31st December: 15 Memorable Events

December the 31st is the last day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It is known as the "New Year's Eve" as the next day is 1st January which marks the beginning of a new calendar year. Various events have taken place on this day; some carry the sweet fragrance of memory with them; some the other way round. Here is a list of 15 memorable events that might be found in the books of history as the ones which are encrypted in golden letters:

1. Year: 406 AD. Vandals, Alans & Suebians cross the Rhine marking an attack on the region of Gaul. Gaul encompasses Switzerland, France, Belgium and other countries of the 21st century.

2. Year: 1600 AD. The British East Indian Company is chartered.

3. Year: 1857 AD. Queen Victoria selects Ottawa as the capital of Canada. Ottawa was an undeveloped logging town during those days.

4. Year: 1862 AD. Abraham Lincoln signs an act that divides Virginia into two states as the act adds West Virginia to the Union.

5. Year: 1879 AD. Famous scientist and inventor Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time. The event took place in New Jersey.

6. Year: 1906 AD. Mozaffar Shah Qazar signs the Persian constitution of 1906.

7. Year: 1907 AD. The first ever publicly acknowledged New Year's Eve celebration is held at the Longacre Square, New York. Longacre Square later was renamed as the Times Square.

8. Year: 1923 AD. The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on the radio for the first time by BBC.

9. Year: 1944 AD. Operation Norwind of the World War II begins.

10. Year: 1963 AD. The Central African Federation ceases to exist and splits into Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi.

11. Year: 1983 AD. The AT&T Bell System is officially broken up by the U.S. Government.

12. Year: 1992 AD. Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved into Czech Republic and Slovakia.

13. Year: 1998 AD. The EER Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the economic and monetary union of 17 European Union member states. It establishes the value of euro currency.

14. Year: 1999 AD. First president of Russia, Mr. Boris Yeltsin resigns.

15. Year: 2009 AD. Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur.

Pakistani Taliban Leader Eliminated In Drone Strike

Hakimullah Meshud, the mastermind behind the terror attacks inside and outside Pakistan, is dead now. Both Pakistani and U.S. officials have confirmed this news on Friday. The strike was done in the region of North Waziristan and the Taliban leader was eliminated alongside four suspected militants. The Talibans confirmed that four missiles struck the compound just after Meshud's vehicle got in. However, the drone strikes have stirred up more controversies as many people view it as an infringement to the sovereignty and may kill civilians in the process and his death is a major setback in peace talks with the Pakistan Government. . The US National Counterterrorism Center describes Mehsud as "the self-proclaimed emir of the Pakistani Taliban." Mehsud is on the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list, with a $5 million dollar reward for information leading to his capture, and has been near the top of the CIA Counterterrorism Center's most wanted list for his role in the December 2009 suicide bombing that killed seven Americans — CIA officers and their security detail — at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan. The suicide bomber, a Jordanian double agent, was ushered into the military base to brief CIA officers on al-Qaida, and detonated his explosive vest once he'd reached the inside of the base. Pakistani Taliban leaders gathered on his funeral on Saturday. Residents of Miranshah, the capital of the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, said Pakistani Taliban fighters were converging on the town for Mehsud's funeral and firing furiously at drones buzzing high in the sky.
 However, Shops and markets were open in the town. Residents said they were worried about a possible army offensive, but not Taliban reprisals. They expected the militants to launch attacks in Pakistani cities instead. The leader said two other militants had been discussed as possible leaders, one is  the ruthless commander for the Swat Valley, Maulana Fazlullah, whose men shot and wounded the famous schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai last year.

Recover Hidden Files From A Virus Infected Pen Drive: A Guide

These days people store all their movies, songs, games, photos, documents and other files in the USB flash drives or the pen drives. Gone are those days when a floppy disk's storage had meant a daylong work in an office. CD and DVD became the next media to store the information but due to their physical vulnerabilities and relatively lower storage. Now-a-days, USB flash drives have become the most reliable storage for all sorts of works. With the advent of the latest technologies, viruses also begin to infect the flash drives resulting in a los  of data or storing corrupted data.

If a person has a USB flash drive infected with worms/viruses which hides the files and folders and create .exe extension of the stored data, it can mean a lot of loss to him/her. Here is a solution to restore the data in its normal form:

Step-I: First of all, plug the USB device to the computer and run the anti-virus software on the computer and make the files infection free. The files still do not show up in the flash device window albeit the properties of the drive show a space used to store the data.

