Carrom

This is a new game to me and I assumed it was a sub-contintental trend and there are some theories that it did originate in this part of the world as mentioned in this historical account; but as I have since discovered, Carrom is quite popular in varying locales. There are Carrom Federations in Australia, Japan, Canada, as well as many other countries.

The photograph shows the drivers from Saburo's office building playing the game to pass time while they are on "stand-by" duty.

I watched for a short time and determined that four players are required and the aim of the game is to use the yellow disc to get the other discs into the pockets. And that was as far as my deliberations reached. I could not work out the strategies for moving and positioning the yellow disc to aim for the discs. If you are interested in the rules, please check out the Wikipedia entry. 

Shaheed Dibosh (Martyrs' Day)

February 21st is a national holiday called Shaheed Dibosh (Martyrs' Day) in Bangladesh. The nation stops to remember events which took place during its Pakistan period, when it was known as East Pakistan. Of the two Pakistans, West Pakistan was politically dominant; and these events were set in motion when the Prime Minister stated publicly in Dhaka that Urdu (the language spoken in West Pakistan) would be the sole national language of Pakistan.

The written alphabet of Urdu (showing to the left in the picture, from this blog ) is nothing like the written alphabet of Bangali  (right in the picture). The spoken languages also bear little resemblance to each other. From my understanding, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

The people had struggled for years under the West-Pakistani rule, and when it became apparent that their mother language would lose its status under the law of the land, it was too much for them to bear. Even though the authorities had made gatherings illegal, students felt compelled to gather in protest. On February 21st, 1952, eight young people were killed after the police started firing upon the crowds near Dhaka Medical College. (This blog provides an in-depth description of events.) This incident is said to have accelerated the people of Bangladesh along the path to claiming independence for their country.

UNESCO launched its first International Mother Language Day to, "promote linguistic diversity, and multilingual education, to highlight greater awareness of the importance of mother tongue education" back in 2000 (learn more here), and chose February 21st in recognition of Bangladesh's history. We were still living in Chittagong and I have vague memories of the British Council organising events to mark the occasion.

The picture (right) published in 'The Daily Star' was taken at 12:01am today and shows the 2013 observance of the tragic events at Shaheed Minar (Martyrs' Monument). (More local newspaper coverage by 'The Independent'  here). 

The Shahbag movement (learn more here and here) has been lauded for reviving the spirit of the Liberation War Heroes and its supporters attended the ceremony in full force. They are holding a rally at Shahbag as I type this and via Twitter I am reading that their leaders have asked the people of Bangladesh to, "think of them as human beings not as religious or non.religious" [sic]. 

I admit I am very removed from the unfolding events and hence not in a position to really understand what it all means, however, I still like to learn what I can (from a great distance) about the historical background and mull over the significance of this latest movement. Earlier in the week, I read an article here with the provocative title, "Media Blackout: Why isn't the world acknowledging Shahbagh?".

I believe the reason why is because the Shahbag message needs to be expanded and interpreted for the rest of the world to understand its nuances, and while it may not be the popular line, it must be done in English if they wish their message to reach a large audience. It is not immediately apparent to non-Bangalee people that the call for the death sentence for Abdul Quader Mollah was, in part, a reaction against the current judicial system, the rising influence of Islamic parties in Bangladesh and a loss of confidence in the effectiveness of political parties in general.

The promotion of Bangali since 1952 has been very successful, but from what I have witnessed, it appears that English has been neglected in the process. The country has had to make tough decisions when allocating its resources. I recognise this, but I still feel the result has its drawbacks. It means that the people of Bangladesh have difficulty imparting their message to the world. And it means that people here do not have easy access to the vast reserves of information that is readily available world-wide, and which could be very helpful in varous sectors such as education, farming, manufacturing etc. (This book mentions this phenomena.) The editorial of the Daily Star today expressed a similar sentiment as it concluded thus, "...our endeavour should be to grow effectively bilingual in the very least like India and Sri Lanka where people speak English with ease and competence, communicating with the business world in a more proficient way than us."

