Can't Say it to Your Face Can't Keep it to Myself
Bangladeshis are a very polite people. They are always wary about hurting other people's feelings, and are very conscious about being liked by you, you, and all of you. They can't stand the fact that someone might not be fond of them. And thus, they'll never speak ill of you. To your face, that is.
Once you are out of the hearing range, the bhabi who was just seconds ago praising your brilliant daughter, now whispers to her cohorts, “Her daughter is too fast.” “What do you mean? Does she run fast?” asks one of her followers, “No, no. She is. . . how do I say it. . . too modern! She wears jeans and t-shirts. And keeps the rickshaw hood down! After dark! Can you believe it?” The other woman will make sounds of agreement and your daughter suddenly becomes the girl-we-can't-let-our-daughters-be-friends-with.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. To your face, your best friend will hug you, assuring you that she's always there for you. Once you are out of earshot, she'll immediately call her 'other' best friend to gossip about your upcoming trip abroad. “Can you imagine this? She's going all alone to a Western country! And her parents are allowing her! My parents would die before they ever let me do something like that! Anyway, as long as she's there, she might as well bring me everything I asked for.”
The best are the leaders and the politicians. “You vote for me and I will always look after you. That's my promise.” Once the microphone is shut off and the media sent home, the same leader says, “When do we get out of this blasted town? Too much load shedding here! Once I'm elected, I'll make sure that I won't have to come here again and again.”
You'll find these people lurking around in every corner of this country. They are usually the ones with the fake smile on their lips and a blank look in their eyes. If you dare to approach one of them, be wary of what you say in front of them. They have a disease, you see. Let's be polite and call it inconsistency. You don't want to catch that from them, do you?
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