Shuvo Noboborsho (Happy New Year)
14th April: Bengali New Year
Wake up at 7.30am… Put on sari that I bought with Jess… Head off to Romna Park to see the classical performances… Then head to arts college to see the rally… have lunch… and then see other happenings elsewhere…
Well, that was the plan… Got up at 7.30am to put on the new sari I bought with Jess… Jess & Darren woke up late… And by the time we both got our saris all done, it was 9… too late to see the classical performances… Opps…
So we headed down to the arts college… The weather was extremely hot! Nono… It was sweltering… Not really the best day to wear a lot of cloth I can tell you… I was sweating under my sari… good thing the blouse is like a midriff thing… when the wind blows, my torso is cooled… at least… Mind you, I never wear midriffs… Ever… so this sari thing is quite an adventure… I couldn’t walk right too… cos I was afraid that I would step on the skirt and it would come undone… apparently it couldn’t… after all I pinned it all down… but the worry was there… And I was walking really slowly… taking really tiny steps… sheesh… for the beginning part, jess & I didn’t even feel like taking our cameras out… but we decided not to waste the day…
There was such a lot of people! Lots of women wearing red and white… macam Singapore National day… That gives me an idea actually… Think I’ll wear my red sari with a white blouse next time on National Day… Haha! (I can almost hear Mark and Ivan complaining right now...)
Wake up at 7.30am… Put on sari that I bought with Jess… Head off to Romna Park to see the classical performances… Then head to arts college to see the rally… have lunch… and then see other happenings elsewhere…
Well, that was the plan… Got up at 7.30am to put on the new sari I bought with Jess… Jess & Darren woke up late… And by the time we both got our saris all done, it was 9… too late to see the classical performances… Opps…
So we headed down to the arts college… The weather was extremely hot! Nono… It was sweltering… Not really the best day to wear a lot of cloth I can tell you… I was sweating under my sari… good thing the blouse is like a midriff thing… when the wind blows, my torso is cooled… at least… Mind you, I never wear midriffs… Ever… so this sari thing is quite an adventure… I couldn’t walk right too… cos I was afraid that I would step on the skirt and it would come undone… apparently it couldn’t… after all I pinned it all down… but the worry was there… And I was walking really slowly… taking really tiny steps… sheesh… for the beginning part, jess & I didn’t even feel like taking our cameras out… but we decided not to waste the day…
There was such a lot of people! Lots of women wearing red and white… macam Singapore National day… That gives me an idea actually… Think I’ll wear my red sari with a white blouse next time on National Day… Haha! (I can almost hear Mark and Ivan complaining right now...)
The 3 of us decided to venture out onto the road where the rally was moving by... It was a bit too hot and too crowded for us to follow the rally... We stayed around the area... Then we got caught in a terrible stampede. There was a concert held in the middle of the road and that totally blocked up the traffic…People started pushing and shoving and we nearly got stuck in a little section in the road completely immobile... Good thing there were some kind hearted people who helped us get back into the moving lane and we go out of the crowd... It was really scary... Many times, we could have been squeezed to the point where we couldn't breathe... (Trick: Keep your arms in front of you... so that you will always have breathing room...)
Ended up at a carnival across the road from the art college… eating fuchkas and taking pictures of two very darling kids…The little one was so shy... I took his picture and showed it to him... When he saw himself, he was so excited... The older one was very cool... Kept trying to look serious... But most of the time, he couldn't keep his laughter in... Their mother is very pretty I must say... And such a good natured lady...
In every event, what is one thing that Gwen must do? Shopping! Bought some local toys… a little drummy thing and an ektara... Even a silver toy cooking set…As Jess says, I'm forever buying useless shiny things…
Lunch was very nice… proper briyani… It's a good thing we arrived at the restaurant quickly... because soon after we got our seats, the crowds came in and there was no room left... To get away from the crowds at the art college, we took a van to accommodate all of us, Danny, Topu and their frens... and the 3 of us… Vans are a type of vehicle that looks like a cart attached to a bicycle... Mostly used for goods in Dhaka... The van wallah had actually been selling coconuts on his van... but he finished selling them so we could hire it to sit... everyone was staring at us… cos no one takes vans except in the village areas…
After lunch, it was back to our rooms to relax... Topu and Danny came to visit later that evening... And they were really tired... So they each took one end of my bed and laid there to rest... Poor tired guys...
