Trip to Bangladesh

But the reality at home is grim. Thousands of struggling people all around, hundreds of commuters yet can't reach their destinations on time. It took more than two hours from Old Dhaka to reach Lab Aid in Mirpur Road, by that time the stroke patient had died. You are sandwiched between two buses in a three wheeler, can easily develop a fear of arson. People are aimless, hopeless, guide-less.

A kilometre strip of 'char' on the south side of Jamuna Bridge, in the midst of 'Srabon', the national highway is clogged with traffic. Bazaar and barefoot passers-by allow only a speed of sixty kilometres.

Market, super-stores full of merchandise, local and imported. Ice-cream parlour, modern pastry shops filled with people. Fish market filled with all kind of fish. The price is silly. You sell a piece of 'papaya' or a kilo of 'begun' at Parbatipur, Bogra or Savar, its price is multiplied about five times at Dhaka's retailers. Is it greed or market anomalies?

A square feet of land or a living area anywhere in the city, a meal in a roadside or shinning restaurant, all have price tags bearing no rationale, yet shoppers crowding. Tutorial providers making frequent trips to East Asia. 'You have inhumanly greed and no ethics' agreed with me the economics tutor in one of the popular tutorials, majority of them will unload their 'patriotism and devotion' at the first conversation. One arrogant Professor holding out alone without joining Blue or White panels called himself a great patriot.

Taxi drivers jump out of the car to open the door. Sir, boss, I was addressed as I passed by shops.

Electronic billboards, new cars, buses, beautiful landscapes, shopping malls and multi-storied residences where lives our affluent middle class with maids and butler. Their income is from unknown source and mostly unearned or earned only under political patronage. We call it 'corruption'. One scoop of Swiss ice cream cost Tk 75 , a cup of mocachino Tk 85, yet no table is empty.

A very unknown real estate developer sold the entire corner plots (few hundreds) when the swamp is yet to be acquired by the developer.

My village has not changed other than a few roads around, where poor maids make their trip to Dhaka sitting on the floor of the bus. Increased dowry, cell phones, soft beverage and bottled water can be found, but not many brick houses over the last 25 years.

Materialistic affluence can be seen around. In Aziz Super market, a small hand made pottery will cost at least Tk 300 , around four sq. feet watercolour pictorial costs not less than Tk 5,000.

But the quality of the society has not improved a bit. At 10:00pm from an affluent cardiac hospital in Gulshan the neighbourhood looked so dark, hardly a 40 watt light is on in the gates of the houses, where live the people who have German automobiles.