weekend tribune vol 3 issue 13

6 Gulshan antique market 8 ramadan

experience 20 Funny Bone

Vol 3 issue 13 | Friday, July 17, 2015 Dhaka Tribune

Dear Readers,After the long wait, we’re at the home stretch, and Eid is almost close enough to taste. This is perhaps the best time to take a look back at this tumultuous summer Ramadan and take stock of what it was like this past month.

With all things religious still on everyone’s minds, this is a good time to talk about the incompleteness of a madrassah education, and the efforts of the Leaping Boundaries program to address the issue.

The recently concluded Brikkho Mela seems to have suffered a lack of enthusiasm this year; one of our stories takes stock of why. Another story takes a leisurely stroll through antique stores in a treasure hunt.

What does Ramadan in Dhaka look like? We’ve got a list of indicators, stories on seasonal migrants and Eid vacations, and an absolutely brilliant photo story on people coming together for iftar.

Finally, funny man Yamin Khan shows you the kind of public you’re bound to encounter if you’re travelling abroad this festival season.

Wishing you a hearty Eid Mubarak from Weekend Tribune

Sabrina Fatma Ahmad

The moon-sighting begins!Photo: Anup Munir

Editor’s note

Questions? Comments? Send them to [email protected]

WEEKEN D TRI BU N E | FRI DAY, J U LY 17, 2015


2 News | This week

Nigeria’s president sacks all four defence chiefsNigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari sacked his army, navy, air force and defence chiefs on Monday, a widely anticipated move as the former general has made crushing Islamist militant group Boko Haram his top priority.

Replacements would be announced later on Monday, the presidency spokesman told Reuters.

Since his inauguration in May, Buhari has moved Nigeria’s defence command centre to Maiduguri, the birthplace of the jihadi sect, and is setting up the headquarters for a multi-national joint taskforce in Chad’s capital N’Djamena.

In June, Amnesty International accused Nigeria’s military of systemic human rights abuses and the deaths of 8,000 prisoners and called for an investigation into many top military officials including the army and air force chiefs.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan was heavily criticised for his inability to deal with the six-year insurgency in the northeast of Africa’s biggest oil

producer which has killed thousands and displaced 1.5 million people.

Army morale hit an all time low under Jonathan and it was not until the start of 2015 that the militants were finally pushed out of most areas with the help of foreign mercenaries, troops from neighbouring countries and new equipment.

But Nigerians saw Jonathan’s victories as too little to late.

The outgoing officials are: Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall Alex Badeh; the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Kenneth Minimah; the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Adesola Amosu, the spokesman said.Photo: AFP

The world at a glance Weekend Tribune Desk

A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the brutal killing of 13-year-old boy Sheikh Samiul Alam Rajon.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Rahmat Ullah is to lead the probe body.

Other members of the committee are Assistant Commissioner of DB Police AFM Nizam Uddin, Jalalabad police Assistant Commissioner Kamrul Islam, Jalalabad OC Akhtar Hossain and second officer SI Jakir Hossain.

Meanwhile, police detained prime accused Muhit’s wife Lipi Begum, 25, on Monday evening in connection with the murder.

The ill-fated teenager was tortured to death by a group of people at Kumargaon on the outskirts of Sylhet city around 7:30am on July 8.

A 28-minute video, recorded on a mobile phone camera, shows the victim tied to a pole in front of a workshop in the still-closed Sultan Ali

Market, beside the Dhaka-Sunamganj road. From the video, it seemed there were five to six men who took part in the barbaric torture.

Informed about the suspect, police went to the spot and took Muhit into custody and recovered Rajon’s body from a micro-bus. The body was identified by Rajon’s family at the police station on the night of July 8.

Three of the tormentors have been detained so far in connection with the barbaric killing.

Prime accused Muhit was apprehended while dumping Rajon’s body on the day of the murder. Later Muhit’s cousin Ismail Hossain Abullus was detained in Sylhet and absconding accused Kamrul Islam was held in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

A Sylhet court placed Muhit on a five-day remand on Monday in the case filed over Rajon’s murder.Source: Dhaka Tribune

Body formed to probe Rajon murder

North Korea invites US Congress to visit alleged ‘anthrax’ plant

Google removes Chinese name on map after Philippine furore

North Korea has challenged the entire US Congress to come and inspect a bio-tech institute in Pyongyang that US experts have suggested is a facility for mass-producing anthrax for the

A spokesman for the powerful National Defence Commission angrily stressed that the facility in Pyongyang was solely dedicated to the manufacture of pesticides, after a report published last week on the website of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University suggested otherwise.

“A thousand pairs of ears cannot match a pair of eyes,” the spokesman said, accusing the US government of spreading wild rumours about the North’s biological weapons programme.

“Come here right now, with all the 535 members of the House of

Representatives and the Senate as well as the imbecile secretaries and deputy secretaries of the government who have made their voices hoarse screaming for new sanctions,” the spokesman said.

“Then they can behold the awe-inspiring sight of the Pyongyang Bio-technical Institute,” he added.

According to North Korean defectors and assessments by the US and South Korean governments, Pyongyang began to acquire a biological weapons capability as early as the 1960s under the orders of then leader Kim Il Sung.

In a 2012 white paper, the South Korean defence ministry estimated that the North was able to indigenously produce a number of biological agents, including anthrax and smallpox.Photo: Reuters

Google has quietly removed the Chinese name for a South China Sea shoal bitterly disputed by Beijing and Manila from its maps service, following an outcry from Filipinos.

The Google Maps website on Tuesday referred to the rich fishing ground – a subject of a case lodged by the Philippines at an international arbitration tribunal – by its international name, Scarborough Shoal.

The service had earlier labelled the shoal as part of China’s Zhongsha island chain, prompting an online campaign demanding that the Internet giant stop

identifying the outcrop as part of Chinese territory.

“We’ve updated Google Maps to fix the issue. We understand that geographic names can raise deep emotions which is why we worked quickly once this was brought to our attention,” Google’s office in Manila said in a statement.