Step-II: Open the Command Prompt window and type F: or I: or which alphabet denotes the external drive.

Here the flash drive is denoted by F:.

Step-III: Then type attrib -s -h /s /d *.* and press the enter key. Wait for the changes to happen.

Step-IV: Check the recovered files in the drive and verify their locations.

All the files are restored properly.

Metonymy: The Concept & Uses

We use different expressions for making others aware of what we feel and what we would do. Younger people can talk with more simplicity, but adults, especially the teenaged ones prefer to draw their sentences with a twist. Bothering least about the most common expressions ( like: hey bro what's up? how are you doin'? you know that...whatever! etc.) we tend to increase our vocabulary and speak more intelligently and stylishly. With the advent of internet memes, sarcastic speeches (who can forget Heath Ledger's performance) and soliloquys, another figure of speech is as important as these, and this is "metonymy". A clear concept of metonymy is essential for mastering the English literature and presenting the humorous yet witty statements amidst a good conversation!

The words "metonymy" and "metonym" come from the Greek: μετωνυμία, metōnymía, "a change of name", from μετά, metá, "after, beyond" and -ωνυμία, -ōnymía, a suffix used to name figures of speech, from ὄνῠμα, ónyma or ὄνομα, ónoma, "name."

Metonymy is about the association between two concepts, without actually considering the similarity between those. According to Dirven, two examples using the term "fishing: clarify the distinction between a metaphor and a metonym. The phrase "to fish pearls" uses metonymy, drawing from "fishing" the idea of taking things from the ocean. What is carried across from "fishing fish" to "fishing pearls" is the domain of metonymy. In contrast, the metaphor "fishing for information" transfers the concept to a new domain.

Metonymy is slightly different from the concept of synecdoche, in fact the latter is a part of the previous. In synecdoche, a part of something is used to refer to the whole. Although, some people treat metonymy and synecdoche as two exclusive figures of speech which may or may not come to a sentence simultaneously. When the distinction is made, it is the following: when "A" is used to refer to "B", it is a synecdoche if A is a component of B or if B is a component of A, and a metonym if A is commonly associated with B but not part of its whole or a whole of its part.

As with other literary devices, one of the main purposes of using a metonymy is to add flavour to the speech and writing. Instead of just saying, "the staff at the post office" or naming all of the entities of a dinner each time you want to refer to the meal, one word plays the entire trick quite flawlessly!

Common examples of metonyms include:

"The pen is mightier than the sword."

"The White House will have an announcement on this Thursday."

"I went there at around six o' clock and drank a full glass!."

"Can you please lend me your hand to carry the luggage upstairs?"

"The library has fined the students who have made a delay in returning the books."

 

New Genus Discovered In The Halmahera Island Of Indonesia

A team of biologists has discovered a new genus of mammal in the Halmahera island, it is a type of rat! The endemic rodent is rather surprisingly close to the locality of Boki Mekot, a mountainous area under immense ecological threat due to mining and deforestation. The species was previously known to the people of that region only! It is a terrestrial spiny rat with brownish grey fur on its back and a greyish white belly, it also possesses a white tail tip. The leader of this successful project, Pierre Henry Fabre, affiliated to the "Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate", states:
 “This new rodent highlights the large amount of unknown biodiversity in this Wallacean region and the importance of its conservation. It constitutes a valuable addition to our knowledge of the Wallacean biodiversity and much remains to be learned about mammalian biodiversity across this region. Zoologists must continue to explore this area in order to discover and describe new species in this highly diverse, but also threatened region.”

Apparently, this discovery massively supports Wallace's idea of faunal backup. Most of the species reflect their eastern originality, but this rat stands out for its western originality, as confirmed by the team of Pierre Henry Fabre.  This study also found that Wallace's zoogeographical boundaries are remarkably accurate! Pierre Henry Fabre expresses his thoughts:
 “Such a remarkable island setting inspired one of the greatest biologists of all time, and if Sir Alfred Russell Wallace were alive today he would surely be excited by the prospect of further conservation and biodiversity study within the Moluccas....”

This region had clearly inspired Sir Alfred Russell Wallace as he wrote his letter of evolution theory to Charles Darwin, back in 1858. The specifications of the fauna and flora and the biodiversity of this region made him to think deeper and he defined the zoogeographical boundaries using the concept of a "Wallace Line."

