Reflections on life
As a life-long resident of Dacca/Dhaka city, life in 2009 is different to me: we cannot find and engage a maidservant [bua]--not available! Decades ago, I remember about the maidservants we exported from Dacca to Calcutta [@Rs ten pm] They also acted as dai (nurse) to the children in the household; who later grew up and married and the maid was allowed a pension after retirement!
Indirectly it means that our standard of living is rising, in flats, hi-rise living! We (family members) have to do all the chores ourselves: washing, cleaning, cooking, and going to bazaar. It tells on the retired couple, with the child abroad studying.
Another problem in this global village: watch your English inputs; and resulting output. The mixture of Yankee English and Saheb English is confusing; not to speak of the eerie spelling checks. The former citizens of the British Commonwealth were steeped in the Empire culture: uniformed and turbaned khansamahs, while the Saheb seeped soda attired in a T-shirt.
Today, we miss the cushioning effect of social formalities [still noticed in West Bengal] led by black-wealth. Today money is everything in life; there is no respect for plain living and high thinking. Note the power games: Nadal (tennis) is burnt out (as expected); compared to the yogic stance of Federer. Manmohan Singh [so self-effacing] wouldn't be recognised by a stranger as a Prime Minister. Stark materialism resulted in the Indian cricket team's exit from the 20/20 cricket (press report): big money in cricket today [commercial contracts]. An Indian movie (Slumdog Millionaire--know baneyga crore-pati) won several Academy Awards for depicting scenes (to the rich West) so common in the Third World cities---the lives of the tokai.
I sold my BMW abroad, before retuning to Dhaka after retirement (no place to drive); and still ride the pedal rickshaws; and avoid the metered auto rickshaws, for displaying the fare meter without using it (note the performance of the senile governance)! I remember my school days in old Dacca when ghora-gari could be engaged at the rate of three hours per Rupee; rice and milk were eight seers to the Rupee; and Manchester saree [for mother] cost only Rupee one and four annas [when twelve Rupees equalled one Pound Starling]
These days the son got angry as he lost three years at the private university in Dhaka due to shortage of funds. Whey should it take three decades for a new nation to stand on its feet? We are suffering from this official systems losses. We Bengalese gripe as usual; plus the gift of the gab disintegrates us. Where to seek shelter?
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