Scarborough Shoal lies 220 kilometres (140 miles) off the main Philippine island of Luzon and 650 kilometres from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese land mass.

China has controlled the shoal since 2012, following a brief standoff with the Philippines.


MeaNwhile 3

Photo of the week Say what?

The chicken church

It’s not a church, and it’s not supposed to look like a chicken, but locals call it the “chicken church” anyway.

Residents of Magelang, Indonesia, know well the towering, red-beaked visage of gereja ayam (literally, chicken church), which stands on a hilltop overlooking the city.

The building looks like something out of Gary Larson’s “Far Side” comic strip, but it’s totally for real.

Daniel Alamsjah, 67, is the man behind the structure. He told the Jakarta Globe that he built it after having a vision of a dove-shaped “prayer house” on a hill in 1989.

He and about 30 locals began construction in the 1990s. Although it was never finished and has been abandoned since 2000, the building remains a hit with tourists.

Alamsjah said that although he’s a Christian, the “chicken church” -- as it came to be known – doesn’t cater to a specific religion, and that both Christians and Muslims have prayed there. The crumbling building has about a dozen private prayer chambers and a large central meeting hall.

“Perhaps because of my Christian faith, people thought I was building a church. But it’s not a church. I was building a prayer house, not a church, but a place for people who believe in God,” Alamsjah said. Source: Huffington Post

Eid greetings: The right way

The sudden deluge towards the end of this

week brought mixed blessings to Dhaka

dwellers.

Photo: Sakib Mridha

You’re welcome

When it comes to exchanging greetings during Eid, some people hug three times while wishing Eid Mubarak and some do it only once. Some people lose count and do two or four instead. Some people, however, say that there is no need for exchanging greetings during Eid and it’s unnecessary. So what is the right way to greet Eid Mubarak?

Renowned Islamic scholar Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen was asked: What is the ruling on offering Eid greetings and is there a particular wording to be used?

He replied: It is permissible to

offer greetings and congratulations on Eid, and there is no specific greeting. Rather the greetings that people customarily use are permissible so long as no sin is involved.

He also said: Some of the Sahaabah offered greetings and congratulations on the occasion of Eid. Even if we assume that they did not do that, it has now become something of a custom that people are used to doing – congratulating one another on the occasion of Eid and on completing the fast and qiyaam.

He was also asked: what is the ruling on shaking hands, embracing and congratulating one another after the Eid prayer?

He replied: There is nothing wrong with these things, because people do not do these things as acts of worship intended to draw them closer to Allah, rather they do them because they are customary, and to honour and show respect to one another. So long as there is nothing in sharee’ah to indicate that a custom is forbidden, then the basic principle is that it is permissible. Source: Islamicboard.com


4 Feature | Leaping Boundaries

A much neglected section of our society are the boys and girls who study in madrasahs. Despite

constituting about 15%-18% of the whole secondary student population, these students are often ‘unseen’. They often come out feeling isolated and marginalised since they have trouble reconciling the values taught in their education systems with mainstream societal values. Bearing this in mind, Leaping Boundaries has been working with Alia madrasahs to train them in English and soft skills with the goal of representing them on mainstream platform. The project started operating in February 2013, and since then, through many hurdles, has made some significant leaps towards progress.

This year, the project has successfully integrated boys and girls studying in the two madrasahs it has been operating on two platforms, which is the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre’s (BYLC) Building Bridges through Leadership Training (BBLT), Junior and Shorno Kishoree, an innovative idea to promote adolescent girls’ health for safe motherhood.

For the BBLT Junior programme, the project ensured representation of three girls from Madinatul Ulum who had never before participated in such a leadership programme. The trainers of Leaping Boundaries coached girls and boys from both madrasahs and ended up ensuring 18 of them getting selected for the interview rounds. About the rigorous

coaching session, Ahasan Habib Bias, a volunteer trainer at Nibras International said: “As a part of this project we are trying our very best to create scopes for these young geniuses. In the beginning, they were a little shy and not very keen on participating. So I started to work on building a good rapport with them and teaching them in new ways. I try to make the learning fun and easier for them so they don’t feel that learning is a burden and are ready to learn new things. We use English as an entry point and then work with them to develop their soft skills. For the BBLT programme, we coached them for a day on how to think while filling out the application forms before they submitted their essays. I was very impressed with their applications myself.”

Even though BYLC works with madrasah students, they have

previously expressed concern about not being able to reach enough students from the madrasah background, particularly girls. However, what is remarkable is the representation of girls on a programme like the Shorno Kishoree. The Shorno Kishoree Network Foundation is a private, non-profit and voluntary organisation working in the area of safe motherhood through adolescent reproductive health and development, utilising media as a tool for reaching millions of adolescent girls. The activities of the programme focused on issues relevant to adolescent girls such as menstruation, early marriage, human trafficking etc, have been telecast in 30 episodes and aired on Channel I and BTV, viewed by millions of people. Since these topics are often taboo in conservative settings such as the madrasah

sector, it was unthinkable to speak of them openly. However, Leaping Boundaries and Shorno Kishoree took some bold steps to ensure that the girls at Madinatul Ulum came out of their comfort zones to talk about these necessary issues. Tayeba Banin Dristy, a volunteer trainer at the madrasah said: “This was such an overwhelming experience. I was a little apprehensive at first. Because the girls do not have an open area where the shooting of the programme could take place, we had to use the boys’ playground. Talking about issues like menstrual hygiene and human trafficking was uncomfortable for the girls but they did it! Five top girls were selected from around 150 girls after being tested on information sheets that were provided to them beforehand so they could learn about the topic (human trafficking). Then these five had to speak on the selected topic spontaneously. The best speaker, was given the title of Shworno Kishoree.