Lastly, I really wish the young Shahbag supporters had included un-blocking YouTube as one of their seven demands to the Government. It would be easy for the Government to concede this, and it would effect an immediate, practical difference in the country. In view of their intensive use of social media to advance their cause, I am surprised they have not done so already. This is not as trivial matter as it may seem on the surface. YouTube is a powerful medium in the classroom and the absence of its instructive presence is damaging when there are no other affordable avenues to learn available.

Their grass-roots campaign is still going strong (see photo above, published in the 'New Age' newspaper today), and according to Twitter, they are planning to hold mass rallies every Friday. Will they be able to maintain this momentum? And does this constitute a feasible long-term agenda? I will revisit this topic next Shaheed Dibosh and let you know how it transpires.

Setting up a new home (January 2013)

On the outskirts of Dhaka city, our tyre picked up a nail and needed urgent attention. We were lucky it happened early in our trip to Naogaon, as another hour farther along the track we hit the main highway going north, where there are no nifty repair shops like the one you see above. 30 minutes and Taka 150 (AUD1= ~BDT80) later, we were on the road again. Of course, I was the only one singing (ok, ok, that's asking you take a huge imaginative leap, but the thought popped into my head as I typed this post, so that counts, right?). 

Five and a half hours later, I arrived at Saburo's project site. The food storage warehouse will be built next to a pre-existing grain silo. According to Google Maps  it is 231 kilometres from the Dhaka office to the Santahar silo. Less distance than from my hometown Merredin to Perth, but almost double the driving time. Another half an hour and we pull into the road leading to our new apartment. It is approximately ten kilometres from the site but the travel time is long due to "traffic" such as  rickshaws, CNG scooters, buses, cars and many pedestrians.

The Nittsu van carrying our Manila shipment arrived bright and early next morning. The supervisor was delayed a few hours because of a suddenly-called the day before hartal (strike), but he also arrived safely. All the boxes were unloaded and accounted for, and in a very short time, I was left with a mountain of boxes to sort out.

Since I had nowhere to put everything, I visited my local Otobi shop (Bangladesh's Ikea) and had some furniture delivered and assembled the same day. Some order-made furniture arrived the next day but it had to be cut down in my living room (due to a slight miscalculation by the carpenter, who nevertheless asked for his bakshish tip when he left).  

The following days were taken up with various, and at times it seemed, never-ending jobs: mosquito net installation, leaky pipes, automatic voltage regulator repairs, changing the fittings on the gas stove because we bought the type that is good for the 'line' gas available in Dhaka but not in Naogaon, and so on.

An additional challenge was the imminent arrival of company visitors, for which one of our bedrooms needed to be converted into a company guest room as the nearest decent hotel is an hour's drive away, and the first floor bedrooms were all occupied. This required ordering a bed, mattress, wardrobe, and curtains to be made, and buying a desk, chair, lamp etc. It was a rush job but everything was ready with thirty minutes to spare.

The delivery of our dining room table was the definite highlight as it made our apartment feel like a home. I visited the workshop before settling the bill to make sure of the quality of the finished product. Standing in the fading sun, it looked pretty good to me. It is impressive to see that kind of craftsmanship up close and personal. Out of all my purchases, this one is my favourite!

Epilogue: a week later the table had to be hauled away for white-ant treatment and returned with an extra coat of varnish and a slightly darker burnish. It had not crossed my mind to check for ants. Living in Bangladesh heightens my awareness and teaches me something new every day. I admit I was upset when I saw the hole eaten into the underbelly of the table. I was the only one who felt upset at the destruction however. The shop owner was nonchalant, a bit of "treatment paint" and there would be no problem. I insisted he take care of it, and he did. So maybe he is right?

** Due to an incredibly slow internet speed, I was not able to upload all my photos. This is the incredibly abbreviated version.