….

Coco Mademoiselle is a pure and serene fragrance, that is timelessly elegant and demonstrates that Chanel is able to continuosly produce some of the finest sophisticated fragrances available…
Coco Mademoiselle was created as a tribute to Gabrielle Chanel’s contrasting personality, her ability to be an expression of femininity and embodiment of sensuality. Coco Mademoiselle is a sparkling fragrance that opens with a sparkling top note of orange and bergamot that mellow to reveal a classically feminine floral heart of Rose and jasmine and a rich and sensuous base that is essentially composed of patchouli and vetiver

The classic signature bottle is perfect for the dressing table or for traveling. Spray lightly morning and evening on pulse points at the throat and wrist.

Jacques Polge

 Coco Mademoiselle was introduced as eau de parfum in 2001, as well as eau de toilette in 2002. Both compositions were created by Jacques Polge – perfumer for Chanel since 1978. Feminine edition Coco Mademoiselle was presented as pure perfume as the very essence of this edition….

A richer composition full of contrasts and nuances can be found in 7.5 ml perfume flacons and each of its drops celebrates famous spirit of Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle. A luxurious purse edition arrives in a flacon shaped just like EDP edition, decorated with a seal on its neck…

The composition is focused on two characteristic ingredients of Chanel editions – jasmine absolute and May rose absolute. Delicate flowers are enhanced and enriched with a touch of Florentine iris.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Parfum – fragrant gem can be combined with glittery body gel, which refreshes and seduces with its oriental-fresh notes of citruses in top, flowers and litchi in a heart and cuddling finish in base notes….

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Fragoanrd…where the perfume borns….

April 6, 2010 at 6:24 pm (France & Fragrance...)
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The charm of Provence allied with extremely contemporary pure lines, that is the Fragonard spirit linking the world of perfume with that of the home…

 Or I can say, the historic perfume factory in the heart of the perfume heaven Grasse, making from perfume from 1782. Fragonard’s Musée du Parfum occupies a mansion from the era of Napoleon III.

Jean Honoré Fragonard

 In 1926 they took the name of Parfumerie Fragonard as a tribute to the famous painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Here on a daily basis they produce our perfumes, cosmetics and soaps in a setting imbued with respect for tradition.

Down a narrow old street in Grasse’s historic center, we can find the shop dedicated to the home with its product lines inspired by the collections in our Provençal costume and jewelry museum, just a few dozen yards away…

 In the heart of Grasse, on the first floor of the historic perfume factory, that perfume museum displays a fabulous private collection of perfume bottles, presentation boxes, stills, documents and apparatus that recount the history of perfume making from most Ancient times down to the present day…

 Here we can find how “the soul of the flower” is extracted…. How exiting!!

grasse historic factory, Fragonard

 One of the more intriguing exhibits is the orgue à parfum, or “perfume organ,” so called because it resembles the keyboards of a seven-manual cathedral organ with its tiered rows of ingredient bottles arranged around a balance or scale that the perfumer uses when mixing and testing fragrances. Other interesting devices include stills (for steam distillation of perfume extracts) and glass frames that were coated with fat and flowers in the traditional “cold maceration” process….

 The art of perfume making goes back over 5,000 years, as you’ll discover at the Fragonard museum. Set up over 20 years ago, the museum retraces the way fragrances and essences of all kinds have evolved over the centuries. we’ll discover an extensive range of flowery, fruity and oriental eaux de toilette and perfumes, cosmetics and essential oils and scented soaps and candles for men, women and children. The museum shop has a collection of Fragonard perfumes with evocative and romantic names such as “Juste un baiser”, “Lune de Miel” and “Ile d’Amour”.

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Library…Alliance Française…

April 5, 2010 at 3:24 am (Alliance Française DAYs dacca)
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Alliance Française de Dacca- Library view from lawn

Walking through the seaside, I could feel the whisper of the tidy wind, how strong and beautiful they are, & how tiny I’m, simply a human with a dress named “life”…lolz

Yes, the same way I felt when I entered the library of Alliance Française, her library that not only a library, seems more like an ocean, … it’s a place where people falls in illusion, illusion of knowledge, illusion of art… illusion of Française…

A large place where color runs books to books, whole place is vivid with golden illumination where you could find yourself made of gold. And most special, every area is divided in such way that you could find everything very easily, at a time I won’t find the place divided… Yes, it’s true…