This year Leaping Boundaries has also targeted representing these two madrasahs on the Spelling Bee contest. The trainers have been working with them to enrich their vocabulary skills. If the programme continues to run successfully, the madrasah sector will no longer remain an ‘unseen’. Gradually, the lines between ‘us’ and ‘them’ will disappear, and a more inclusive, progressive Bangladesh will emerge. Courtesy: Leaping Boundaries n

Making changes for the better, one leap at a timeLeaping Over: Towards Visibility

Photos: Ashraf Uddin Ahmed


Tree Fair 2015 | eveNt 5

The annual Brikkho Mela is a much-awaited event for plant lovers around the country Saqib Sarker

This year, the annual Tree Fair, began on June 6, but had no official opening ceremony until July 12. It

may sound strange but as I walked around and spoke with the stall managers and nursery owners, I found out that this little formality means quite a lot actually.

“The Prime Minister couldn’t manage time for the opening on June 6. So we didn’t have a proper opening,” explains Masud Rana Sentu, the manager of Swarupkati Nursery from Narayanganj. “Does that make a big difference?” I asked. “Yes! Without a proper opening we do not get media coverage. And we haven’t sold anything compared to that of previous years,” said Sentu.

According to Sentu, the usual sales made at the fair by a nursery like his, typically range between Tk20–25 lac (Tk2–2.5 million) in a month. “But we have only sold Tk5 lac (Tk500,000) worth of trees,” Sentu said.

Indeed, the fair looked quite

deserted. There were more workers and officials of the fair present than were visitors, which is a shame because the fair has been organised very neatly and there are so many useful products and resources for nursery owners and tree lovers of all types.

The government has a programme that encourages gardening on the roof. “People can call on their nearest agricultural office or the office in Khamar Bari and get logistical help for gardening on the roof,” said Masuma Jannat, an Agriculture Extension Officer. There was also a stall representing a group of students from Sher–e–Bangla Agricultural University who provide a private service helping people create gardens on their rooftops.

A company called Alliance Feather Products are manufacturing feather mill composite which is a completely natural fertilizer and far more effective than traditional fertilizers. I was talking to Jalal Haidar Shakil at the Alliance stall. Shakil told me that this fertilizer enables the plants to extract the necessary nitrogen without the harms of chemical fertilizers. Their products are made entirely in Bangladesh.

The stall owners expressed frustration at the lack of sales. “Who are the main buyers,” I asked Sentu. “All kinds of people come to the fair to get trees. We have corporate clients. Walton (the company) bought Tk35 lacs worth of trees this year. But we have a lot more. People come from all parts of Bangladesh too,” Sentu Informed me. He also told me that he sold trees to nursery owners from Comilla, Chuwadanga, Magura this year. “People also

couldn’t come because of the heavy rain this year,” he added.

I asked Md Sohel Rana at the Forest Department’s stall how long the fair will go on. Rana is a wildlife inspector with the Department. The approximate date was July 15, but it may extend a little bit, he informed me. But Sentu was agitated at this news. “We applied for an extension up to July 31. Don’t write it ends on July 15,” he pleaded.

I also spoke with visitors. Shoibal bought a lot of plants and he was busy trying to get them into a vehicle when I approached him. A fashion designer by profession Shoibal buys trees for decoration purposes. But people look for other kinds of trees too. Rowshan Ara and her husband Yamin Sattar were not looking to buy fruit trees when I spoke to them.

After buying the trees you need help to carry them to your vehicle. Mohammad Akash is among the

young boys who were helping the visitors with this. I spoke with Akash to find out about his experience at the fair, which he has been coming to for the past two-three years. “How much can you earn in a day at the fair?” I asked. “Tk500, but this year it’s not so good,” he said. The lack of income seemed to have had little effect on his demeanour though. He was very happy to talk to me. “Where is this is going to be published?” he asked excitedly as he followed me around the fair.

There were many different stalls. Some that sell medicinal plants offered free diagnosis. There was a model village made with miniature humans and houses and road. The fair would be a great place to come with the kids. But this year the combination of Ramadan, rain and other sorts of bad luck seems to have been taking their toll on this great annual affair. n

desertedgreens

Photos: Courtesy


6 Feature | guLshan anTique markeT

Unbeknownst to many, Dhaka’s Gulshan 2 market holds a treasure chest of antiques – a fascinating

panoply of relics from the era of Bengal’s Nawabs. A cursory glance towards the second floor reveals the plethora of antique stores waiting to be explored. However, visiting the stores reveals a lot more than dainty antiques.

Haji Metal Crafts Rakhal babu of Haji metal crafts was lounging outside his store in the balcony along with his sales assistants, who were idly browsing their cell phones. The dearth of customers was evident, as there was only one window shopper during the entirety of my hour-long stay during their prime selling time.

The antique products ranged from intricately decorated pocket watches and pendants to chandeliers and carved wooden doorways. Most of the things in the store are 70-80 years old. The Nawabs of the

earlier era used these products, but their grandchildren often consider these to be antiquated clutter, said the shopkeepers. “The current generation often does not value these heirlooms and want modern furniture, but their ancestors wouldn’t have sold these items even for a crore,” said Rakhal babu, who had moved to the city in his youth in search of employment, landed this job by serendipity and has been involved ever since.

When asked about the acquisition process, Rakhal babu said, the sellers – mostly wealthy families that are splitting up property and selling off inherited objects – contact the shopkeepers directly. Often the items are partially defective, and the shop has to fix it before it can be sold. “If, say, they bring an antique chair to us that is missing a leg, we would hire a skilled carpenter to make an exact replica of the missing leg,” Rakhal babu says. There are different categories of “mesturis” (carpenters): “level

mesturis” who do plain work and “nokshi mesturis” who do the more intricate, delicate work. There are also “polish mesturis” who do things such as colouring and brightening. They charge anything from Tk500 to Tk1500 a day depending on their experience and expertise.

Curio corner Babu, chief salesman of Curio

Corner, said his shop’s owner has been in this business for over 35 years and so has some well-established sales contacts all over the country. “Sometimes when we go to the clients’ places to collect items, there is bargaining involved if other potential buyers – often our adjacent stores – are also present,” Babu added, highlighting the competition in this niche market.

