Spotlight

Afflictions of the New Market hawkers

The other day I was shocked when I entered the New Market for a little shopping. The walkway inside the market was in a mess, potholes bearing proof to the construction work underway to improve the sewerage system. The reason seemed logical enough, so evading trenches, potholes, and tilled earth all over, I continued on my quest for cheap shopping.

I moved on and searched for the footpath hawkers and their mixed bag of odd merchandise. I was disappointed as they were nowhere in sight. Usually the footpath in and outside the market is packed with them.

Failing to obtain the inexpensive items that I was looking for, I headed to the stores with my little list of items. While I was window-shopping and scanning through knickknacks, a boy of around ten years of age approached me. "Apa safety pin laagbo?" he enquired.

His skinny face wore a gentle smile. He carried himself smartly. This boy is one the many young vendors always on the move selling cheap knickknacks. They carry their little collection of odds and pieces everywhere and with amazing marketing skill, they pursue shoppers until something is sold. Their preferred customers are homemakers and young girls. Seldom do they approach men.

Thinking that a bunch of safety pins might come in handy, I asked for a dozen. He also offered me needles, naphthalene and some other stuff that he was carrying with him. I also picked a strip of needles without knowing what I would do with them. As I was holding the two items in my hand and searching for change in my handbag, suddenly the boy ran off, out of my sight, out of the market entrance, jumping over the trench that came in his way, like he was aiming for a gold medal in the Olympics.

I stood still as I was confused and did not know what to do. I did not even get the chance to pay him. The whole affair happened in just a few seconds. Then I saw one of the market security personnel going after him with a baton in his hand. As the boy escaped his baton and was out of the premise, the security guard left the scene without making any further effort to catch him.

I slowly went toward the gate looking for the boy. There he was, standing empty-handed beside the gate. He had concealed his merchandise someplace safe out of the sight of the guard. My curiosity led me in to a brief conversation with the boy. His name is Mainuddin. He informs us that this sort of chase and running away happens every hour. Security guards are supposed to keep these pesky hawkers away from the market. He also tells us that he pays tk10 per day to the guards as 'market access'. Still he has to go through this episode. It is just eyewash, he adds.

Every hawker, settled, or moving like him, has to pay a sum, either to the police or to the guard and someone else in the upper level gets a share of this little amount. Usually the 'flying hawkers' pay tk10 and the footpath hawkers pay tk20 per day.

New Market is under the jurisdiction of Dhanmondi thana. Every now and then they pay a visit to the market. Usually one of the members of the hawkers, who is known as the 'line man' collects the money. The money goes to the thana and is distributed among the officers. The amount varies depending on the rank and this distribution reaches way up.

There are other forms of extortion. Local petty leaders of the ruling party usually take part in this collection. Occasionally the police force sent from the control room at Shahbag also collect a sum. During the festival season the amount of pressure escalates from every side. However, the store owners told us that this 'toll collection' never bothered them.

The police and the hawkers have a very interesting understanding. Occasionally the owners' association creates pressure for the eviction of the hawkers. The police have to oblige by the orders so they evict them temporarily. Occasional raids take place. The hawkers come back after a few days when the pressure drops off.

They have understanding with the police that if they occupy the footpath they will not be evicted.

The government however established the Hawkers Market to ease the situation but it does not have enough space to rehabilitate thousands of hawkers around the area.

There are also complaints against the hawkers that those who were allocated space in the market sublet the store and returned to the footpath. The number of these hawkers, however, is very small. The distribution process also has glitches as the influential persons gets priority.

The hawkers of New Market survive amidst all this affliction. It so happens that hawkers like Mainuddin and their cheap knickknacks make it easier for the middle class. Their vibrant chattering and the shoppers' lively presence keeps the market boisterous all the time. The trenches and the potholes are all fixed by now, the market now awaits the return of the hawkers.

By Shahnaz Parveen

Crystal Touch at Mantra

Crystal Touch, an internationally reputed exclusive fashion jewellery outlet opened its new showroom at Mantra, an exclusive fashion store at Gulshan in Dhaka city.

Crystal Touch is a Bangladesh-America joint venture company, that sells international brand exclusive fashion jewellery items.
Besides having its main branch in Uttara, Crystal Touch is now operating another branch at Jackson Heights in New York in the United States.

Covering an area of 175 sft, the Gulshan branch of Crystal Touch at Mantra Fashion Store offers all kinds of exclusive jewllery items with new and attractive designs at affordable prices.

The items available at the new showroom at Mantra include latest designs in crystal, such as necklaces and so on; these are imported from America, Australia, China, Korea and Vietnam.

Grameen Check

Grameen Uddog and Grameen Shamogree are sister concerns of Grameen Bank responsible for marketing Grameen Check and its dresses in the local market. Grameen Check is elegant, ethnic and its environment friendly.