I Heard, more than 6,000 books there. As mass of the books are in French but there are books in English and in Bangla too. The multimedia collection of the library has more than 1,100 feature films, documentaries as well as popular children’s animation films (available on DVDs and Videocassettes). The Library has around 600 musical CDs (French and International classical, Pop, Jazz, Traditional etc.). The collection has more than 300 recent and old French Pop, Rock, Reggae and Rap music. The collection includes literary books (novels, poetry and plays), books on social sciences (history, religion, philosophy) and a wide range of books on art, photography and architecture. On a more entertaining note, there are also comics, thrillers and science-fiction books. When it comes to current affairs, you can keep yourself updated with 27 magazines and 4 journals from France, the library is subscribed to Beginners (those who have just started learning French) can choose from the variety of children’s books and a series of books of easy French that comes with audiocassettes and CDs. Children will find comics, storybooks (both in French and in English) etc. (from the website: www.afdacca.org)…

Alliance Française de Dacca- Library

The thing attracts me much, the reading table of the library is really somewhere you’d feel like a writer more than a reader. Yes, beside the window a small table, a sweet table lamp, a French Dictionary. On the other side of the window there’s a lawn where green trees dance with the wind blow… I’m sure if you sit there with a pen an paper, you would rather come up with a piece of poem…

 

Alliance Française de Dacca- Study Table

Even in each & every corner of the library, there’s a photograph or something that relates to art…

68 Comments

Opium by YSL, smell of another life…

April 4, 2010 at 3:40 am (Yves Saint Laurent: smell or Illusion)
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The son of an insurance company manager, Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent left home at the age of 17 to work for the French designer Christian Dior… 

After winning first prize in the International Wool Secretariat contest for his cocktail dress design in 1954, Yves Saint Laurent landed the job of Haute Couture designer when Dior died in 1957. In 1960, he was conscripted into the French Army… 

 

yves saint laurent

In 1962, in the wake of his nervous breakdown, Saint Laurent was released from Dior and started his own label, YSL, financed by his companion, Pierre Bergé. The Rive Gauche boutiques for women were established in 1966, and men’s wear followed in the 1970s… 

When I was reading his History, it seemed like a fairy tales to me… Can you tell me, why there’s a great story behind every great thing??? 

Don’t know why this happens with me… is it my passions about French or truly French stuffs are so artistic… Every time I go though their ways, I feel like somehow I’ve been there…  

Actually, perfumes have seemed to play a secondary role for Yves Saint Laurent. Perfumes have long been the label’s chief sales engine. Yves Saint Laurent Perfumes, under the direction of Sanofi’s CEO Raymond Ortal, produces and markets perfumes, cosmetics, and personal care products under the Saint Laurent name… WOW…. 

Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium and Rive Gauche have long been leaders in the women’s perfumes market; while Jazz, and, in the mid-1990s, Opium pour Homme, have helped the company capture a share of the men’s perfume market as well. The company also produces its own line of lipsticks, eye shadows, and other makeup products, as well as a line of personal care products, such as lotions and cremes. Whereas production and distribution of perfumes and beauty products are the responsibility of Sanofi, Yves Saint Laurent continues to guide the creative development of products bearing his name. The group’s newest perfume and cosmetics line, In Love Again, expected to be launched as a limited edition in 1998. 

Yves Saint Laurent & Pierre Bergé

 

He launched its first women’s perfume, Y in 1964. In 1971, the design house unveiled its Rive Gauche perfume; that same year, Jean Loup Sieff photographed Yves in the nude for the advertising campaign of his first men’s cologne Pour Hommes. 1977 saw the launch of the very popular Opium perfume. Other YSL fragrance offerings include Baby Doll and Cinema perfumes and Young, Sexy Lovely or YSL, a play on the designer’s initials. 

When Opium hit the market in 1977, women bought it by the gallon. Lolz… 

Opium was so much more than a fragrance. It became an identity. Just as Chanel No. 5 showed its wearer as someone elegant and timeless, the woman who wore Opium signaled that her life was rife with exoticism and secrets, even if she lived in a split level in the suburbs. The Yves Saint Laurent marketing machine fueled this image with print advertisements of mostly naked women surrounded by crimson and shadows. 

 

Maybe the rush toward Opium was a reaction to stagflation and fuel rationing. Maybe it was a response to all the colonial hoo-ha surrounding the Bicentennial. Or maybe it was simply clever marketing. Although Opium stood out among the mid-1970s perfume launches — for instance, the fresh chypre Molyneux Quartz came out the same year, Dana Tabu and Estée Lauder Youth Dew covered the same ground decades before. For whatever reason, Opium was the right fragrance at the right time, and it became a cultural marker… how surprising… 

The Legendary Opium

Even it’s told that “It is forever linked to another life”

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Guerlain, A Pathway of Aroma…

April 3, 2010 at 9:00 pm (Guerlain, the Fragrance generation)


Guerlain

I always like to look back to the black & white era, cause I can put so many colors of fantasy when I walk though their ways…

Yes, I’m walking back…

To 1828…

To rue de Rivoli of Paris,

To Guerlain, among the oldest perfume houses in the world…

“Glory is ephemeral…only renown is long-lasting,”… often said by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain, For more than 175 years, the brand has sailed through trends thanks to a clever cocktail of tradition, excellence and passion…

Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain opened his first shop street of Rivoli in Paris, he created different perfumes for each customer… Can you imagine??

