Dhaka Diary

A Shoe that Fits
It's a wonder how salesmen go to the extent of having you fit their clothes and shoes and not the other way around. Being of a nature where shoes happen to be the last item in a shopping list because of my big feet, I simply hate going shopping for them. It so happened that the only pair of sandals that I owned finally gave up on me. That was when I decided to take on the challenge and go to Elephant Road, the eternal domicile for shoes in Dhaka city. As I entered a shoe shop and looked about for a while, I found a pair of black sandals that I thought I liked. I asked the salesman to show me a size 9. He gave me a look of surprise upon hearing the size, which of course did not bother me in the beginning since I was so used to the 'look' of these shoe salesmen. 'Apa, I think a size 6 would fit you well,' he replied after snapping out of his reverie. I didn't bother explaining anything and decided to stay silent especially when he was trying to stretch a size 8 sandal wider to fit my big left foot. "For the last time, I wear a size 9, not a size 8!" I muttered between by teeth. "But we don't have size 9!!", he retorted. This went on in quite a number of shoe shops. In another shop, one salesman gave up after several futile tries and finally admitted, "Apa, I don't think there are any shoe stores at least in this area which will have a size 9 to fit you." That's when I decided to call up my aunt in the Middle East and ask her to send me a pair or two for at least making it to class every morning and back. Meanwhile, I guess I'll have to make do with the only pair of black party heels that I have until they wear off as well.
EK Banani

Local Delicacies
It has become an inane habit of our fellow countrymen to come up with new and exciting food. That has led to the hotchpotch of existing food items. I am sure that there are many of us who have been to New Market and have tried a chicken bun, with an actual piece of chicken leg inside (complete with the bone). I hadn't been to that area in a while and so I figured that I'd venture and see what transformations had taken place of recent. I stopped by at an eatery and while I was indulging myself into something that slightly resembled phuchka I got a shock. Before my very eyes was an item called 'Chop Bun'. Someone had actually shoved a potato 'chop' into a bun and the items looked, quite… filling. Of all the items that I have seen inside a bun, this had to take the cake.
IHK Gulshan 2

RAB and their Uniform
The other day we had gone to pay a family visit to one of our relatives' places. While coming back home, our maidservant was obviously a little taken aback by certain things that she saw outside, but was silent all through out. However, when she came home, she seemed frightened and her voice was quivering. "Apu, I saw a bunch of dacoits today!' she exclaimed. "They were roaming about the streets wearing black, had their heads covered in black cloth and they had arms! I bet they kill people!" For a moment I was trying to figure out what exactly she was trying to say. When I understood, I burst out laughing. I figured out that she had her first 'encounter' with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and as the stories go, this encounter was not very pleasant either.
Jafrin Jahed Jiti V.N.C.

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