Feature

'A Smoky Trend!'

Sajeda Tamana Hussain

A few weeks back, I had written an article about how the fashion industry is so strong in our culture, given that the youth today is ready to pick up anything branded 'hip' or 'in'. The communication industry has made it very easy for cultures to interact through the avid use of the cell phone, cable television and the internet. I do not know how this particular trend that I am going to talk about, has entered our culture and conquered its target segment, but I do know, that it's a quite a bit of a 'smoky' trend! Wonder what I am talking about? It is the 'Hookah' which is better known as the 'Shisha Culture', in Dhaka.

The nargile (Hookah,huka,hooka) first became popular in the primitive form of a coconut shell in India and it is one of the oldest and most popular traditions in Turkey. There is no discrimination when it comes to smoking the hookah, as men and women equally partake and enjoy its aromatic offering. Before reaching the rest of the world, hookah popularity spread to Iran and vast portions of the Middle East, widely recognized as the launch pad to global popularity. Even though Iran was the final stop before global stardom, it was in Turkey where design and tradition truly took form as a cultural characteristic, and have since remained relatively unchanged.

Shisha is a mixture of tobacco and treacle, honey or sugar, and distilled water with fruit flavors. Shisha tobacco is very light and flavorful with a wonderful fruity aroma. Shisha is not your typical tobacco. It's nothing like the tobacco in cigars, cigarettes or dip. No, smoking true narguile shisha is an entirely different sensation. Shisha Tobacco is smoked for flavor and not for any kind of effect. It proves a relaxing and peaceful pursuit. Shisha is very light and flavorful, with a wonderful fruity aroma. The most popular flavor is apple and others include strawberry, pineapple, apricot, grape, rose, mint and even cappuccino!

Right now, in Dhaka, there are quite many Shisha Lounges, a few naming, Shanghai Café Hookah Lounge, Regency Hotel Shisha World, Café Village, Atrium Shisha Lounge, Samarkand Shisha Lounge, Leisure Lounge, X Lounge and so on. These lounges are considered very trendy hang out places these days. Youngsters gather here with friends, enjoy their time smoking shisha and drinking tea, coffee, and other soft drinks. A shisha smoking session can last from thirty minutes up to an hour. A typical Hookah Lounge consists of couches, carpets, rugs, cushions all circled around a table or hookah tray. Cafes and lounges, add a lot of colour, lighting effects, music, LCD televisions, plant beauty to add to the gradient and ambience of the environment in these lounges. Shisha lounges can both be indoor and outdoor. One of the most popular outdoor lounges in the city is situated at the roof of the Atrium restaurant, Baridhara. It has subtle decorations mainly with the use of Bamboo sticks, thatch sheds and plant decoration. A huge LCD television plays popular music videos while everyone dips themselves in the thick fruity aroma of Hookah smoke. Hookah Lounges are not only a popular hang out area for youngsters but adds to the entertainment for foreigners coming into Dhaka City.

I spoke to a few diehard Hookah fans, who, from their regular sessions at Hookah Lounges, have gained intense experience at smoking Shisha. Here are a few tips that they gladly gave to all those who don't mind drowning themselves into this smoky culture.

· Refrigerate your tobacco for longer tobacco life.
· Place ice in your base water for cool and fresh puffs.
· Mix food coloring or juice in the water for cool light effects.
· Mix different flavored tobaccos
· Blow into the hose gently to clear stale smoke.
· Mix tobacco with a little bit of the same flavored juice to enhance its flavor
· Change the water in the base before using each time
· Do not stuff the bowl with tobacco. It will get clogged
· Poke many small holes in foil to endure charcoal buring

Sounds interesting, doesn't it? But won't really come to much use unless one has his own Hookah that he can enjoy in his house. As for more information on Hookah, one may as easily as browse through www.smoking-hookah.com. You will find it all starting from how to enhance your hookah experience, more on the history of the hookah culture, to the world's most popular Hookah Cafes. From my part, a smoky Goodbye to you all and before you venture into Shisha Lounges, beware of the negative aspects of smoking, because smoking tobacco is smoking nevertheless.

(Student of North South University.)