The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the life and ways of living globally. Dr Mushtaque Chowdhury, the Convener of Bangladesh Health Watch and Adviser and founding Dean of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, along with his family, friends and colleagues, has captured the transformation in Bangladesh and vividly penned it in the canvas of a book titled, “Corona Tale: A Bangladeshi family’s pen-war against the pandemic”. Medium of the book are Bangla, English, art-work and visual.
The cover of the book was unveiled virtually on 28 February 2021, said a press release.
Chaired by eminent Economist and Chairman of Palli Karmo-Sahayak Foundation Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, the speakers included Ms Rasheda K Choudhury, Adviser to the former Caretaker Government, Dr Syed Manzoorul Islam, Litterateur and Professor of English, Dhaka University, Dr Abhijit Chowdhury, Professor, Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata (India), Dr Rashid-e-Mahboob, Former President of Bangladesh Medical Association and Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, Economist and Adviser to the former Caretaker Government. Dr Sabina Faiz Rashid, Dean of Brac James P Grant School of Public Health gave her welcome speech.
The speakers highly appreciated the book because of its timeliness and coverage of the complex features of the pandemic. They particularly highlighted the uniqueness of the book as its various chapters are written by all eight members of a single family. They opined that the book will remain as a valuable document for the future generations.
From penning down the first-hand experience of observing the drastic changes in life with Covid in a visit to Rome during the early days of the pandemic, changes in caring of children while staying at home, national budget making, lessons from Ebola to changes in politics, society and economy, role of the community health workers and civil society, to the future of the post-Covid world including institutionalizing universal healthcare system – the book has shed light into deeper aspects of life and the national ecosystems. The speakers also said the art of storytelling and the illustrations and drawings used in the book make the book lively and worth reading.
The event ended with a Musical ‘Amra Korbo Joi’ by Students of Brac University Midwifery Programme.
The book is published by Anyaprokash and is available at ww.rokomari.com.