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Sender:  Razin Haque Senders Location:  Glasgow, UK  Receiver:  Afsana Jahin Nice Receiver Location:  Rajshahi, Bangladesh Dear Afsana, I am well, thanks. I hope you and your family are doing well. I too have roots in Rajshahi as both of my parents are from there. My dad is from Chapai Nawabganj and my mum is from Rajshahi. I love going to Rajshahi, especially during the mango season. Trying the variety of mangoes is always the best part of my visit to Rajshahi. What’s something else you love about Rajshahi? I’m hoping your studies at university are going fine. I’m also starting university soon and I’m a little nervous as I’ve always been guided by teachers throughout school. Is there any advice you would give for university?  Your trip to Kusumba mosque sounds like it was a great time. I love how you were able to feel a deep emotional connection with the mosque's history and the people of that time. Six domes on the roof is something I have never seen befo...

Sender:  Md. Mahadi Hasan Jony Senders Location:  Rajshahi, Bangladesh Receiver:  Zidan Imtiaz Receiver Location:  Glasgow, UK Translation: Dear Zidane Imtiaz First, take a lot of love. Hope you are doing very well. In the new year, you are moving forward by arranging everything anew. What I will share with you today is the experience of a long trip on my bicycle a few days ago. In winter, when I get a break between studies, going somewhere on a bicycle is like an addiction to me. Since my varsity life will end this year, I thought I could go somewhere far away for the last time this winter. Then I and a friend of mine decided to go on a long bike tour from Rajshahi to Kushtia. On January 9, 2023. We set out on a foggy morning. We started the journey with a thrilling feeling. Goal Kushtia. We have 100+ kilometers to cover, which is more than any of our previous bike tours. That's why both doubt and enthusiasm were working in my mind. Can I reach there at all? This su...

Sender:  Minhazul Islam Senders Location: Rajshahi, Bangladesh Receiver:  Nahian Iftekhar Receiver Location: Glasgow, UK Translation:  Dear Nahiyan, I feel like writing to you today so here I’m with a pen and paper. When I’m writing this letter, a river which was my childhood love, is dying in front of me without any care. This is the river that painted my childhood with colors.  It's hard to match that river now with the one in front of my eyes today. When I was in the second grade, I went to an aunt’s place with my grandpa. After a while when we passed a kilometer or two, I found the sky is just white in front of us; not blue anymore. Looking into the skyline, my curious mind was wondering; isn’t there a tree or anything in front of us? The three-wheeler rickshaw was moving forward, and I felt that I am coming closer to that barren skyline. All of a sudden a banyan tree surrounded by a group of people appeared in front of us. The rickshaw bell rang, and I not...

Sender:  Rehaan Syed Senders Location:  Glasgow, UK  Receiver:  Nabil Hasan Receiver Location:  Rajshahi, Bangladesh Hello Nabil, My name is Rehaan, I am currently in my 5th year of high school working towards achieving my higher (you’ll know them as SSC’s) and hopefully getting the grades to be accepted into university, although I’ve also applied to a couple graduate apprenticeships, which are like 4 year courses where you are paid to work and also go to university and work towards your degree at the same time. Aside from academics, I enjoy listening to music, playing the drums and occasionally going out to eat or shop with friends. Anyway, that’s enough about me, I wanted to talk to you a bit about different regions in scotland, and the different stereotypes/preconceptions associated with them as I’m curious to know if they have similar regional biases in Bangladesh. For example, here in Scotland you can drive an hour in any direction and be greeted with a com...

Sender:  Razin Haque Senders Location:  Glasgow, UK  Receiver:  Afsana Jahin Nice Receiver Location:  Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Sender:  Nahian Iftekhar Senders Location:  Glasgow, UK  Receiver:  Minhazul Islam Receiver Location:  Rajshahi, Bangladesh Hey there! I hope things are going great for you and I’m really excited to write this letter to you! It’s been quite a while since I wrote a letter to anyone about anything so I apologize beforehand if there are a few mistakes here and there. Like many people born in the 90s, the last few years were quite challenging, mostly thanks to COVID-19, one of the deadliest pandemics in the 21 st century. We’ll talk about that soon. Before that, let me tell you a little about ‘pandemics’. Although the definition of a pandemic is broad and debatable, generally any physical and mental health conditions that extend over large geographic locations, that could be transmitted from one place to another, has a high attack rate, have minimal population immunity, and is widely infectious could be called a pandemic. In that sense, COVID-19, AIDS, Cholera, Den...

Sender:  Sadiya Taher Senders Location:  Glasgow, UK  Receiver:  Sarifa Islam Satu Receiver Location:  Rajshahi, Bangladesh Dear Sarifa Islam Satu, I am Eva and I am excited to write you! You are actually my first pen pal, so this is a great new experience for me. I am currently doing my Masters in Journalism and hoping to work in a related field after my graduation. What about you? I was in a local shop today, getting something to eat between my classes, when I had the strangest sensation- a spontaneous awareness of the unlikeliness of this life. I started to think about all the rest of the human population in Bangladesh- most of whom live in what you and I would consider poverty- who have never seen or entered such a shop. And this is all their life sustains. This lifestyle is for people like us! All the various brands of soft drinks in plastic bottles and all the pre-packaged lunch deals and confectionary in sealed bags and store-baked pastries- this is it, ...

Sender:  Sahil Amin Senders Location:  Glasgow, UK  Receiver:  Mariom Bentee Rahman Receiver Location:  Rajshahi, Bangladesh Hello Mariom,  I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you today to talk about my experience with the cultural heritage of Scotland. As an 18-year-old student who has lived here for much of my life, I have experienced some of the wonderful traditions and customs that make Scotland such a unique and special place. As you have already read, I am studying at Heriot-Watt University, where I study Computer Science.  I moved to Scotland from England as an 11-year-old, and have lived here ever since. Because of this, I have seen many things that only Scotland has, such as a fizzy drink known as Irn Bru, which is the most popular drink in Scotland. Here are some of the things about Scottish Culture and Heritage which affect Scotland to this day: One such attribute of Scottish culture is the rich history and heritage that is pr...