However, not all items with the vintage feel are authentic in their antiquity, and many are being commercially produced. “Our collectors go to Puran Dhaka’s bhangari stores to buy manufactured

A list of some of the fascinating stores that feature a treasure trove of antiquities from days bygoneSohara Mehroze Shachi

you want a thingammybob? i’ve got plenty

Photos: Anup Munir


7

pieces, usually in kilograms,” said Babu. He said in Bangladesh, copper items such as bells and candelabras are being manufactured and supplied to brand stores such as Aarong and Jatra.

Babu said the owner of Curio Corner has a factory in his own house where carpenters do the repair work and embellishment to the acquired curios. Some of the work is done contractually on orders’ basis and they hire fine arts students /graduates from Dhaka University (who come to them seeking work) to do the artwork and crafting.

Over his 15-year tenure at this store, Babu has seen the customer base steadily decline, and the recent European economic crisis has made matters worse, since a majority of their customers were European. And that’s not his only concern. “The government is thinking of increasing the tax on handicrafts to 25% from 15%, on top of the income tax we have to pay, which will make this

business even more difficult.”

Alam Handicrafts Apart from vintage artefacts,

a number of stores also have a spectacular collection of maritime objects. One such store – Alam Handicrafts – has a fascinating array of metal ship models, sextants, hourglasses, binoculars and a melange of nautical gear, some of these acquired from the ship breaking yards of Chittagong. The smaller items such as hourglasses, compasses and vintage pocket watches were from India and China, where these are commercially manufactured. When asked why such manufacturing has not flourished in Bangladesh, salesman Hafiz said in India there are more tourists and sellers so the manufacturers can survive there. “In our country if one person makes these, a hundred others would start manufacturing similar items as well, which makes the competition very

stiff.”Hafiz said most of their current

customers are foreigners, but they are decreasing in number due to the political volatility of Bangladesh as well as obsolescence of furniture. “Ten to fifteen years ago, we would have antique furniture galore, but now with lighter, sleek and modern furniture in the markets, the demand for our products is spiralling downwards.” The political scenario has also affected the number of foreigners – both tourists and employed officials – in the country, further diminishing their dwindling customer base.

The survival of this niche market of Bangladesh will require more than inquisitive window shoppers and the occasional foreign buyer. Without a burgeoning consumer base and a supportive business environment, these shops might become vestiges of a finer past just like the mementos they showcase. n


8 top 10 | ramadan experience

You know its ramadan in dhaka when ...A list of the things that are part and parcel of the Ramadan experienceSaqib Sarker

1 Sehri wake up service street choir

2 Women smell Ramadan

3 The craving for tea

4 The hunt for halim

7 The LailatulQadar debate

10 Romzaner oi rojarsheshe

8 The Quran recitation and the khatam

9 The moon sighting

5 Iftar parties

6 Eid shoppingfrenzy

Everyone has experienced this. The Sehri “choir” is mostly comprised of young enthusiastic people who take it upon themselves to make loud clapping and banging noises so that everyone can wake up for Sehri (whether they need it or not). The yelling and banging is accompanied by unison singing of traditional songs. Ramadan wouldn’t be Ramadan without it.

While many male members of society may not know when is Ramadan until a couple of days before it starts, women start to ambush the shopping malls two or three months prior to the holy month in order to avoid the rush and price hike during Ramadan.

It’s always hardest in the first few days of Ramadan. You wake up and you cannot have your morning cuppa. The absence of tea, for morning tea people particularly, really bug you for the first three days of fasting at least. It seems so easy in comparison to totally ignoring the lurching in the tummy.

I have never quite figured out why we ignore this wonderful food outside of Ramadan. There are some places that sell halim all year round but most people don’t really have it until during Ramadan. Even though I would like to have halim often I also kind of like the exclusivity. It keeps Ramadan the way I know it.

The debate over which night should be Lailatul Qadar never gets resolved. Actually, scholars have resolved it but people still like to have their little ‘ulama-sheikh’ moments.

A lot of people would swear that they do not feel like Eid is approaching unless they hear this song playing. Indeed the classic by poet Kazi Nazrul Islam has become a part of the Bengali Muslim DNA. Some people want to hear a newer musical arrangement for the song but others think it shouldn’t be changed. But this has truly become an inseparable part of Ramadan and Eid. n

This is a tradition that many families carry on. All or some members of the family will recite parts from the Quran everyday for the whole month and complete the whole Quran by the end of Ramadan.

The whole ruckus over the moon sighting has perhaps abated a lot since the time of my childhood and teen years. But I remember people would always go up on the roof to actually see the moon of Shawal, announcing the end of Ramadan and Eid ul Fitr the next day. I hope we can hang onto this beautiful tradition.

This one has been going on for as long as Ramadan has been around. People like to invite friends and families over for iftar. And Ramadan wouldn’t be Ramadan without all the batch reunion iftars, office iftars, apartment building iftars and all other varieties of it.

Even though women start shopping early there’s always something important that left to the very last minute. But men are also getting more and more interested and engaged in shopping now.

Photos: Bigstock


mass iFTars | photo story 9

With the month of Ramadan coming to an end, we also say goodbye to one of the most favoured mealtimes in the year – iftar. From classics such as the humble beguni and piyaju, to the hearty halim, iftar items and the meal in general is one that brings everyone together. The very spirit of the iftar is one of sharing.

This week’s photo story captures just that – from mass picnic-style iftar on the grounds of Dhaka University’s TSC to the public iftar free for all, provided at the High Court Mazar.