The Mpemba Efffect: Warmer Water Freezes Faster Than Colder Water

Tanzanian student Erasto Mpemba first encountered the situation while he was studying in Magamba Secondary School, in 1963. During a cookery class, he surprisingly found that a hot ice-cream mix freezes faster than a comparatively colder ice-cream mix! He and Dr. Denis Osborne investigated the matter and the phenomenon was confirmed by Dr. Osborne later. They produced a paper on the topic in 1969. Historically, it was first noted by Aristotle who explained it with a property called antiperistasis, modern science has dismissed this property of matter as an erroneous conception. Medieval scientist Francis Bacon wrote, "aqua parum tepida facilius conglacietur quam omnino frigida." It means that slightly tepid water freezes faster than very cold water. The pioneer of modern co-ordinate geometry Rene Descartes also noted this phenomenon and explained it with his theory of vortices. This theory expounds the nature of empty spaces and how it can be filled up with matter.

However, modern scientists have come up with a good number of explanations, which are dependant upon the experimental setup, dissolved air content in water, its purity, electrolytes dissolved in it and other relatable factors. Some of the most common explanations include:

1. Evaporation: Warmer water evaporates faster thus leaving a relatively smaller mass to be frozen. The endothermic nature of evaporation draws heat from the rest of the content. But this explanation is insufficient and unsatisfactory.

2. Supercooling: This hypothesis states that colder water in a low temperature environment supercools more than hot water and therefore it takes more time to solidify. But this theory does not explain the phenomenon wholly. Experiments that have utilized this theory have drawn significant differences in the conclusions. Scientist Auerbach noted supercooling near the wall in all cases during his experiment but Thomas reported no supercooling in the middle portion of the sample! The main problem is not exactly how supercooling can affect the freezing time but how supercooling is dependant upon the initial temperature. According to Dorsey's theory of phase transition, the temperature of supercooling can be affected by pre-heating. It may also vary by freezing and melting. This theory allows different portions of a bulk sample of liquid to vastly vary its supercooling properties. However, this theory allows no simple explanation to the understanding of the effect.

3. Effect of the Dissolved Solutes: This theory takes into account the effect of sodium, magnesium and other carbonate compounds and explains how these can affect the freezing properties of water.

4. Thermal Conductivity: The container of the hotter water may "melt" through a layer of frost which is an insulator. This allows the container to come in contact of a much colder layer. So, a faster process of cooling occurs. The lower temperature water will tend to freeze from the top but the hotter water will tend to freeze from the bottom.

5. Latent Heat of Condensation: The cooler container draws more condensation than the warmer container during the cooling cycle. This effectively reduces the rate of cooling. Mpemba effect is poorly understood from this theory!

According to J. D. Brownridge, "Hot water will freeze before cooler water only when the cooler water supercools, and then, only if the nucleation temperature of the cooler water is several degrees lower than that of the hot water. Heating water may lower, raise or not change the spontaneous freezing temperature." The fact that this phenomenon is not fully understood is an indication that fundamental problems lie beneath it. According to Monwhea Jeng, "Analysis of the situation is now quite complex, since we are no longer considering a single parameter, but a scalar function, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is notoriously difficult."

So, there is always a scope to do this experiment and come up with a theory that would explain this phenomenon fully and be accepted universally. Research work on this field is going on and it is expected that new theories will arise from the current concepts and would possibly include a precise mathematical modelling to account for the discrepancies in the results that have come up over the decades. Will warmer water freeze faster than colder water in the near future? Surely yes!

 

Maintaining A Positive Water Balance: What It Means In A Broader Perspective

These phrases are now being heard in the media regularly: "global warming", "melting of polar ice", "unavailability of drinking water", "drought occurred at a large scale" etc. Worldwide, various organizations and Governments are addressing the intense situations. Droughts essentially weakens the production of various commodities, from vegetables to inks to soft drinks to papers and more. The farmers often suffer the worst alongside the economy and common people. Very recent events include:

1. Drought in the central United States expanded its range as a heatwave dried the last bit of moisture left in the soils and threatening the corn and soybean plants. Iowa of Minnesota, one of the largest grain production regions, is now experiencing a very hot summer, a record in the past 60 years! This drought is expanding towards Kansas & Texas.

2. Namibian drought has hit the country's livestock export badly and this year on two-thirds of the normal livestock export. The agricultural production to decline to by at least 6% as a result of this drought, which is the most intense one in the last 30 years. The authorities roughly predict that it will take around 5 years for the farmers to recoup their losses and this drought may worsen over the course of the next 5 years or so.

