The Quotation of the Week (August 2 - 8, 2015)

A quotation of Kailash Satyarthi on 'childhood,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Photo (A child exploring his surroundings in Toronto: July 21, 2015) © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

PhotoSpeak

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Two Dhaka city cats at leisure
Photo (Dhaka: July , 1985) © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

The Quotation of the Week (December 5-11, 2010)

Electric wire connection to a house

Photo (Toronto:2009) © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

The Quotation of the Week (October 31 - November 6, 2010)

A fallen leaf on some stones
at the Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh

Photo (July, 2008) © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

The Quotation of the Week (July 25 - 31, 2010)

A determined basketball player

Photo (Toronto: 2009) © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

The Quotation of the Week (June 13 - 19, 2010)

Pipes and valves

Photo (Lawachara, Moulavibazar Dist., Bangladesh: July, 2008) by Ujjal Peter D'Costa

Life As It Is

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Do the selling of bananas and dozing off go together? No.
A napping banana vendor in Dhaka.
Photo (Dhaka: July, 2008) by Ujjal Peter D'Costa

A Photo Essay on the Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh

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The Lawachara (pronounced LAWA-CCHORA) National Park is one of several national parks in Bangladesh. It is eight kilometres (about five miles) east of Srimongal town in the district of Moulavibazar. Its distance from Sylhet City is 60 kilometres (about 38 miles) to the south.

Established in 1996 with the US AID funding, this national park, with an area of 13 square kilometres ( five square miles), has about 160 plant species. It has hardwood trees --among them, chapalish, garjan, jarul, rokton and shejun or lohakat (teak) -- are noteworthy), bushes, creepers, and more than one-and-a-half dozen species of orchids.

Among 30 wild animal species, there are barking deer, capped langur (hanuman) -- a big monkey with large tail, dark brown deer (sambar), Himalayan black bear (also called sloth bear), Hoolock gibbon (ulluk) -- another type of monkey, Indian (or Himalayan) giant squirrel, jackal, leopard, macaque (a type of monkey in three species -- Assamese, pig-tailed, and rhesus), masked civet (a cat-like nocturnal animal), Phayre's leaf monkey, slow loris (a different type of monkey), tiger, wild cat (fishing cat as well as leopard cat), wild dog, wild boar, and yellow-throated marten (a kind of carnivorous weasel). So far, 246 species of birds have been found in this park. There are also a few types of reptiles and amphibian animals.

In the immediate neighborhood of this park live Bangalis and ethnic people of Khasia, Monipuri and Tipra. Encroachment on the park forest for habitation and firewood is an ongoing problem.

The Lawachara National Park can be reached in three ways: by plane (Dhaka to Sylhet), train (Dhaka to Srimongal) and bus (Dhaka to Srimongal). Different accommodations are available in Sylhet and Srimongal. The best time to visit the park is from the beginning of November to the end of March.

Ujjal Peter D'Costa had visited the Lawachara National Park in 2008. His photo essay below gives a glimpse of this park -- the one-hour trails or paths, different types of trees and plants, rail line, lake and people living in the neighbourhood.

Photos (Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh: 
July, 2008) © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

Toronto Experiences Its First Post-Autumn Snow

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Snowfall in Toronto
Photo (Toronto: December 9, 2009) © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

Snowfall in Toronto

Photo (Toronto: December 9, 2009) © Jerome D'Costa

The first winter storm, emanating from the Mid-west of the USA, blew over Ontario and Quebec provinces of Canada today. The city of Toronto got more than 10 centimetres (about four inches) of snow. Rain, coupled with strong wind, made snow soggy and slushy and roads became slippery.

The eastern Canada experienced its winter storm on Sunday, December 6. The western Canada has been under bitter cold temperatures.

This is the first time in last 162 years that Toronto experienced no-snow in the month of November this year.

PeteGraphy's Photostream Has Some Amazing Photos

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Photos Courtesy: PeteGraphy's Photostream

There are some amazing photos in PeteGraphy's Photostream. Photos -- macrographs (extreme close-ups), normal photos and wide-angles -- taken especially in Bangladesh and Canada adorn the screens. Other countries would get added as the photostream grows.

You may take a little time out of your busy schedule to visit these photos and have a visual feast indeed!

Toronto Observes Its 175th Anniversary

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Wintry sunset over the city of Toronto in January, 2009
Photo © Ujjal Peter D'Costa

The City of Toronto, capital of Ontario Province, is celebrating its 175th anniversary with free weekend visits to its historic museums, song and poetry festivals, photography exhibits, films, theatrical performances, book festival, and historical exhibits and re-enactments, reports the Toronto Star.

At the city location first there were a series of aboriginal settlements followed by a French fort in 1720. At the time its name was the Town of York, which later on March 6, 1834 got incorporated as the City of Toronto, with about 10,000 people from Britain. At present it is the largest city in Canada with a population of over 2.48 million. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), comprising of Toronto with its suburban towns, has a population of 5.5 million. It is the fifth largest city in North America after the cities of Mexico, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

It is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, where, besides the common language of English, more than 140 languages and dialects are spoken. Immigrants from all over the world have a field day here. Large financial institutions make this city one of the most powerful financial and industrial hubs in North America.

The top five visible minority groups in Toronto are: the South Asians (people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), Chinese, Blacks, Filipinos, and Latin Americans.

On this anniversary, the city's historical events will be commemorated in different ways.