Photos: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN, RAJIB DHAR, MEHEDI HASAN, MAHMUD HASAN OPU

all together nowPhoto: Rajib Dhar

Mass public iftar at Dhaka’s New Market


10 photo story | mass iFTars

The famous iftar bazar at Dhaka’s Chowk Bazar Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain

The famous iftar bazar at Dhaka’s Chowk Bazar Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain Distributing free iftar to the poor at the Khilgaon Buddho Mondir


Distributing free iftar to the poor at the Khilgaon Buddho Mondir

11

Bowls of iftar ready for the masses at the High Court Mazar Photo: Mehedi Hasan

Picnic-style public iftar on the grounds of Dhaka University’s TSC. Photo: Mehedi Hasan

Iftar being prepared for the masses at the High Court Mazar Photo: Mehedi Hasan

Preparing free iftar for the public at Baitul Mukarram mosque Photo: Mahmud Hossain Opu

Photo: Mahmud Hossain Opu


The exodus of people of different professions towards the capital Faisal Mahmud

The fledgling three wheelers“Oi beta deikha chala, aisos to dosh din hoilo, Dhaka shohor ki chinbi” (Drive carefully you fool! It takes a lot more than just ten days to know a city like Dhaka), said one rickshaw puller to another at the road in front of the Science Laboratory police box.

I happened to be on the rickshaw whose puller had received this piece of advice from the ‘experienced’ one. In normal times, there would have been a squabble between the two pullers, but in this case, my rickshaw-puller couldn’t say a word as he really had been in Dhaka for the last two weeks only.

“I am a van-puller from Manikganj. I wanted to make some extra cash. One of my cousins who is a rickshaw puller in Dhaka told me that I could make lots of money during Ramadan by pulling rickshaw in the capital,” Suruj, the rickshaw-puller said.

“But making money isn’t that easy in Dhaka as I can hardly make 10-20 trips a day due to the long traffic jams. Also driving a rickshaw in Dhaka is a terrible and thankless job. We are scolded by everyone,” Suruj added forlornly.

The problem is many people like Suruj have come to Dhaka during

Ramadan to pull rickshaws as they are driven by that dream of making some quick cash and this extra band of rickshaws often end up adding woes to the already ailing Dhaka traffic.

Also the dream of making that ‘extra’ cash is proven to be a false one for many of these greenhorn rickshaw-pullers. “The rickshaw owners charge at least Tk300 which is more than usual (Tk200 is usual), sometimes we have to pay commissions to the traffic police, otherwise they threaten to seize the rickshaw and we will have to pay a lot to the owner,” said Moslem,

another rickshaw-puller who came from Savar.

According to official data of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), the custodians of the capital’s non-motorised three wheelers said that there are about five lakh rickshaws in Dhaka. But media reports and data from organisations concerned said that there are at least 9.5 lakh rickshaws in Dhaka out of which only one lakh actually have legal documents and license. The rest of the rickshaws are under the cover of various political organisations and entities, without

The Eid migrants14 Focus | seasonaL inFLux

Photo: Nashirul Islam


15

any legal basis, using counterfeit number plates with their names.

Organisations such as Bangladesh Rickshaw Sramik League, Dhaka Mohanagar Chor (thief) Protirodh (resistance) Committee, Bangladesh Rickshaw and Van Malik (owners) Federation, Sangram (struggle), Bangladesh Muktijoddha Rehabilitation Welfare Samity and Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, have all been issuing rickshaw licences illegally, selling their number plates without any qualms.

According to sources, these organisations are selling number plates to various rickshaw owners at anything between Tk300 to Tk600 each, on a six-month basis. And in Ramadan, the license plates are in great demand as lots of people from outside of come to the capital to cater to the great numbers of Eid-shoppers in the capital.

Ali Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Rickshaw Malik League said that they are aware of the increasing number of rickshaws during the month of Ramadan. “But we can barely do anything in this regard as monitoring this large number of rickshaw is a huge task,” he said.

He also said under his association, there are only 60 thousand rickshaws. “We have long been asking the authorities concerned to take steps against rickshaws with illegal license but nothing has been done,” he said.

Of beggars and seasonal beggarsWith Eid approaching, it’s hard to not stumble upon them day in and day out at every corner in Dhaka.

While the city becomes even more crammed with increasing traffic of Eid-shoppers, beggars have their field days during the holy month of Ramadan.

Playing on the sympathy that Ramadan instigates among people, in addition to the regular beggars, some one lakh more ‘seasonal beggars’, who have migrated to the capital from different parts of the country also rush to take part in this lucrative ‘business’.

And they all make some quick cash indeed!

“For the past couple of days, I have earned about Tk300 to Tk500 each day. Last Friday I got about Tk800,” said Monu, a beggar with a crippled leg, in front of Eidgah mosque at Dhanmondi.

Monu said that he has been

begging for the last fourteen years. “I used to work as a porter at the Tongi rail station. I lost my leg at an accident and was unable to work, so I chose begging,” he added.

“Normally I beg at Monesswar Rai road of Jhigatola but during Ramadan, I roam around from mosque to mosque, especially during prayer times, as the chance of receiving alms is better then,” he said.

Amzad Mia, another beggar (without any apparent physical disability), in front of the post office mosque in Jhigatola, said something interesting: “Getting a spot in front of mosques is not an easy task. You have to grease the palm of the ‘Sardar’ for that,” he said.

“We have to share a percentage of our alms with the ‘Sardar’, otherwise we don’t get a place in front of the mosque at the prayer time”, Amzad said without revealing the identity of the Sardar.

I, however was able to find this ‘Sardar’. He is Suruj Ali, another beggar with a big hump in his back. “The new beggars don’t know the rules, they irritate people, I just try to control them and teach them some manners,” said Suruj Ali.

“Especially during Ramadan, a good number of people with no disabilities come from nowhere and try to create anomalies in front of mosques. We just try to maintain discipline and give priority to the local beggars who have been in the localities for longer,” he said adding

that he has been there for the last ten years of his life.

Meanwhile, Rozi with a child (suffering from severe malnutration) was one of those ‘good numbers of people’ that Suruj mentioned and I found her begging for food in front of Gausia hotel in Jhigatola.

Begging however was not going that well for her. “I came to Dhaka from Govindaganj of Gaibandha a few days back for zakat and fitra.

“I will go back to my village after Eid but there is no work there and my husband left me and my child,” she said.