Guerlain, Perfumer

In 1840, he was installed in buildings on the street of Peace, a place of the fashion. He composed of the fragrances to measure for many personalities. He is assisted of him two sons, Aimé and Gabriel, than he acquired a great reputation and became official provider of the queen of Belgium… Wow…

The success of the house under Pierre-François peaked in 1853 with the creation of Eau de Cologne Impérial. This perfume earned him the prestigious title of being His Majesty’s Official Perfumer in France, which led Pierre-Françoise to create perfumes for Queen Victoria of England and Queen Isabella of Spain among other royalty… I wonder…

The Rue De Rivoli, 1871

Guerlain loves to use the most sumptuous essences, like French vanilla and ylang-ylang from its own plantations in the Comores Islands. Guerlain was also one of the first to successfully blend synthetic ingredients and natural essences.

Than comes the second generation…

With the death of Pierre-Françoise in 1864, the house was left to Aimé Guerlain and Gabriel Guerlain. The roles of perfumer and manager to Guerlain was divided between the two brothers, with Gabriel managing nad and further expanding the house and Aimé becoming of the grand perfumer. As such, the House of Guerlain began a long tradition where the position as the “nose” and grand perfumer was handed down through the Guerlain family.

The third generation started when…

The business was handed down to the sons of Gabrielle Guerlain, Jacques Guerlain and Pierre Guerlain, with Jacque becoming Guerlian’s third master perfumer. Jacques composed many of Guerlian’s classic perfumes, many of which as still held in high esteem in the modern perfume industry. As another sign of their popularity, most of his perfumes are still sold and marketed.

jean paul guerlain, 1969

Jean-Paul Guerlain is currently the grand perfumer of Guerlain. No less accomplished then his predecessors, Jean-Paul created the Guerlain’s classic men’s frangrance Vétiver (1959) and Habit Rouge (1965), considered by many, to be the first male oriental fragrance. He also created Nahema (1979), Jardins de Bagatelle (1983), Samsara (1989), as well as Heritage and Coriolan in the 1990s. Nearing the retirement of Jean-Paul, there does not appear to be an obvious successor within the Guerlain family for taking on the position as the House of Guerlain’s grand perfumer…

Can you imagine?? I someone asks them “what you do?” They would rather answer with a spark of fire in eyes, “What my minister did” lolz…

Guerlain House created in 1914, Number 68, Champs Elysées reopened its doors in June, 2005. This mythological address, redrawn by Andrée Putman, will now be officially known as ‘Guerlain House’. Fragrance fans will be delighted to discover the rebirth of fragrances gone by, like Liu, Vega and Derby; as well as four home fragrances, an essence for infants, and three exclusive new creations (Cuir Beluga, Rose Barbare and Angelique Noire). But the truly must-have item is a tailor-made scent. Several rendezvous with your personal perfume designer will result in a sublime, 17-oz. Baccarat crystal bottle, along with 20 2-oz. bottles with old-fashioned spray bulbs, and three 1-oz. bottles: an unparalleled luxury, like an item of haute-couture clothing…

Guerlain house

Large room with a chandelier which opens up into the boutique downstairs contains a circular table where most of Guerlain classics and moderns are arranged in three rows, the highest for the extraits de parfum and the lowest for the EDTs. Moreover, the mirrored wall contains shelves filled with the bestselling Guerlain fragrances, which include Vetiver, L’Instant and Mitsouko, among others. All aspects of the layout ensure easy and unassisted sampling, which one can do for hours. …


Indeed, it is the only place where all of the Guerlain extraits de parfum can be sampled, including ethereally beautiful Chant d’Arômes. Reissued recently in the extrait de parfum, it is a gorgeous, floral chypre, resembling the original Chant d’Arômes formula more than the version that was available previously. The first time I visit the boutique I do not linger near the table for long, because the temptation to cover my wrists with Nahéma and Mitsouko would have prevented me to explore the rest of the fragrances. Thus, I begin with the limited editions of Le Mouchoir de Monsieur and La Voilette de Madame originally created in 1904 and presented in Baccarat “escargot” bottles. Le Mouchoir de Monsieur, once produced exclusively for French actor Jean-Claude Brialy, is a warm, elegant fougère, while La Voilette de Madame is an iris, ylang ylang, narcissus and violet composition, foiled in warm powdery sweetness of incense and sandalwood. While it starts out light and delicate, the subsequent developments result in a narcotic, opulent floral.

I’ll be back with Guerlain perfumes very soon…

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