The Bright Side

Since arriving in Dhaka I have been mainly working on my research project and figuring out a way to organize my data. We have been able to explore the city, it is bustling and crowded, much like NYC, except with frequent interruptions in water and electricity service and a lot more rickshaws. Everyday feels slightly hotter and more humid, Monday in Dhaka was 104 degrees Fahrenheit with 74% humidity, the dress code makes it even warmer. Shoulders and legs must be covered, and a shawl/scarf is worn by women. I thought I bought the lightest fabric possible for my scarf, but any extra fabric is noticeable in this heat.

The food is slightly different in Dhaka, similar style but spicier and more diverse. I tried pickled olives, pickled mango and pickled grapefruit, but they are nothing close to cucumber pickles from home. They are spicy and difficult to describe, mustard oil and vinegar were the only ingredients I understood, and there must be hot peppers as well. Sanjida's mother made me a delicious lunch of khichuri, which is a common dish here, what made this extra tasty was she used ghee instead of oil to brown the onions, garlic, hot pepper, rice and lentils and she cooked with bay leaves, turmeric and some other delicious spices. The khichuri was served with sides of cabbage, potato and green beans, and also a dollop of spicy pickled mango, everything was tasty and everything was spicy, my eyes were watering and my nose was running before I was halfway through the dish... I was also served sweet spiced carrot on a soft rice cake, very tasty.

On March 26 Bangladesh celebrates Independence Day, 39 years ago they declared themselves independent from then West Pakistan. Many people were wearing red and green, the colors of the Bangladesh flag to celebrate. We went to the Liberation Museum which chronicles the language movement and the war. Both at the Liberation Museum and National Museum there was a special area for George Harrison who organized a concert in 1971 to raise awareness and funds for refugees at that time. The majority of exhibits have graphic pictures, many from newspapers, there are also items from the Freedom Fighters, and many pictures of Bangabandhu ‘A friend of Bengal’ Sheikh Mujib Rahman, the father of Bangladesh. I even had a chance to meet some Freedom Fighters.

Monday I traveled to Sylhet with Frida and Helena by train. Railway is a much nicer way to travel, no oncoming traffic, no horns. We did have many people walk through our cabin to practice their English, mainly ‘hello’ ‘how are you?’ ‘where you from?’ ‘what do you think about Bangladesh?’ A few people actually stood for almost an hour next to our seats, without us interacting at all. While on the train it rained, huge fat drops fall, then stop, leaving the air cool. Lightning lit up the sky for the majority of the night portion of the trip, backlighting the trees. Once the clouds cleared we had the light from a close-to-full moon and fireflies, it was very nice! We stayed one night in Sylhet and then made our way to Srimongal by bus, after two hours of weaving between trucks and rickshaws and incessant horn-honking, I reinforced my love of trains in this country, we will be returning to Dhaka by train…. We are staying at the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute Guesthouse. This area is full of tea estates, also fruit (lime, pineapple, lychee, jackfruit) orchards, and rubber trees. Today we rented bicycles, one speed, heavy, rickety bicycles and rode through the main road and through a tea estate.

This was the conversation had yesterday with the man from the bike rental place

‘How long is a half day?’

‘Until 2pm’

‘And how much?’

‘200 taka per bike (less than 3 USD)’

‘For the whole day?’

‘Same, 200 taka a day’ when we looked confused he continued on something about an ‘engineer’ and fixing the bikes. What we learned today was, much like Cinderella and midnight, after 2pm our bikes essentially turned into pumpkins. We stopped to get 5 layered tea and a gust of wind took two of the bikes down, they did not make it out whole, I had some bits to bring back in my pocket and the metal splash guard was chaffing the tire despite my best efforts to fix it, the bike’s bell (broken to begin with) flew off while going done a bumpy hill. Meanwhile, Frida’s front splash guard completely dropped on the wheel, somehow she managed to make it ride-able and we all got home safely.

I gained a deeper appreciation for the rickshaw puller today, the bicycle technology is decades behind, and they also pull heavier loads, the rickshaw alone is welded from metal with a wood seat. I am not sure how much they make in a day, but a twenty minute ride costs between 30-50 taka (60 to 70 cents). Most are rented from a company and the puller only takes a percentage of the profit. A tea picker makes 48 taka (68 cents) for 8 hours of work, AND they have a union. A public school teacher makes 3000-5000 taka (43-71 dollars) a month. A maid that comes 6 times a week to clean makes 400-1000 taka (6-14 dollars a month) and can pay around 500 taka (7 dollars) a month to share a room with many other people in a Dhaka slum. A maid that lives in the house, getting room and board, makes 1500-2000 (around 20-30 dollars) a month, wages are commonly sent back to their families in the village. When I asked about tipping, stating that in the States I tip the upper limit, I was told that ‘here we tip the minimum because we don’t want them to become lazy.’

During the bike ride we sang “Always look on the bright side of life” and so as our bikes fell apart and our bodies began to fatigue in the heat and humidity, the bright side was we weren’t pulling a rickshaw, or working for 48 taka a day.