I’m a writer and a translator.

I’m from Bangladesh.

I’m a mother.

I grew up in Jahangirnagar University, a college campus in Bangladesh. It had red brick road
A few years ago I moved to Iowa City to go back to graduate school. So now I have two graduate degrees: an MA in English literature from Dhaka University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. It seems I’ve spent almost all my life on some college campus or another. True fact.s, soaring acacia, jackfruit, mango and shaal trees, and lakes and ponds. I love Jahangirnagar about as much as I love the craziness of my rickshaw-car-truck-bus-three wheeler traffic-mess Dhaka, where I’m still afraid to cross the streets.

All three phases of my life have defined and transformed who I am as a writer in such distinct ways; I’m grateful to all three places. I dreamt of being a writer in Jahangirnagar, I began my serious explorations into writing and translating in Dhaka, I figured out my way in Iowa City. Except the figuring out part is still ongoing. As if the figuring out part is ever over.

These pages showcase some of what I’ve been working on. Stop here, stay awhile, visit with me. And I’d love to see you again.