Blogs from Bangladesh, Asia

'Tell me why are we, so blind to see, that the ones we hurt, are you and me’ - from the song ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ by Coolio CNGs, four-wheel drives, pick-up drop-off cars, dogs, pedestrians, the tempos-of-death stopping suddenly, randomly and askew, and the seemingly out of control buses are there to dodge like bullets. Leaping over the median strip like a cheetah, slithering by the edge of the fence that’s proudly sponsored by a local bank like a boa constrictor, there’s the menace of the mega-conglomeration of choking smoking motorised mayhem once more to brave, on the far side. The trials that need to be overcome for a few groceries! The Bronx, Harlem or Dhanmondi: yo! We’re brothers living in the ’hood. The tea stall guy is on the corner. ‘You close up,’ I threaten him, ... read more

Tra le poche informazioni di prima mano che sono riuscito a raccogliere su questo paese, dimenticato dai piu' se non in occasione del puntuale, catastrofico ciclone che lo investe in media ogni 5 anni, la piu' preoccupante e' senza dubbio il fatto di dover essere costantemente al centro dell'attenzione, il soggetto preferito di una moltitudine di sguardi allibiti, come se un extraterrestre fosse atterrato in piazza del duomo a Milano. Dopotutto come puo' non essere cosi' in un paese di piu' di 150 milioni di abitanti che raramente vedono passare dalle loro parti viaggiatori occidentali dalla pelle bianca, dal fisico imponente (i bengalesi sono alti in media un metro e cinquanta, lo si capisce dalla distanza media tra i sedili sugli autobus....) e soprattutto...turisti con molto tempo da perdere! Desideroso di passare il piu' possibile inosservato, ... read more

I can’t say I’m much of a hijacker, which in Dhaka means mugger.To the best of my recollection I did it only once, making a pistol with my fingers. I can’t look much like a hijacker either, assuming hijackers have a look, since even after demanding the money I had to announce what I was doing. But once the activity was established, my chosen victim reached into his pocket without hesitation and pushed a wad of change into my pistol cum hand. With chaotic Dhaka for a backdrop sometimes it’s the little instances of sweet madness that give so much sanity. For example: me and Karim. He was really rather innocent when he first came to the city, the doorman with the great misfortune of having been assigned to work on my building. He had all ... read more

It pulls to the side of the road at the start of a downpour. With a push and a click of the metal sidebars the hood is lowered and fixed into place. A plastic sheet of some impromptu variety is served across passengers’ legs just as a waiter spreads tablecloths in the expectation of diners. The motion re-starts and the journey continues, with the driver, often uncovered himself, giving in to the drenching delivered by the sky. There’s virtue in putting one’s own comfort second. There’s merit in caring for strangers. In the tyres and mud guards, from handlebars to hood and right down to the panel of imagination, the canvas of rickshaw art at the back, in the rickshaw is wisdom. Often called ‘rishka’ by the villagers, every day chapters of this vehicle’s sacred texts ... read more

The night was fuming that a late swig to slay the demons of the head is a method. Every turn on the sidewalk was exploiting, surveying twilights and it’s vengeance was uttering to the psyche so as those little anticipations in LA Café in Mabini, Manila. Spying bogus replica from the Interpol was phony fine, unarmed. The zip from the juice was gay when hot mamas pulled in then bargained transactions. It was exquisite as the night wasn’t tuesday, pandemonium was closed to revered sacrosanct although unsound than the bartender and some consultations to extraterrestrials were concorded, still gay. Larry Masterson, an executive from Australia preserving fastidious rapport to pacify. He sits level to the window where peculiar views of illicit treks by foreign guests. To elucidate the panorama it’s perfect using the dosage from the ... read more