Top Twelve Things I Will Miss About The ‘Desh

Live, from Dhaka, Tanya's Top Twelve (there are so many) Things I Will Miss About Bangladesh...

12. Fresh tropical fruit. You can get a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the best mangoes you’ve ever tasted for 42 Taka right now (about 80 cents).

11. The parent-esque concern everyone has for me. It can be a bit intrusive at times, but its comforting to know that everyone is so sympathetic. Whether you’ve had a poor night’s sleep or a bad fight with a loved one, people here are so tuned into to feelings that they can see it on your face.

10. Riding motorcycles. Boo hoo.

9. Speaking in Bengali. I haven’t spoken enough, and I regret it. People tend to take you more seriously if you speak English here, and I’ve too often taken advantage of that. However, I will miss using phrases like “mata carap!” (you’re insane) and “cholish taka…ki bolen, apni!?” (forty taka…what are you talking about!?) while bargaining.

8. Rickshaws. They are cheap, fun, omnipresent, and artful. Bangladesh is home to a colorful and crazily decked out variety of rickshaws that is completely unique.

7. The call to prayer, or “azan.” It’s beautiful, sometimes haunting and melancholy, other times joyously reverent. The slums have tin shack mosques with loudspeakers into which the Arabic verses are sung. It’s a five-times-daily reminder to stop what you’re doing, realize that there is a higher power, and be deeply grateful for what you have.

6. Saying “salaam alekum” when saying hello and “khoddafiz” when saying goodbye.

5. My English classes. Sure sometimes they’re loud, late, inattentive, and there are times when I’m not sure I’m getting through, but what a wonderful experience. I’ve learned more from these women than they have from me.

4. The music. While Americans need significant amounts of alcohol to sing in public, Bengalis have no problem belting out tunes of love, loss, and friendship whether they sound like a songbird or a turkey. Rickshaw pullers randomly burst into “Rabindrosangeet” (classical Bengali song) while they cycle you down the street, and bored security guards play wooden flutes and sing lamenting ballads in front of gates late at night. Even official BRAC Training sessions have “tea and music” breaks. It’s so great.

3. Women in saris and men in loongies (a long, kilt-like plaid garment).

2. Old Dhaka. The “puran” (old) city is full of history, culture, and some really quirky things. I will miss the 400 year old mosques and ancient temples, the entire streets that sell just toilets, just bananas, or just bicycles, monuments to the language martyrs, and the crazy hawkers markets.


And the number one thing I will miss about Bangladesh…

1. The villages…oh, the beautiful villages. I think I was born in a Bangladeshi village and reincarnated in suburban Detroit.


Sigh. I will miss you, Amar Sonar Bangla.