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November 7, 2003

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Entreaty for the Holy Month

Chintito

In this blessed month let us pray that
- unscrupulous businessmen do not horde food items to accelerate unbridled increase in price of essentials
- before the next Ramadan the Ministry of Finance pays timely and due heed to Commerce Ministry onion forewarning (DS 2 November 2003)
- crooked potato traders (that's the traders not the potatoes) do not colour yellow potatoes red with ordinary paint to make them market wise
- dodgy vermicelli manufacturers do not sun-dry their product under the open sky (do not forget the crows) over open drains
- we do not need to cross the New Market area unless we have an extra three hours in hand
- dodgy tailors will keep their word on delivery date
- tailors do not only deliver on chaand raat only one of the three sets ordered
- the law and order situation improves from tomorrow because the Ministry of Home has undertaken a crash programme from before the month of Ramadan
- by 'law and order situation' we mean the same law and order situation that is being discussed at high-level meetings (because if theirs is 'satisfactory' how come ours is not?)
- the halim-seller does not sneeze in front of his haari
- people do not feel and prod Iftar items on display with their hand and then walk away without buying or not buy all that they have touched
- that the head-covering BTV newscasters and announcers do not make the other Dhaka channels appear anti-shariah for this month only
- inter-district bus operators do not multiply the price of tickets by two before the Eid rush begins
- in spite of several drives going on, vehicles are not stopped on the highway to seek chaanda for celebrating Eid
- our cricketers record their second ODI win in history against a Test team before the next Ramadan
- our cricketers record first Test win before the next Ramadan
- India's dangerous river linking project goes awry as they begin to think straight
- the Opposition returns to the House to make our Jatiya Sangsad effective
- in future Oppositions will not boycott the Sangsad for more than a week
- the cassette player works on time at the next international conference that we host
- we can procure a Book of World Flags without the need to go through tender
- Hajj operators do not cheat Hajees
- the media does not lose interest in a corruption case with the occurrence of another corruption case
- people do not view everything as BNP and Awami League
- BNP does not view everything as BNP
- Awami League does not view everything as Awami League
- the practice of godfathers does not encourage the idea of godmothers
- we begin to respect each other
- we mean 'everyone' when we utter 'come, let us all together build this country'
- peace is bestowed on this much-loved nation, although we are very jealous lovers and cannot stand if someone else (belonging to another political party) also loves this country
- we learn to share this country with all those who own it and not feel like only we own it.

 
         

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