Valentine's Day in Dhaka

Yesterday was the first day of Spring here for which they have festivals and programs across the nation. I went with a couple of young guys (friends of my family here) who took me around to the performances, the university campus, photography exhibits, etc. More than anything else they explained, the guys sit around, and the girls all dress up for the guys to look at them (I swear Sophia, it wasn’t me). The girls all wear the colors of Basanti – orange, yellow, red – mainly in sari form. The guys wear whatever the hell they feel like wearing though a majority had on kurtas. (I had my American version on – jeans, kurta, and Converse All Stars). It ended up being a day of us basically walking around in various parts of the city and observing Dhaka more than anything else which I enjoyed.

We ended up eating at a chicken joint eerily similar to Ravi Kabob in DC – it had simple tables, a simple menu, tons of customers, and the inside even featured a mirrored wall. You have two options there – roasted chicken or chicken schwarma so I decided to go for a little of both. The schwarma was lackluster and pretty standard, but the roasted chicken served with fresh french fries, a tomato chutney, and a mayonnaise/hot sauce combo was excellent. Cooked through with the right spices and served with your choice of paratha or a Mediterranean style naan, though it was probably best eaten plain or with the chutney. The day long adventure was capped with my first ride on a local bus (I haven’t even done this in India), in which we both climbed onto and departed off of a slowly moving bus with a “conductor” yelling the bus route and hitting the side of the bus as needed to pick up passengers or to signal to go on.

Today was Valentine’s Day. This holiday has really taken off in countries outside of America. In today’s largest circulated English newspaper in Bangladesh (The Daily Star), there were huge ads of different businesses seeking Valentine clientele – Pizza Hut (“love happens at Pizza Hut’), KFC (we celebrate love), and a condom company introducing a chocolate scented condom (fall for the seductive fragrance of love). I explained to the Utpal (18 yr old son of Uncle) that if a guy took a girl to these places in the states, he’d be asking to get slapped. (side note: if we really want to tackle the influence of globalized food like McDonalds, we just have to show the world what these places mean in America). Beyond this are the usual flowers, couples going around, etc. Being solo in this country, I decided to go to the opposite spot of lovebirds – The Liberation War Museum.

Finding this place was quite a pickle. My map was incorrect therefore I ended up walking in circles around the actual location (one block away from where I’m staying). The sign in front of it was quite discrete as well with a sign probably made 20 years ago in the standard tin and paint combination. After paying the admission of 3 taka (5 cents), I walked in.

The museum, though aesthetically simple, was a wealth of information that really let you understand the soul of this nation. Outlined in the chronological exhibit were the times of the Mughals, British Invasion, India and Pakistan independence, the language movement, and the eventual liberation war. The heroes of the country were detailed in various forms such as the Dhaka university students who died in protest, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, women fighters, Shere Bengal and others whose names I can’t recall. Using clothing, photographs, and other memorabilia, it told the story of all this in an excellent manner. Here are some of my reflections following this.

- The importance of violence in forming this nation is something that Bangladeshis embrace. I don’t see it as barbaric by any means. It was what they had to do to gain the independence they desired from both the British, and then Pakistan. The red circle in their flag represents the blood shed for the nation (the green represents the greenery of the country).

- I never really understood the implications of creating a West and East Pakistan but I think I have a better picture now. It really never made any sense from the get go. These two Muslim areas are separated by location, culture, and language, though they may share the same religion. I’m sure the Muslim League and Jinnah saw that if Muslims were divided even more, then that would make for an even weaker Muslim agenda in the region. I’m also sure that India saw it to their benefit to support Bangladesh through all of this which they did. It seemed like this rift between East and West Pakistan also stifled the progress of these nations from 1947 as well, creating a wastage of resources and mental effort towards war. (I’m 100% sure that the British knew what they were doing in the midst of all this).

- Interestingly enough, Russia was one of the first countries to show support to Bangladesh during their liberation struggle, while the United States turned somewhat of a blind eye to the genocide and were even supplying arms to West Pakistan at the time. Senator Edward Kennedy was one voice in the US who stood up against the Nixon Policy.

- Bangladeshis seem to have a respect both for India and Pakistan. India they admire for their secular viewpoint, economic progress, and support during most of their history. Pakistan, it seems mainly for just religious reasons, honestly. Though Bangladesh has a long ways to go as far as development and are still forming their soul, they have an interesting location in that they are within India, yet close to the Far East of China and Burma. They seem to borrow and side with the different countries/ideas when necessary but it seems now that they are headed in a more pro India direction.

- The Bengali language is something that is coveted and taken with great pride here. Part of Bangladesh’s reason for leading this Liberation War was based on Jinnah and West Pakistan’s policy to make Urdu the official language. A movement in Bangladesh was against this from the beginning which erupted in violence, February 21st, 1952. In honor of those who died, and to recognize the importance of Bengali, February 21st is a day of mourning (as well as International Mother Language Day started by Unesco in this day’s honor). Part of the festivities is a month long book festival with about 200 stalls taking place at the nearby university. Though 98% of the literature there was in Bengali, I was able to find a couple of English books by Bengali authors.

In a lighter story, I was able to meet a couple from Colorado spending time here in Dhaka (as part of a larger tour of the whole of India, for which they left their jobs) at the museum. We talked about our experiences and what we’re doing here. Though they are loving their trip, they said it becomes both a blessing and hassle to stick out so much. I told them that it’s a little easier for me to deal with being here since I blend in pretty well. We starting walking out when a well dressed Bengali man approached them and struck up a conversation of what they’re up to, where they should go, etc. He glanced at me for a split second and said, “Oh, I see you have guide”.