Dhaka Diary

Fitness Centres or Fraudulent Cheats?
These days "Fitness Centres" are sprouting up in Dhaka like mushrooms. But there is no way of knowing if they provide quality services. I know about a fitness centre in Dhanmandi--let's call it F&C-which claims big things but is actually in a very poor state.
One of my relatives enrolled there and discovered that the staff at the centre had lied about their facilities. They have second hand gym equipments. They use a rice cooker in the name of a steam bath. The owner prescribes a generalised diet to all the members without being a dietician. There is a man who resides in the premises and shows up whenever women are in workout clothes even though it's an only-women's facility. And lastly, if people demand a refund on the membership, the owner and this man threaten them by saying that they will set the neighbourhood mastaans on the clients.
My only question is that shouldn't there be some sort of licensing procedure and quality check so that only those people who truly offer fitness services are allowed to open such organisations?
TS Dhanmondi

Hypocrite
About a week ago, I was returning from class, when I noticed a seminar going on, against smoking. I decided to linger on and listen to what the speakers had to say. One of the presenters spoke in such a way that everyone was actually spell bound with his words. He spoke about the perils of smoking, what it actually does to us, why we should refrain from it and how we should actually go about doing it. His words were truly an inspiration to all, who did not move an inch while he spoke for 30 minutes.
After a couple of days, I was on my way for some grocery shopping on the university bus. I got down at a departmental store, where I saw the speaker who was campaigning against smoking. He was standing in a corner and smoking away to glory. I simply turned away and could not help smiling to myself at his hypocrisy.
Abdullah Al Mamun BAU

Beware of the Wave Pool
Water Kingdom is a prime Friday spot for Dhaka dwellers. And why shouldn't it be? It provides rides and facilities that are comparable to line with the theme parks in Malaysia and India. Unfortunately, as nice as the park is, the same can't be said about many of the people who attend, especially some of the male visitors.
This became evident when my friends and I got into the wave pool. Without a tube for each person it is unwise to get into the wave pool because one, you are bound to go under water several times and two, just because you are nice and decent doesn't mean that some of the guys, especially the elderly ones, are decent as well. Irrespective of your age and sex, you are bound to get groped. There is also another group of people who will gang up on lonely tubers and turn them over and steal the tube.
So the next time you go, beware of the wave pool!
TEM Dhanmondi

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