3. The increasing harsh climate combined with drought has worsened the scene in Iran. People in the northern provinces of the country are experiencing a hard time in coping up with this as the tea industry, the industry which offers them the most reliable income and job security, is badly suffering from it. Reports from the Iranian Association of Tea Farmers clearly state that the third harvest is stopped due to poverty and drought and the competitive international market is posing a big obstacle.

So, it is very necessary to maintain a positive water balance, both in homes and organizations, to mark a change which would be amplified in the near future as the world's freshwater resource is quickly depleting, global warming doing its part and polar ice melting to engulf the earth's rancour eyesores.

Therefore, a positive water balance should start from the grassroot level to expand into a broader perspective and millions of litres of freshwater can be saved and utilized worldwide over a due course of time. Rainwater harvesting, community water sheds alongside collection of surplus water from agricultural fields are the principal entities in having a positive water balance in a society/region. Also, minimizing the wastage of water in daily life is equally important in the context of this.
Rainwater harvesting can be broadly categorized into surface runoff water harvesting and roof water harvesting. In the roof water harvesting system, the "catchment" or the roof that is intended to receive the rainwater is selected and associated with the system, the other components of the system include a set of drainage pipes, a flushing device, filter, recharge unit and storage unit. Filtration is mainly done by sand-gravel filters, charcoal filters and sponge filters, the latter of which is very suitable for residential units. Percolation tanks are the most effective recharge units and are suitable for a large scale water harvesting system. In the surface runoff water harvesting system, similar procedures are followed but the filtration is more important as surface water is generally more contaminated than roof top water. This system is applicable to agricultural land surplus water, fresh water flooded forests and other places. Implementation of this system is very important as it would lower the risk of creating impervious surfaces, erosion and siltation. Increased runoff worsens groundwater recharge thus making droughts worse. Hortonian overland flow and Hewlettian runoff can also be minimized to a great extent and the collected water would be put into a number of industries, improving the efficiency of the production and promoting a steady water balance. Soil contaminants would not be able to get into various water bodies, thus minimizing the threat posed to aquatic organisms.

So, the initiation of the system is more important. Various NGOs and Governments are promoting rainwater harvesting and positive water balance. It would prevent floods, droughts, save aquatic organisms, help groundwater recharge and production of crops. It is the time for the common people to try this and make the world a better and healthier place in the future for the next generations of us.

A Certain Type Of Immune Cells Aids Cancer Growth: An Open Question

Recently, rigorous research work in the U.S. has suggested that a certain type of immune cells can actually aid cancer growth! These cells are known as "Myeloid Derived Suppressor" cells that probably provide a niche where the cancer stem cells just might survive and operate after a certain interval of time! Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immature cells that are defined by their myeloid origin, immature state and ability to potently suppress T cell responses. They regulate immune responses and tissue repair in healthy individuals and the population rapidly expands during inflammation, infection and cancer.

  This study was published in the Immunity journal. A review was done by Yazan S Khaled, Basil J Ammori and Eyad Elkord. Cancer stem cells are currently known as resilient to modern chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Researchers firmly believe that only by the elimination of cancer stem cells, cancer can be prevented worldwide. Research work involved the studying of the cells collected from the most common and fatal type of ovarian cancer in which the patients virtually become resistant to chemotherapy and it causes the cancer to grow again. The researchers also said that if a therapy to combat the function of these cells could be identified, it would be possible to eliminate the immune suppression that helps support the cancer.

Vatican Initiative For Peace In Syria Got A Great Response

War always marks the failure of peace, it is always a defeat for humanity.

Pope Francis led a four hour long vigil in St. Peter's Square to protest the socio-political unrest in Syria. More than 70000 people responded to his call to join the rally. People denounced the proposed U.S. led military action following the 21st August chemical weapons attack near Damascus.

 "This evening, I ask the Lord that we Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: Violence and war are never the way to peace!"

 A handful number of Christians in Damascus attended a service in a church, joining the Pope's invitation to firmly oppose outside military intervention in this great conflict. Pope Paul VI famously uttered "War never again, never again war" at the United Nations in 1965 before the U.S.-Vietnam conflict grew, sadly his wish did not get fulfilled in the future. Other church officials including the common people have criticized the U.S.-France involvement in the conflict as it would exacerbate the situation for the minority Christians and also for the common people.

But by the time the vigil got underway, the posters and flags had mainly disappeared with leaders from Christians and non-Christians spoke up. Bishops around the world responded to the Pope's call including Italy, Argentina & Cuba. The grand Mufti of Damascus had also invited Muslims to join the fast in solidarity. Long live humanity, long live our immortal consciousness.

