Wake up everybody, no more sleeping in bed

I have a new friend. I have never seen his face. I have never talked to him. But he talks to me everyday.

Today is the second day of Ramadan, considered the holy month in the islamic calendar. During this month, the Quran was revealed by Allah. Muslims fast during the day and eat and drink after the sun has set. To get through the day, people get up for Sehri, the last meal before dawn. In Bangladesh from about 4 am to 6.45 pm all Muslims, except eldery, children, pregnant women, the ill and invalid, are not supposed to eat and drink. Everyone should avoid sinning in genral and good deeds are rewarded by Allah a lot more than during the rest of the year.

But coming back to my new friend. Every morning before dawn he calls me at about 3 am. To be more precise, microphone announcements are being made all over the city to remind people to get up for Sehri.
My friend from my local mosque repeats "Get up! Eat Sehri! Fast! ... Everyone get up!" all over. He then recites the exact time when to stop eating and repeats everything again. But now comes the fun part: He sings it! No joke! My friend sings to me at 3 am in the morning which makes it hard for anyone to stay asleep.

Good service, which shall be rewarded, friend!

The Coca-Cola Company

More than 140 million people live in Bangladesh but more than 300 million people speak Bangla, which makes it one of the most spoken languages in the world.

Historically, Bangla not being officially recognized as one of Pakistan's languages back when East and West Pakistan existed led to the Bengali Language Movement. Bangladeshis, mostly students, fought for the recognition of their own language in February of 1952 and protested the "Urdu-only" policy. Years later the UNESCO declared February 21 as the International Mother Language Day.

Many people speaking Bangla means also many people reading and writing in this language. This is reason enough for multinational companies, like Coca-Cola, to present their products in both English and Bangla.

look/dekho 005

The "LovePhool" Edition:

Magic!

A conversation between my cousin Farzad (3) and myself this morning:

Me: "I have some magic in my bag!"

Him: "What is it? A lollipop?"

Me: "No."

Him: "Candy?"

Me: "No."

Him: "Chifs?"

Me: "What? Chifs?"

Him: "Yes, Chifs? Is it Chifs?"

Me: "No. It is a camera!"

Him: "I eat cameras! Give it to me."

You can check out photos of Farzad and a description of what he is occupied with all day long in my blog post "Little People".

Rickshaw Art - 400 Taka discount

A week and a half ago, five friends and I went to have a tour through Old Dhaka (pictures will follow). The trip was great, we've seen loads of things and realized, that shops are closed on Fridays. Not all of them remain closed, but as we were on the hunt for Rickshaw Art, we were eagerly looking for theses special stores who keep these special items. Since it was the second time for some of us to come to Old Dhaka, Rickshaw Art was definitely on people's shopping list.

Bangsal Road in Old Dhaka is a great place to get an exceptional souvenir, that reflects the hectic, noisy yet colorful and special way of life in Dhaka. Rickshaw Art, painted either on PVC or tin, is fairly cheap and a unique gift, since it is hand-painted.

After checking almost every open store in Bangsal Road, we were somehow forced to move on unsuccessfully and end our hunt. While managing to arrange Rickshaw's for our next stop "Lalbagh Fort", this one shopowner approached one of us and told us that he'd open his store especially for us. Apparently word of mouth let people know that five white and a brown kid were looking for an exceptional souvenir to take home.

After picking the colorful paintings of our choice came the fun part: bargaining. With a very special (tourist)price of 650 Taka only per piece, the salesman wanted to rip us off with a big smile on his face. He had one advantage: he was the only one selling Rickshaw Art that day. Me talking Bangla to him, explained him, that these white people would bring him more customers and that he should lower the price. I promised him I would convince them to accept his offer. However, as sneaky as I am, I told my friends in German, that he was going to give them an offer that they had to reject and told them a lower price they should stick with. At the end of this fun game, we ended up at I think 250 Taka per painting. Yet fewer paintings can now be seen in Dhaka attached to the back of a Rickshaw riding through Dhaka, but hopefully soon as decoration in European appartments.

My souvenir

Ironically enough, those 15 Taka days are not over

I think I already mentionend, that sometimes you are at war with Rickshaw drivers, when it comes to negotiating the fare - not only with them, but also CNG drivers. For example, after looking for options for 15 minutes how to get to our meeting at Grameenphone headquarters in Bashundara, we finally took a Rickshaw, which cost us 20 Taka. Asking a CNG before, he demanded 500 Taka straight away.

Anyways, this morning I was kind of tired of arguing with Rickshaw drivers even before I reached the place where my uncle drops me off and I take the Rickshaw to work. So I was waiting at the corner and a Rickshaw came, which I approached. I told him I wanted to go to Gulshan 2 and asked for the price. He said "20 Taka", whereupon I replied "15 Taka". He said "Brother, those 15 Taka days are over!" I was in a mood, where I would have paid the next Rickshaw driver any amount he demanded. So the next one came and I told him where I wanted to go. Ironically enough, he suggested 15 Taka. I hopped on and had a little smirk on my face...

Bargaining for five Takas is not my main occupation. At times, it is more a matter of principle. Because Rickshaw drivers always demand more in the morning and in the evening, when people go to or come from work. And there is literally no traffic, since I go through residential area.

Eventually, those 15 Taka days are not over.




Rickshaw drivers in Old Dhaka waiting for customers

  
Rickshaw fare from Gulshan-1 to Gulshan-2: 15 Taka.

Minor Earth, Major Sky