An Embarrassing Marketing Process

I was travelling on a local bus on my way to college from Malibagh to Mohakhali. When the bus got caught in a traffic jam at Moghbazar, I noticed a small boy, about twelve years old, board the bus and start to attract the attention of the passengers. He was talking about his product, some kind of tooth powder that would clean teeth and make them shine, even if the user regularly chewed on betel-rolls. I didn't pay much attention to the boy, as this was a common marketing scene on the local bus. What really got my attention was what the boy said next. “If someone wasn't to get proof, then you can do so by brushing your teeth right now.” One of the passengers called him as he wanted to test what the boy was saying. I was utterly speechless to see that the boy took some of the powder in his fingers and started to brush the passenger's teeth with his dirty small fingers. It was an embarrassing and strange marketing gimmick. I remember that a long time ago, I had to brush my uncle's teeth because he had broken both his hands and from there, I know that it is quite an intolerable experience. My only question is how could the passenger tolerate it?

Rokan
East Goran, Khilgaon

A Noble View

Like any other day, my friends and I went to the central library at DU to study. I deposited my bag in the counter and frantically went into the library because I was late. During our group discussion, a friend of mine asked me for my calculator. I looked about and did not see my calculator. I was very puzzled and at once went to the librarian to ask about my lost calculator. I was unfruitful in my search and returned sadly to my study group. I was really gloomy about losing something worth 750 taka. A friend from our study group told me to hang a notice, telling people that I had lost my calculator but I thought that it would be of no use. Anyway a few days back, a notice on the board attracted my attention. It was titled “Found”. Upon reading the message further, I saw that it was my calculator. It took me sometime but I finally got my calculator back. Now the point is, I lost my calculator but I didn't take the hassle of posting a missing object notice but the person who had found it, took the trouble to let people know that he had found something that didn't belong to him. Can we all not be a little responsible like this candid minded person?

Md. Aktaruzzaman Dipu
Kabi Jasim Uddin Hall, Dhaka University

Chittagong Diary

A Clever Taxi Driver

I was on my way to the alankar by taxi a while back. On the way, there was a mobile court that was requesting documents from the vehicle drivers. One of the policeman stopped the taxi and asked the driver for his papers. On viewing the documents, the policeman found something wrong with it and hence, demanded 300 taka from the taxi driver. The policeman told him to pay the money to his 'boss', sitting on his Honda on the opposite side of the road. The taxi driver went up to the boss (a sergeant) and asked for 300 taka from him, demanding that he (the taxi driver) had paid the policeman 500 taka and he was supposed to get back change. The sergeant made a gesture to the policeman raising three fingers and his follower returned the sign. All this while, not one word was uttered. The sergeant then handed the taxi driver 300 taka and the latter returned to the taxi. He then drove me to my destination, telling me the whole story on the way.

MD. Azad uddin
English Department, University of Chittagong