Computer Game: Amnesia The Dark Descent Walkthrough Video- Refinery Portion

Amnesia The Dark Descent needs no special introduction to horror gaming fans. Indeed, this is a masterpiece of an independent company "Frictional Games". There are many videos in www.youtube.com related to this game, some are walkthroughs, some are spoilers, parodies, special level tutorials and much more. Still, Amnesia would be supremely able to send a cold shiver down the spine of all the pro gamers, whether they watch it online or play at home. Here, a video by "fuzzionman" is shared and it is worth a nine minutes of watching! Suspense! Suspense! Monsters lurking in the dark...................

 

The Concept Of Ricci Flow: How It Helped To Shape Modern Mathematics

It is defined as for a Riemannian matric, there is a unique solution to the "evolution" equation for a smooth metric on a closed manifold over a very short duration, analogous to the process of diffusion of heat. It was put into the frame by Richard Hamilton in 1981 on the basis of the geometrization conjecture of Thurston. It was later modified by the Russian scientist Grigori Perelman to introduce the concept of "Ricci Flow With Surgery". He used it to provide a solution of the Poincare conjecture, a problem that stood out unsolved for a century! Also, it was the tool used to prove the Differential sphere theorem.

 Now-a-days, there's an uprise of interest to study how multi-dimensional Riemannian manifolds evolve under it and how it forms singularities. The concept is indeed a product of the enormous development of mathematical analysis and it can be utilized by different forms like the exponential isothermal co-ordinate chart form or the cigar soliton solution. Obviously the mathematicians in the future will use and develop this powerful tool to gain a brighter insight of how the Universe actually is and works!

 

Sealdah Railway Station In The Evening

 

Before the departure of the 18:28 Barrackpore Local from Sealdah Railway Station. A train arrives in the scene, another one departs.

Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński: The Polish Poet With Golden Ambitions

Baczyński was a Polish poet and Home Army soldier. He was born in Warsaw on 22nd January, 1921 in a bonafide family. He had a relatively peaceful childhood, he attended the Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Stefana Batorego and graduated in 1939. He debuted in 1938 in "Strzala" magazine with a poem. However, his future ambitions to master fine arts came to a halt at the outbreak of World War II. He had to join the war for the sake of his nation. During the early years, he cooperated with the left-wing underground press, most notably "Plomienie" and "Droga" magazines. On July 6, 1942, he married Barbara Drapczyńska, a colleague of a university which he was secretly attending to. As a member of Scouting Assault Groups (Harcerskie Grupy Szturmowe), Baczyński took part in many sabotage actions throughout the occupation. After the Warsaw Uprising broke out, he was killed in action on 4th August, 1944. He is buried in the Powazki Military Cemetery with his wife. After 50 years, he still remained very popular in the Polish society and culture. A translated version of his poems was published in 2005, titled: "White Magic And Other Poems". He is a disciple of love, his poems depict the brutality of the war, to which, he suggests only love can heal the wounds caused by it.
[Originally published on another blog by me]

A Photo Of My Little Niece In Mandarmoni

Here is the photo. She looks very cute and witty too!

She turns 3 on the 12th of July, 2013!

Some Words On Kazi Nazrul Islam: The Rebel Poet

Kazi Nazrul Islam is widely regarded as the national poet of Bangladesh and respected as well as commemorated in India. His works like “Bidrohi” and “Bhangar Gaan” are still fairly popular and acclaimed for the passionate verses and the concepts such as love, emotion, freedom, and opposition of bigotry. In his lifetime, he had explored much of Indian life, traditions, values and ethics. He enlisted himself in the Indian Army in 1917 to perceive a broader world. While serving in the 49^th Bengal Regiment, he was posted in Karachi where his literary senses bloomed and wrote his first prose and poetry. Shortly thereafter, his poem “Mukti” got published in the “Bengali Muslim Literary Journal” in July 1919. He spent the next three years working for the “Bengali Muslim Literary Society” and was deeply affected by the socio-political conditions of Bengal as well as India. With the publication of “Bidrohi” at the time of the “Non-cooperation Movement” in the “Bijli” magazine, he became successful in winning literary admirations nationwide and it was received very popularly. He started to publish a magazine named “Dhumketu” in August 1922, which drew significant political attention and soon he was arrested by the British authorities and was transferred to Hooghly from the Alipore jail in April 1923. He bacame fervent and wrote a large number of songs and poems during his imprisonment and was eventually released in December 1923. Very soon he condemned the “Khilafat Movement” for its hollow and porous fundamentalism and joined the Bengal unit of the Congress. He settled in Krishnanagar in 1926 and there he wrote poems and songs which were vastly viewed as “mass music” for articulating the emotions of a poverty-ridden society. In the next phase of his life, he had to witness the death of his two sons and his mother and his works transformed its genre into a more sober and religious one. His works were led by devotional Islamic songs which were welcomed into the bengali folk music and his exploration of Hindu devotional music played a significant role to unite Islamic and Hindu values. Subsequently, he explored the deeper philosophies of both of the religions and he promoted a sense of equalism and humanity. Between 1928 and 1935 he published around 800 songs and concentrated on classical raga music.

