WANTED Attention

We all crave attention. The need to be liked or even just noticed compels us to do the craziest things.
And we're not talking about people like Lady Gaga or Nikki Minaj who take such craving to shocking levels. Even non- celebrities may go to great lengths to get people to at least look at them.
Some lost souls, for instance, think that the more makeup they have on their faces the more glamorous they will look. Thus you have the invention of what they call 'pancake'. This is actually a cake of thick foundation that can give that chalky Geisha look in no time. The original idea of makeup may have been to enhance one's features to make them more defined and attractive. Now it's all about making sure everyone knows exactly how many inches of pancake has been slathered on the face and how many shades of eye shadow one has put on those heavily 'mascarad' eyes – usually most colours of the rainbow will be represented.
The need to look Caucasian is not confined to just the white powdery face. Many brown women (and some men) have decided to go completely blond, regardless of the fact that they are not fooling anyone. Why they would want to swap their beautiful, glossy, dark brown hair with that dry, straw-coloured hue is beyond comprehension. But perhaps it is the look of bewilderment, in some cases, horror, their look provokes, that is enough to keep them happy.
In fact, sometimes even negative publicity is welcome. This seems to hold true for Bangladesh's superstar Ananta Jalil who never fails to amuse the public with his unique speaking style, not to mention, physique. There are rumours that he says things like 'manazement' (management) and Mansester (Manchester) on purpose so that the smart Alec English medium school kids continue to go and see his films in order to make fun of him. However twisted the logic is, ultimately it works for this 'ismart' actor.
Sometimes people actually spread rumours about themselves through social media or word of mouth just so people start talking about them. Others chose to name-dropping saying that their chacha, a former CSP, visited the Obamas when he was in the US or that they are descendents of the Zamindar of Bogra or poet Nazrul Islam.
Facebook, no doubt, represents the ultimate haven for attention seekers with constant updates of statuses as scintillating as 'I feel like having fried chicken' to family pictures of Mommy, Daddy and Baby in matching polka dot outfits.

Then you have Bangladeshi politicians who have innovative ways of getting attention, which admittedly is crucial to their job description, though often become a little over the top.
Shouting out every word like a rebuke during the fiery speeches at rallies is one such tactic. Politicians do not trust microphones and also believe that unless they scream themselves hoarse nothing goes through these bird-brained citizens. According to sources most politicians practice their shouting skills by singing along with cds of death metal bands like Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel so that they can master their screeching abilities without hurting their vocal chords.
Overt religiosity is another powerful strategy to make people look up and take note. They may have the reputation of a ruthless gangster in their hometown but there will be no dearth of live footage of their performing the holiest of pilgrimages. Sometimes even their tupi-punjabi clad presence at milad mehfils will be televised as proof of their unflinching piety.
Following the logic of Ananta Jalil, some politicians chose to use the shock effect to get noticed. They will say the most outrageous things – likening those who want political solutions through dialogue to cancerous, septic boils, claiming that foreigners actually enjoy hartals, or that the sand trucks in front of Khaleda Zia's office were in fact to help repair it. At other times they may appear delusional or demented when they claim that their blockades and hartals that claim scores of innocent lives, are actually peaceful movements supported by the people of the country.