15th April: Bengali New Year Again…Shong Kranti
Well well… I had no idea that there was a continuation of the new year… but we stumbled upon it anyway…
We just wanted to have a relaxing offday.. (for me at least.. Jess is on leave… the lucky girl…) It was another scorching hot day... We emerged from our aircon rooms at about 1… to have lunch at Best Fried Chicken… had an Ice Cream at Rainbow Italian Restaurant… then back to Pathshala to rest somemore… it’s the heat… makes one so tired and uncomfortable… went out again at 5pm… to go down to Buriganga…
We visited Jessica’s family… the family she photographed the last time i mean... they’re really sweet… the girl is very pretty… got the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen… but she looks so old for a nine year old… almost grown up… the baby is really shy… Darren offered cigarettes to the crowd that had gathered around us... And before he knew it, most of the pack was gone... But the people were quite happy to get the gift...
Then we went on the river… I really really love the motion of the boat… the best thing in Dhaka if you ask me… I could be on the river all day if possible...
Then we decided to visit Hindu street Shangkari Bazaar. It is really nice… The whole street was very elaborately decorated... I've never seen Hindu Street this crowded and lively before... There were some big speakers set up at one part of the street and some of the younger people were dancing to it... The places of worship were totally crowded... They also set up some altars in the middle of the road... Think we would have stayed longer and enjoyed ourselves better if the weather had been colder... we were subsisting on cold cokes all the way... But still, nothing stops Gwen from shopping... I bought kites! 5 of them... and the cool big thingy to hold the string with... Very nice… Next time I’m buying a tablah.. or the drums… And some more local instruments...
(I'm seriously considering shipping... Otherwise, Mark is going to help me bring back some of my stuff... I'll never make it back on my own... )
The best thing about our trip to Old Dhaka was the amazing rickshaw wallah we got on the way back… We were actually intending to get a CNG... but this guy said no, he can take us... We told him where we were going, and that it would be 3 people... He was completely unfazed... And He tooks us for Tk50... (To some it's expensive, but we thought it was ok since it is really far for anyone to cycle that distance with us in tow.)
He was so much fun! He was weaving thru traffic with such a lot of ease and we estimate he was going at 50kmh... haha! At one point he turned around with a big grin on his face and asked us... "CNG good or rickshaw good?" Duh? Rickshaw la! It was a really really cool ride... He asked about us, if we were siblings... We said no, just friends... We asked if he had children... he has 3 girls! (Doesn't that sound vaguely familiar?) And he thinks I look like one of his girls... Cool!
He was so much fun! He was weaving thru traffic with such a lot of ease and we estimate he was going at 50kmh... haha! At one point he turned around with a big grin on his face and asked us... "CNG good or rickshaw good?" Duh? Rickshaw la! It was a really really cool ride... He asked about us, if we were siblings... We said no, just friends... We asked if he had children... he has 3 girls! (Doesn't that sound vaguely familiar?) And he thinks I look like one of his girls... Cool!
But as we expected, he started to get tired... We asked him if he wanted to have some tea... He declined... We just stopped him... And bought him tea and Darren offered him a cigarette... We finished the rest of the trip... He was pleasantly surprised when we gave him another Tk20 on top of the agreed amount... Just for being such a sport... and for not extorting more than was originally agreed... He shook all our hands before we left...
It's all about give and take, I guess... If there were more wallahs like him, I would gladly give more to them... The kind who are honest, and really take pride in their job and have such a positive outlook... Cos he made our day, we wanted to do the same for him... After all, it is the New Year!
It's all about give and take, I guess... If there were more wallahs like him, I would gladly give more to them... The kind who are honest, and really take pride in their job and have such a positive outlook... Cos he made our day, we wanted to do the same for him... After all, it is the New Year!
Interesting Fact: I learnt how to spell "Shuvo Noboborsho" because some prankster got hold of my mobile number and started sending me smses... He was trying to introduce himself to me and make some clever conversation... I ignored it... But I made use of this particular phrase... =)
posted by thebemusedphotog @ 2:50 PM
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