 

Then turbulence came to his life and he was constantly reminded of the draconian realities. His wife became ill and he had to mortgage his works and records. This all happened when the Second World War had started to petrify the world. He also received a deep tremble on the event of Tagore’s sad demise. Thereafter he started to lose his mental balance and soon was sent to a mental asylum. Till 1953 his conditions did not show improvement. He was sent to Europe and his clinical condition was judged and shockingly, he was found to be suffering from “Pick’s Disease”.  Nine years later his wife left him and he moved to Bangladesh in 1972 where he kicked the bucket of life in August, 1976. His death was mourned in both Bangladesh and India.

During his lifetime, he remained as constant as the North Star in the horizon of Bengali society, culture and literature. He and Rabindranath still remain the icons of bengali poetry and art. He was conferred upon numerous awards and honours; “Jagattarini Medal” , “Padma Bhushan” and the “Ekhushey Padak” to name a few.

He became a legendary figure during his lifetime and his legacy is still felt in the veins of a society passionate and devoted to its glorious past and present. His music soothes the mind and his poetry warms the blood within the heart to spread a continuous flow of humanity in every part of this temple of the living God. His relevancy is still the same as it was nearly a century ago. A society overburdened by bigotry, violence, hatred, moral erosion, cultural degeneration and instability, needs the photon beams of an active source as illuminant as him to purify its cells with ethereal yet true love. The Nazrul Institute of Bangladesh has published many research based works on Nazrul and their earnest effort will bring sweet fruit to this world. Poet Mohammad Nurul Huda had presented a paper titled “Universalisation of the Rebel” to universalize the characteristics of a great rebel. Many other connoisseurs had contributed to widen the readership of this great poet and promoted his visions worldwide. Kazi Nazrul Islam is no longer a relatively unknown face outside the sub-continent; he has been celebrated in other nations too.

The Nazrul-Burns Centre at the University of Glasgow, Scotland was established to promote creative and innovative artistic endeavours and raising a greater mutual respect and understanding between Bangladesh and Scotland. Robert Burns (1759-1796) is a monumental figure in the world of poetry and the national poet of Scotland. A homogeneous mixture of his vision with Nazrul’s will make a greater impact on the people. The University had organized a festival titled “East-West Cultural Festival” on 21^st June, 2008 at Gilmorehill G12 Theatre. According to them,
“the festival will focus on the modernity and diversity of both Bengali and Scottish arts and culture as enriched over centuries.” It featured renowned Scottish, Bangladeshi and Indian artists. Short plays were staged based on “The Rebel” by Nazrul and “Red Rose” by Burns. This collaboration was warmly received and viewed.

In USA, Professor Winston E. Langley, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, had put a great effort to introduce Nazrul to the English speaking world. He is the author of the book “Kazi Nazrul Islam: The Voice of Poetry and the Struggle for Human Wholeness” focusing on his background and the groundbreaking power of his verses. Dr. Gulshan Kazi and Kazi Belal had also contributed in this matter. They have played the catalytic role to set up Nazrul Endowment Funds at the University of Connecticut and the California State University. “Kazi Nazrul Islam Endowed Lectureship Programme”is an event conducted by them regularly. It is attended by guests and delegates around the globe.

Dr. Kueker Neua of Japan has also given a great deal of effort in conducting an original research on Nazrul. However, Nazrul is still not vastly known in the land of the rising Sun as the efforts are actually private and sporadic.

Dr. Peter Custers of the Netherlands holds a firsthand experience in the early years of Bangladesh’s independence as he was placed there as a journalist. He is an international columnist of the newspaper “The Daily Star”of Bangladesh. He termed Nazrul “Mahakobi” and analysed Nazrul’s broader concepts in his paper "Kazi Nazrul Islam: Bengal's Prophet of Tolerance".