Walking through the memory lane, the 5-year journey of Ceramic Bangladesh Magazine seems like a dream of yesterday. During the planning of the Ceramic Expo Bangladesh 2019, the magazine began its journey by providing complimentary copies to exhibitors to educate them about the ceramic industry in Bangladesh. Along with the success of the Ceramic Expo Bangladesh 2019, everyone particularly praised the magazine, which encouraged us to come up with the next issue in 2021. Chief Editor Mr. Irfan Uddin was recollecting the memories in this way while sharing his experience of working closely with the magazine.
Initially, the magazine focused on Bangladesh’s ceramic industry, its overall future, prospects, growth, etc., to bring limelight to the overall sector. Due to Covid-19, it was impossible to continue the publication in 2020. But after that, Ceramic Bangladesh was publishing full-fledged from 2021 at the end of the year. Since then, the magazine has completed its 13th issue and plans to publish bimonthly from 2025. The journey was a rollercoaster for all the team members, along with the editor, sub-editor, coordinator, designer, photographer, and writers. Everyone took a leap of faith to explore a new publication arena with their enthusiasm, interest, and love for taking challenges.
The editor of the magazine, Salahuddin A. Talukder, expressed his immense affection for Ceramic Bangladesh Magazine. It was a challenge to sustain the magazine and keep up the top-notch quality so that it would be liked and praised by all. The projects we have focused on were unique and interesting, and each one has a new way of unfolding the journey of development and growth in Bangladesh.
While interviewing the subeditor, Rehnuma Tasnim Sheefa, it was really interesting to know how they came up with the names of the segments and selected projects to feature initially. Reminiscing on the initial projects and works, she mentioned that at the beginning, most of the write-ups were done by the editor, Salahuddin Ahmaad Talukder, and himself, along with 2 to 3 writers. Photographer Junaid Hasan Pranto and designer Ali Haider created magic with their photography and layout to make those features alive by narrating a story visually for the readers.
The 1st issue of the magazine was prepared by Ant Network, which encouraged BCMEA board members to approve the work of the publication and enable BCMEA to work on the magazine internally. With the publication of the 2nd issue, considering the contribution of the architects and their close involvement with the ceramic industry in their projects, the magazine started to focus on architects and their significant works, various mega projects, interior and exterior insights, industry-related content, and some exclusive and unique projects related to the use of tableware, tiles, ceramic bricks, sanitaryware, etc. Through the magazine, readers learned that Bangladesh is the only country where the maximum number of national establishments are made with red ceramic bricks, a matter of pride for the ceramic industry.
There were also some interesting coverages of the projects from a wide range of collections under different segments. For example, for the segment Architectural Regime, Alenbari Mosque of PWD was featured, which is a geometric-shaped prayer space with a dramatic skylight that represents the combination of art and architecture in every part of the project. The feature on Monno Ceramic for Ceramic Central reminds the reader about the legacy of ceramic tableware in Bangladesh, which has created a corner in every showcase of each household and the heart of Bengali mothers. Under Suasive senses, unique ideas like Ajo Idea Space use their own crockery sets to serve their food sustainably and reduce the wastage of food.
Some of the exclusive features of the brilliant minds of the country were presented through the magazine. Architect Rafiq Azam recalled his childhood memories and newfound inspiration for sustainable architecture practices from his surroundings, exploring new arenas of work that are inspirations to many young architects. The creator of the new city skyline Architect Mustapha Khalid Palash unfolds the dream of making the city more sustainable and living worthy for the city dwellers. The Mason Master Architect Mohammad Foyez Ullah’s projects represent the combination of modern architecture by designing sleek concrete buildings and making them stand out to praise the beauty of the creation. Apart from them, Architect Mamnoon Murshed Chowdhury, Architect Mahmudul Anwar Riyaad, Architect Tanya Karim, Architect Nurur Rahman Khan, Architect Masudur Rahman Khan, and Architect Salauddin Ahmed’s contributions and journeys of their personal and professional lives are worthy to explore through the magazine. They have shared their life journey, learning, and their experiences under the architectural regime segment. It was a documentation of the living legends and the inspiration behind their creations through the magazine for future generations, added by Sheefa.
In the segment Interior Insight, we featured different well-designed restaurants and offices. Some features were also on entrepreneurial stories to encourage new people to start their journeys in similar industries. Exclusive mega projects like MetroRail, Padma Bridge, Kamlapur Railway Station, etc. were also highlighted in the cover stories of our magazine. In the Heritage segment, sites like Lalbagh Kella, Tara Mosque, Shat Gambuj Mosque, Terracotta Temple, etc. were also covered.
In parallel, we also focused on scenic sights, covering touristy destinations. From financial institutes to real estate, we have tried our best to cover the wide band.
Ceramic Bangladesh Magazine has grown with some excellent team members. Without their dedication and utmost effort, it would not be possible to come such a long way. The former core team members of BCMEA, Mahfuza Tasnim Noshin, Kazi Sumaiya Ahmed, and Anamika Rahman, shared their journey with the magazine as they have closely worked with the CBM since its initiation. They shared their utmost affection and recalled their journey while working on such an interesting project from scratch.
To sum up the journey of Ceramic Bangladesh Magazine, the dedication, effort, and consistency of all the team members is remarkable. Without their continuous effort, faith, and consistency, it is impossible to come this far. So, for the future, it is the vision of Ceramic Bangladesh magazine to keep the readers hooked by bringing unique and inspiring stories where the readers feel that urge to go through all the pages in their leisure time.
It is the goal of the magazine to compete internationally and brand the ceramic industry as well as Bangladesh to keep its reader base waiting for the next issue. Moreover, the journey of the magazine in the upcoming years will focus on aesthetically pleasing and internationally recognized versions through the upcoming issues.
Written By Preety Dey
