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Dhaka Diary

Stranger than fiction
Recently in Dhaka, a marriage ceremony was called off because of an extremely unheard of reason. It so happened that a teacher of an educational institution was about to get married to a doctor. It was an arranged marriage. For about four months the bride-to-be was made to talk to the doctor over the phone so that they could get to know each other, even though the lady did not like the idea much. A day was fixed when the father of the future groom would come to see the prospective daughter-in-law and fix everything regarding the marriage ceremony. So, the would-be-father-in law along with his other relatives came to the nubile lady's home and asked her to recite a surah in front of everyone. The lady found it odd and extremely inappropriate to recite a surah in front of a room full of people to get their approval. She refused and as a result her wedding, which was about to take place in a week, was called off. It's extremely bewildering to hear of such incidents even today in the twenty-first century.

Sraboni Ahmed Eskaton, Dhaka

For BLACK
Last week while going by Dhanmondi on Christmas, my eyes caught sight of a strange, beautiful and an exotic poster. The masterpiece was hung in front of a department store where a big cluster of people seemed flabbergasted with the appearance of their beloved band members on the poster-- BLACK, the popular alternative rock band in Bangladesh. All the members seemed to have loud colourful hair with different styles of beard to go with. The funniest thing was that they were wearing either nose-rings or earrings and of course accompanied by metal chains and bracelets and called themselves BALACK. BLACK would never ever pose for such a picture and this was definitely done by some pranksters. Whoever they were, they did a hilariously creative artwork, having others pose as the band members.

Ann Hataway Baridhara, Dhaka

Dangerous Drain
Sharmee came from London to attend a marriage ceremony of one of her cousins in Dhanmondi. She was very excited about the dances and all the fun planned with her maternal cousins and decided to dress up in a sari. She was coming back from one of the boutiques in Lalmatia.

As soon as she stepped out of her car to get on her feet, her right foot fell inside an open dirty drain and she was covered with splashes of filthy water. She was first taken home to change then to a nearby clinic for an X-ray, where the reports revealed that she had fractures in three different places, which required her leg to to be plastered. The poor girl could not enjoy the ceremony. It is outrageous that those responsible, either the DCC or whoever, are not taking the initiative to prevent such accidents caused by gross negligence. Please take necessary steps, so as to make this city a better place to live in for both the dwellers and also the visitors.

Rehana Ahmed Uttara