Many varieties of Grameen Check are now available in a dazzling combination of colours. The hand woven checks are light and comfortable to wear. Grameen has a lively team of young designers who enthusiastically study the market and come up with designs and styles for an array or garments ranging from the traditional shalwer kameej, saris, punjabies, shirts, skirts, fotua etc.

Prices are for children dress Tk.90-350, three pieces Tk.450-865, panjabies Tk.350-450, fatuas Tk.160-460, shirts Tk.220-350
These are available in all Grameen uddog outlets.

- LS Desk

A true taste of Asia

BY Tommy Miah

Spicy Fish
Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, minced, or 3/4 tsp (4 ml) powder
3 small hot chili peppers, seeds removed
1 tbsp (15 ml) brown sugar, packed
3/4 tsp (4 ml) finely grated lime zest
1/4 cup (60 m) fish sauce
6 firm fish fillets (or steaks), about 1 1/2 lb (680 g)
1/3 cup (75 ml) sliced green onion
3/4 cup (175 m) prepared chicken broth
3 tbsp (45 ml) lime juice
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh cilantro (or fresh parsley), optional
Method
In blender, process garlic, chili peppers, brown sugar, lime zest and fish sauce until smooth. Brush fillets with half of garlic mixture.
Set in large bamboo steamer or on rack over rapidly boiling water in wok or Dutch oven. Sprinkle with green onion. Cover. Steam for 4 to 8 minutes, until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Remove to serving plate. Keep warm.
Combine remaining garlic mixture and broth in small saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium. Boil, uncovered for about 5 minutes until sauce is slightly reduced.
Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Makes 1/2 cup (125 mL) sauce. Drizzle over fish.

Calamaries With Potato
Ingredients:
18 oz. (500 g) calamaries
3.5 lb. (1.5 kg) potatoes
4 fl oz. (100 ml) olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of mixed spices
parsley
salt and
pepper
Method
Clean, wash and slice the calamaries into 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide strips. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Chop the garlic and parsley. Pour half the oil into an oven-proof casserole dish, spread a layer of potato and sprinkle with salt.
Then spread the calamaries over the potato, sprinkle with pepper, garlic, parsley and mixed spices and cover with the remaining potato. Sprinkle with more parsley and salt and pour the remaining oil on top. Cover (must be cooked in a covered dish so that calamaries remain juicy and require no basting) and cook in oven pre-heated to Gas Mark 7 (220 oC) for about 45 minutes. Serve with a seasonal salad.

A bit of this...A Bit of that

BY Shirley Momen

Friends: Conditional/ Unconditional
People over the centuries have written, analyzed and tried to find out the true meaning of the age old relationship between " friends.' According to my very faithful friend, Webster, a friend is; 'someone who you know well enough to have the same likes and dislikes, who share common interests, basically to have a good time with.'

Now, even though I agree with my friend Webster's definition, I would like to add a few of my own thoughts.

My faithful dictionary has also defined "friendship" as a relationship between two or more friends. It can be a formal friendship where topics are kept to a superficial level or it can also be an informal friendship based on the inner feelings that are shared unconditionally.

Here I jump into the touchy issue of 'Conditional and Unconditional Friendship.' As I age (gracefully, I hope), I find 'Best Friend' to be an overrated, sentimental term. Once we say 'Best Friend,' it limits us to expectations and heartaches. There were times when I had to fight with my near and dear ones for the sake of my "Best Friends." Heaven forbid, if I could not fulfill the expectations of my so-called friends, nothing would make them stay friends with me. I ask you readers, do any of us need this? And dear readers we've also seen people who we grew up with turn into conditional friends with expectations running sky high. Not meeting their selfish expectations could turn them into strangers overnight.

And a mere acquaintance could turn out to be a soul mate. Unconditional friendship does not have to be a product of long association. Ah, the bliss of having 'Unconditional Friends' whom we can turn to when the need arises. We can bare our souls without fear of having our private thoughts creating a storm over a few cups of tea the very next evening. We don't have to please our 'Unconditional Friend' in any way. There are friends we have not been in regular touch with or have not heard their voices for ages, but that does not mean our friendship is not languishing in the attic of our minds; when we meet we pick up where we left off without missing a heartbeat.

So dear readers, what can we term as 'True Friend'? Why don't you check and see how far your definition and mine match?

A true friend is the one who comes in through the door while everybody else is going out. True friends are the ones who love us when we are hard to love, stand by us when it is not the most popular thing to do and are there for us when we need them the most. Whether we are in touch a few minutes a day or a few hours a week, or once in six months, the friendship stays intact. It is nice to know that there are people who genuinely care about us and our lives and are not interested in smashing it to smithereens.

If we want to have a good friend, we have to be a good friend. Give away what we wish we were getting and it will all come back to us.

Give unconditional love to your friends, dear readers.