Dhaka Diary

The Race
My cousin came back from Canada for a vacation the other day and shared his little experiences and humorous events of his days there. It seems that when he had gone to work, he got introduced to his Nigerian colleague. The man asked my cousin which country he was from and as soon as the answer was 'Bangladesh', the colleague gave him a big smirk and shook hands with my cousin in utmost pleasure. My cousin wondered aloud as to why the Nigerian had suddenly become so happy and enthusiastic upon meeting him. "You actually managed to top the list of the most corrupt country in the world! How did you manage to outdo even Nigeria?," came the reply from the smirking man.
At first, it seemed very humorous to me and I did manage a laugh or two. However, it got me thinking later on, as to what a shameful situation this has become. We have actually given a chance to the whole world to laugh at us and crack jokes over coffee at work.
Mashfique Habib Department of English, JU

Bribery and Traffic jams
The other day, I was stuck in a traffic jam near Mouchak market. I was literally dying in the sweltering sun and tried to find out what was actually causing this jam. It seems that there were three security guards, who had stopped the flow of cars and were actually demanding money! I was really shocked to see this. I think the law enforcers have actually taken the issue of bribery to yet another different level.
Jafrin Jahed Jiti VNC

Glittering Burkha
Last week, when I stopped for lunch at a nearby restaurant, I came upon a very interesting sight. I was looking around when the arrival of a new customer caught my attention. She was a young woman and was wearing a burkha. What was special about the garment was that it was adorned with jewels and colours. It was glittering with strange materials and exotic jewellery. It's nice to see burkha-clad girls experimenting with fashion in their own ways, and giving it a new statement all together.
Azmi Syed Mohammadpur

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