With Eid shopping bonanza in its prime, marketplaces and shopping malls are the next best option for beggars. Salman Shah, is just eight years old and I found him holding a bundle of change in front of New Market.

“I came with my mother and sister from Tongi, they also are begging, we will go back at night,” he said.

Shujon, holding a laminated medicine prescription, at gate-1 of New Market was asking for money for the treatment of his complicated lungs disease. “I need more than Tk5 lakh for my treatment, otherwise I will die,” he said.

In the Nilkhet intersection, Nobiullah tossed his torso back and forth amid the bustling traffic. He doesn’t bother to be in front of mosques or markets; to him, roads are the best place to get alms.

“There is always some person

who charges commission in front of mosques and markets. Roads are free of those hassles. Also there is a wider variety of people to beg from,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nur Islam, a one-legged beggar with a long beard, is a familiar face at the High Court mazar, which is considered the ‘Mecca’ for Dhaka’s beggars. He is the leader of the local beggar’s association and has been in the ‘trade’ for the last 25 years.

“We have over 500 beggars under this association; 75 of them are physically disabled,” he said.

Islam said more than 1 lakh beggars come to Dhaka from villages during Ramada – half of them, he claims, are brought by certain “fraud groups” on contract.

“The physically disabled are in great demand for these fraudsters, as they can draw instant sympathy from people,” he explained. “Beggars are also trained by the group to commit organised crimes.”

Islam’s claim perhaps explains why more than 1,200 of 1,980 seats of the five rehabilitation centres in the capital remain vacant during this month.

“Also, more than 3,000 beggars from different parts of the city and outside will come here in front of Jatyio Eidgah at Eid day for just two hours to get alms from the huge Eid crowd,” he said, “Most of them are what we call ‘seasonal’ ones,” he added. n

Photo: Mehedi Hasan


manager at Dolphin Paribahan said.Mohammad Golam Morshed, a

private bank employee was found looking for a ticket to Bandarban. “My Eid celebration begins on the day after, when I, along with my trekking buddies head towards the hills of Bandarban,” said Morshed.

“My job is very hectic so Eid vacation is my getaway from all the mundane things that I have been doing on a regular basis.”

Meanwhile, cashing in on the young and upwardly mobile crowd, several travel agencies in the city are selling a good number of foreign packages at a discounted rate.

Dipon Ahmed, chief marketing officer of HRC Travels, said: “This year we have already sold 164 packages on the Dhaka-Katmandu-Dhaka route and 118 for Dhaka-Bangkok-Phuket-Pattaya-Dhaka.”

Ashraf Emon, accounts manager of Amazing Tours and Travel said that their Dhaka-Bangkok-Dhaka and Dhaka-Kualalampur-Dhaka packages, at a rate of Tk24,000 and Tk30,000, have proven to be major hits.

“We have sold hundreds of those packages,” he said. n

16 travel | eid vacaTions

Tour packages are hot on the Eid shopping list this year Faisal Mahmud

Even the dilapidated highways and lack of tickets couldn’t curb the enthusiasm of travel-

minded Dhakaites. After all, Eid, with its week-long vacation is a grand occasion to escape from the mad rush of the city.

Officials of travel agencies said packages for Cox’s Bazaar have remained as popular as ever and according to estimates by different travel agencies, over 60,000 people from the capital will visit the beaches this year.

Minhaz Uddin of Starline tours and travels said that they have sold more than 300 tour packages to Cox’s Bazaar and 70 more to the Sundarbans. “Its not only the locals, but lots of foreigners are also visiting these places,” he said.

He said that despite rainy season, most of the hotels of Cox’s Bazaar are booked. “Cox’s Bazaar is the most popular tourist destination in the country and it is in everyone’s list as a first choice on any occasion,” said Minhaz.

Shumon Hemayetul Islam, manager (operations) of Foring-The Travellers said their Eid package is completely booked. The tour operator which recently became famous for offering weekend trips to Dhakaites now has its package for ‘Beautiful Sylhet’ on offer.

“We look after the utmost comfort of the people who take our trip. So we cater to a small number of people. There are lots of operators offering tour packages to Cox’s Bazaar or Sundarban. We preferred to take the road less travelled.”

Islam said, in their package, tourists will visit some of the hidden treasures of the Sylhet region, including Bichanakandi, Pangtumai and Ratargul. “We just don’t offer tour packages to make profit; our vision is to promote the lesser known but beautiful places of the country. Eid is a great opportunity to so that as many people prefer to utilise the Eid vacation in travelling.”

Meanwhile, all the bus tickets of September 1 and 2 of S. Alam Paribahan and Dolphin Paribahan’s Dhaka-Bandarban route are sold out before mid-August. “For the last five years, each and every ticket to Bandarban for the two after days after Eid-ul Fitr have been sold out, as young people go to Bandarban during Eid vacation for trekking and adventure,” Monsur, counter

there, and back again

Things to consider when planning a vacation:• Where to stay?• What to eat? • Is the destination safe?

According to the Tourist Plus website, before going to any place, eight aspects have to be kept in mind: • Local security: safety of the

tourist spot; risks associated with sightseeing

• Food• Accommodation• Transport• Medical facilities for tourists• Availability of technology• Time management.


virTuaL reaLiTy | listology 17

How not to tag on social mediaShaida Prodhan

Tag, you’re it

Tagging is a feature that is perhaps one of the most widely used of all Facebook tools. The word,

“tagging” is basically a Facebook term for highlighting a single post or multiple posts and making it available for others to see. Often you’ll wake up the next morning after an outing to see that you’ve been “tagged” in several photos. While it’s somewhat satisfying to be identified in such photos (to show that you have a social life), there are some mild annoyances associated with this activity.

