Getting to know the city all over again

Although we live in Dhaka, how many of us can say how the city looks and feels in reality? We have a set of imageries inscribed in our heads, images of chaos and traffic jams, and we cannot come out of that. In fact, when we are in the car and our attention tethered to our cell phones, we hardly raise our heads to appreciate the city or what we are passing by.

It is said that to know a city well you must walk the lanes and by lanes; only then do you notice the landmarks, take in the sights and sounds of the city, and take pleasure in observing the signature colours of the cityscape.

Walking, riding a rickshaw or a motorcycle, a car or a bus -- each mode of transport presents the city from a different angle. 

I decided to explore the truth about finding the city by walking, the only difference being, I decided to take a ride on a Vespa.

I hopped on a trendy, orange Vespa with my friend and we started for now what is a shabby part of Dhaka -- Shantinagar. Once, it was my neighbourhood and I remember it as a quaint, middle-class community. I was in fact looking for a tea stall selling loose tea leaves in the famous Shantinagar Bazar. They had the best loose orange pekoe tea and I want a kilo of that. Of course, the shop was no more there, the old house where I lived is now a multi-storeyed building. The narrow lane which was my playground once, or the beautiful pond enclosing Shantinagar, is now filled with tens of high-rise buildings choking the place to doom. 

To erase the hard reality, we rode to Hare Road, the most serene street in the city. Riding the Vespa, I was enjoying journey as we zoomed through Ramna Park, Kakrail, past the High Court area, and stopped at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) of Dhaka University.

As we walked through the big gate, we instantly heard a group of young friends singing a peppy hit by Anjan Dutta "Chakri Ta Ami Peye Gechi Bela Suncho". I felt jubilant hearing them sing. Their young, happy faces and carefree spirits were contagious, I found my magical Dhaka right there!

And a cup of sugary tea with a splash of fresh orange was all I needed to be reminded that it takes nothing to be happy in Dhaka.