The “like-seeker/attention go-getter”For starters, there are those who engage in excessive tagging – so much that it drives you crazy. While this could be associated with group activities and such, you may find

yourself amongst many others tagged in a “Happy New Year” post with a picture of fireworks, cakes, etc. Another very common occurrence is the “I Love You” picture, with a good 50+ people including you mentioned in the post. While this is a very nice gesture, it does get annoying after some time, especially if your notification icon blares red throughout the day with a myriad of unnecessary comments on the post. The embossed, italicized Impact/ Times New Roman fonts clashing against colourful backgrounds are somewhat cheesy and also a little hard on the eyes. Come the changing of the seasons and emergence of holidays, these are not the people you want to have on your friend list.

The “diva”Second, there are some special

individuals who possess the need to post all their daily activities online through photos, particularly through candid snaps and model-like shots. Often such people have a “photographer” of the group who actively and diligently records this entire memorabilia onto a snazzy 20 megapixel DSLR. This behavior is particularly found amongst younger generations who have a fetish for Instagram and the like. Whether it’s “Summer Gatherings ‘14” or “My Garden,” these guys have it in HD – filters and all. And your newsfeed is brimming with their pictures.

The “hey, let’s keep your bad pictures for the world to see”Then we have the one person who disregards deleting the “bad” pictures and uploads everything, regardless of how everyone else looks. Either he’s really lazy or

he’s just a plain bully. Not only are there blurry photographs but also ones that you feel like reporting and untagging yourself from out of sheer embarrassment. Yes, that includes the one time you were pictured with sleepy eyes and a noodle moustache. Such images will only haunt you forever. Just give it a couple of months/years. With just the cheeky comment of one friend on that post, all hell will break loose as that picture will enter the public newsfeed once again. Your lazy friend will, of course, have the last laugh.

The “hey, check out this meme”Similar to the “like-seeker/attention go-getter,” this specimen tends to tag several people on a public post deemed as funny or eye-worthy. It’s especially awkward if you don’t know any of the people linked to the actual post, so you don’t end up liking or commenting on the picture at all. What’s also annoying sometimes is that the post isn’t anything great and it ends up wasting 3.5 seconds of your precious time, much to your dismay, not to mention actively spamming you with notifications.

The “proud abbu and ammu”It is normal for parents to be proud of their children, even if this means highlighting their accomplishments on social media. Just keep in mind that posts deemed as “embarrassing” by children in general need to be toned down so as to not get on their bad side – that is, by leaking embarrassing nicknames/pet names to the feeds of all of their Facebook friends. This means cutting down on pictures with captions like “my cutie babu jaan” and other similar names. Don’t despair though, as tagged pictures at social family events are completely normal and a part of the traditional Facebook feed. n

Photo: Bigstock


18 stay iN

S u d o k uUse the numbers 1-9 to complete each of the 3x3 square grids such that each horizontal and vertical line also contains all of the digits from 1-9

Last week’s sudoku solutions

ACROSS1 Delicate cloth kept in folder (7)4 Where tiles can be found on the house (7) 6 French one a perfect score but left on plate (7)7 Paradigm of one who use to be fat (7)

DOWN1 Luck of the wealthy? (7)2 Got up like a flower (5)3 Bill seen about after 10 in record (7)5 Calculate first of the old time unit prices (3,2)

Last

wee

k’s

solu

tion

s

ACROSS5 Ducks keep free range herb (7)6 Clever public vehicles return (5)9 Hair treatment kept for act (7)

DOWN1 Immediately lifted and came first (3)2 Country lair for old German money (7)3 Loyalist threesome found in butter (7)4 Scatter seed for pig (3)7 Spot first of season’s pimento yield (3)8 Sprite for lone member of parliament (3)

clues

Solved it? Email answers to [email protected] and win one free month of the Dhaka Tribune.

Mini cryptics

There’s something about jilapis that really leave you feeling like you have sinned. And oh what a sin it is. It’s like giving in to your dirtiest temptation – one made of excesses. Excessively moist, excessively sweet and so downright sinful. As is the case with all things sweet and sinful, it needs to be of the right shape, size and texture to really make you feel like that’s one mistake your body deserves to make. Thin jilapis are just that – a perfectly orchestrated sin. They’re the right combination of hot and sweet, with wild tiny curves waiting to be broken into. Every bite just packs the right amount of punch. One bite in and off you go on a delicious romp of warm sweetness. One moment it’s crisp

and crunchy, next there’s a hot flow of sweet nectar and then back again. Every flavour and texture is evenly balanced, giving you the best of each world, always making you go back for more. There’s never too much crisp or too much syrup. With thick jilapis, on the other hand, it’s just

one chunky piece of chewy dough with a centre so disastrously full of syrup that all it takes is one bite to satisfy. With delicately thin jilapis, your satisfaction never plateaus, it’s a constant, deliciously sweet high. A sin that you needed to commit, again and again. n

Poste-Riposte:

Jilapi WarsA case for the fat jilapi

“He has a twisted mind like the jilapi”. The negative connotation in this proverb is no indication of the taste of this traditional sweet. Even though people have been consuming the big, fat and juicy jilapi mostly, the thin and crispy jilapi has in recent years shaken up the position of the more common bigger jilapi. And it seems appropriate at this point to try

to contemplate the crucial question: which one is better?

From my point of view the traditional bigger jilapi can run circles around the smaller one. As you chuckle over that clever pun, let me point out clearly that the big jilapi, when made correctly, will be moderately and delectably crunchy on the outside, which the smaller

jilapi advocate might claim a trait unique to the small kind. The big jilapi will have very a soft almost mushy inside that will explode with ghee-smelling sweet syrup as you bite onto it. So, the answer to the question which is better is obvious: the chikon jilapi is probably only favoured by those who have never tasted the ‘real’ one.

Saqib Sarker

For the love of Chikon jilapiN Anita Amreen

Photo: Bigstock


go out 19

When 5:30am-6:30amWhere Green Road/Panthapath Junction (Infront of Standard Chartered Bank Booth)What Like previous years, BDCyclists are planning to do their Eid Ride once again. Riders will meet at 5:20am in the morning (after Fazr prayers). Each rider will carry their own bag of joy in which s/he will carry gift items for underprivileged people who are out there sleeping on the

pavements – while passing through several places, they will leave gifts for them.Riders are requested to fill up their bags of joy not only with new clothes but with toys for children and other gifts for grown-ups too.The objective of the ride is to share the joy of Eid by distributing gifts to the underprivileged.

For further information, please contact: 01714454838 n

When 7:15pmWhere Lambada Kabab, House-54, Road-04, Sector-3, UttaraWhat InstruRave presents ‘Let It be Unplugged’ on chaad raat, which they promise to be a blast and much wilder

and hotter than their previous shows. Karnival, Xefer Rahman, MinUs+2, Conclusion, H A L O, Martian Love, Freewater, Vowels, Kabbage will also be performing at the event.

Tickets will be available at the venue at Tk200. n

Weekly Planner

Jul 17

Culture | Eid Mehndi and Nail Art Fair 2015

When 11am-10pmWhere Drik Gallery, House 58, Road 15A (New), Dhanmondi R/AWhat Maisha’s Euphoria Mehndi is organising their Eid Mehndi Fair once again, this time with the addition of unique nail art. Join the event to get your hands and nails designed beautifully by their best henna and nail artists at a reasonable price. You can also buy original henna cones from the fair. For any

kind of queries, please contact: 01621208444

Jul 23

Education | English Club: American Center

When 2-3pmWhere The American Center, Plot No -1, Progati Sharani, J-Block, Baridhara, Dhaka (Opposite from the US Embassy Dhaka)) What If you want to practice your English while learning about American culture, join the free English Club, featuring interactive discussions led by native English

speakers every week at the American Center. To attend the English Club, simply arrive at the American Center as per the schedule of the sessions. No prior registration is required.

Jul 22-28

Culture | Mayurbhanj Chau/Contemporary Dance Workshop by Santosh Nair

When Morning session: 10am-1pm Evening session: 4pm-7pmWhere Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Segun Bagicha, RamnaWhat Nrityajog- Bangladesh

Chapter of World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific has arranged a workshop on Mayurbhanj Chhau and Contemporary dance by renowned dancer and choreographer from New Delhi, Santosh Nair. The workshop will be held at the rehearsal room of Sangeet and Nrityashala of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.Registration fee for the workshop is Tk1500. For further information, please contact: 01716424810, 01713040814, 01711530042,01711537987

Jul 18-19Welfare | BDCyclists Eid Ride – Share the Joy

Jul 17-18Music | InstruRave presents Let it be: Unplugged


20 FuNNy BoNe | yamin khan

Yamin Khan

The six types of Bengali travellers

With the countdown to Eid down to a few hours, we’ll witness a frenzy

of people fleeing this city for their annual respite. A majority of which will be heading back to their native homes. And a small number will be flying out to their favourite holiday destinations, which will include a luggage check-in, as well as the much anticipated self check-in (at Balaka/Amex/any one of the other VIP lounges).

And today we are going to try and cover the second group of travellers, the modest and low-key ones, in this piece. 1. The ones who will skip their on-flight meal and then remind the hostess at least a thousand times about serving them during Maghrib. And then after the prayer, wash down all that food with their favourite choice of whiskey.

I once happened to sit beside one such traveller, who had a black mark on his forehead. So I asked him about the mark, to which he replied, ‘Oh this mark? I got it in a bar fight in Las Vegas.’ 2. My khala once went to Saudi Arabia for Umrah. And when she returned she gifted me with a beautiful looking towel. Sadly, I

never got to use that towel. You know why? Because it has the label – Property of Hotel Al Bakhtum Rayhaan printed on top.

And this brings us to the second group of travelers. The otherwise law abiding citizens of our country, who steal everything ranging from 20 ml of shampoo to entire curtain sets from hotels. I guess if they ever do a survey of the Bangladeshi tri-state area (Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara), it’ll reveal that 3 out of 5 families are sleeping on pillow cases taken from various hotels around the world.

3. Do you know what is the definition of euphoria? When amidst a sea of white, yellow and black faces you hear a brown face utter the following four words, ‘Bhai, apni ki Bangladeshi?’

No matter how much we hate each other on our home turf, every time we travel abroad fellow Bengalis become our best friends. And that is why the only solution for peace talks between AL and BNP is to make Sk. Hasina and K. Zia bump into each other during a holiday.

‘Apa to onek cosmetics babohar koren na? Oi dokan e ashen. Amar porichito. Kom daamey bhalo jinish paaben.’ 4. Do you know which is the most effective makeover salon in the

world? Answer - The immigration point at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

I feel as if the first 20 yards following the immigration point is like a computerised walkway. Where salwar kameez gets transformed into t-shirts and tights, sharees get transformed into skirts and formal shirts and pants get transformed into…well those don’t receive any transformation. They remain intact. Be it in the beach, inside a club or even during a shower. As for the younger girls, a typical Dhakaite girl will have clothing in the following order: - 50 salwar-kameez sets for everyday use- 10 sharees for the weddings - 1 ‘western’ for the Aurum nights- Apologies for getting sidetracked 5. All family trips abroad will consist of two uncles who begin to compare everything ranging from the toothpick to the entire traffic

management system with their counterparts in Bangladesh. One guy will then blame it all on AL and the other will hold BNP accountable, leading to the most unnecessary argument ever in the history of our human civilization. In other words, the plot for the pilot episode of Tritiyo Matra, if it were to ever collaborate with NBC/CBS or any of the other American Television Networks.

(I guess this is also the same reason why same sex marriage will never work out in Bangladesh.) 6. Shopaholic aunties. You can take these aunties to the top of Mount Everest and they’ll return home with ice packed in wrapping papers.

I once saw one such lady struggle with a stretcher at the airport. And by struggle I don’t mean they were carrying her on the stretcher. She was having a tough time carrying it along with the rest of her luggage.

And do you know the reason behind her purchase? Because it was on sale. n

Photo: Bigstock

Yamin Khan is a comedian and CEO of Bangladesh Struggling Artist Survivors Foundation

weekend tribune vol 3 issue 13

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