THE BEST OF BANGLADESH -part 1

We are quick to point fingers at all that puts Bangladesh on the map as a developing nation –poverty, floods, traffic jams etc. It’s time we appreciated the many perks it has to offer. – Samai Haider, Ice Today

The lifestyle magazine 'Ice Today' brings out a feature called the best of Bangladesh in their October issue. This is a must read for those who are interested in all the positive sides of Bangladesh.

Here is a list of the Ice Today picks of the Bangladesh bests.

* Bay of Bengal – Best Whale spotting
* Guide Tours – Best tour operator
* Sunderbans – The best encounter with the wild
* Pahela Baishakh –Best festival
* Srimongol, Sylhet – Best cup of tea
* Jamuna Bridge –Best play of lights
* St. Martins Islands –Best games of beach volleyball
* Bangabazar, Dhaka –Best bargain
* Belkuchi, Shirajgonj –Best Sari Shopping
* Banderban –Best place to meet tribal people
* Panthapah, Dhaka –best shopping at a stop light.

In the first part I am posting excerpts of the first four.

Bay of Bengal – Best Whale spotting

While Dolphins are abundant in the water surrounding Khulna, whales are much harder to come across. A fishing village at the mouth of river poshur, called dublar char is the starting point of the quest to find the giants of the sea. About forty kilometers into the sea, generally in the winter when the sea is calm, the whales can be spotted. The two species – the Bryd’s whale and the Fin Whale (second largest whale on earth) and different types of dolphins are seen in these waters.

Guide Tours – Best tour operator

They are renowned for arranging the best trips to Sundarbans and have a fleet of four magnificent steamers that are engaged in river cruises and excursions to forests. They also have a picturesque garden resort in the hills of Bandarban and arrange forays to the Saint Martin’s islands. The guide tours also manage many day trips in and around Dhaka city. Their motto is eco-tourism.

Sunderbans – The best encounter with the wild

Habitat of the fames Royal Bengal tiger, the Sundarbans forest is the pride of Bangladesh. It’s the biggest unbroken system of mangrove forests in the world, and is at the brink of the Bay of Bengal. Narrow creeks and shallow rivers crisscross the virgin forests. It is an animal lovers paradise. You can spot animals like the Royal Bengal Tigers (or pug prints), exotic birds, deer, wild boar, dolphin, crocodiles, ring lizard and jelly fish. Sundarbans is best visited with a tour operator.

Pahela Baishakh –Best festival

The first day of the Bengali new year, Pahela Baishakh is celebrated by the entire nation—age is no bar, and class and creed irrelevant. As the day dawns, people greet the new year with songs and dances, and there are specifics such as Ramna Batamul, fairs and parades that have come to be associated with Pahela Baishakh. The mood is festive as the entire community take to the streets in celebration. Flowers and fairs, Panta and Ilish, Saris & Panjabis are all big part of the age-old traditon of celebrating Bengali New Year.

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WHAT DO THEY WANT?

Yesterday I was shocked to hear the news about the Delhi bomb blasts (news and roundups in Desipundit & Gatewaypundit blogs) in crowded places. All three explosions were triggered within minutes of one another, indicating the precise planning by the perpetrators. Atleast 59 people died and scores of others injured. How could they do this to the inncocent civilians who were shopping for the Diwali and Eid festivals. An obscure Kashmiri militant group claimed responsibility on Sunday for bomb blasts. They are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to Robi Sen there were reports of a noted al-Qaeda bomb expert having been in New Delhi in the past week.

Nitin says:

"the intention is to destabilise communal harmony."

He also mentions:

This is the time to wipe out terrorists and confront their apologists — whoever and wherever they may be.

I could not agree more.

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A PEEK INTO THE BANGLADESH BLOGOSPHERE

(crossposted in the Global Voices Online)

Bangladesh in the eyes of the foreigners:

Kirstel terms Ashulia, 40 kilometres from Dhaka centre as 'one of the nicest and most romantic places nearby Dhaka'. Robin Mead of ‘Bangladesh backchat’ posts some beautiful pictures of the largest shopping mall in Bangladesh -The Bashundhara City Shopping Complex in Dhaka. Jo of Bideshi Blonde feats Banglish.

Bangladeshi life and aspirations:

Bangladeshi rock star cum blogger Maqsood aka Mac writes an essay called ‘Bengali music: of changing times and our robust aspirations’. Gibran discusses how girls treat the average male singles. Imtiaz is engulfed in the thoughts of living in a dead world. Mezba takes a nostalgic look at the past and tries to see what’s different now.

Burning social problems:

Shappir writes on Acid attack survivors of Bangladesh. Here is a documentary on the acid victims. Blog-a-Rythm wakes up to the reality of the wide gap between rich and poor in Bangladesh. Salam Dhaka also talks about the rising cost of living in the country. Rifat tells that people are afraid of terrorist attacks while even praying in a mosque.

Movies, music and photography:

Via Rodentruskel, we get the link of a award-winning young Photographer GMB Akash’s photo gallery. Sadiq reviews ‘The motorcycle diaries’. ‘Unheard voices’ & ‘The third world view’ report re-relaease of DVD of ‘the concert for Bangladesh’.

Here is a list of more Bangladeshi blogs.

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MONGA BLUES

It is very sad that yet another year Monga (a famine like condition) is taking its toll on hundreds and thousands of Bangladeshis in the northern region. Everybody know that in Bangladesh, whoever comes to power, look after the interest of the rich and ignore the poor. In the national budget, there are special allocations for tackling Monga, but till today Tk. 500 million lies unutilized due to bureaucracy. Because of rampant corruption a large portion of these relief would go to the touts and the hungry will remain without food. And the politicians will waste man hours on this issue instead of doing something substantial.

Whoever cares if some souls die of starving? Everybody is so busy with shopping and preparing for Eid and Diwali festivities. O' you pseudo-religious' don't you ever learn from your religion that every festivity, every richness should be shared with your neighbors, relatives. Many of them can only spare some minimum cost clothing called 'Zakaat cloth' for the poor who cannot satisfy their hunger with it. If all the Muslims in Bangladesh would gave away Zakaat as prescribed, the disparity between rich and poor would be minimum and you would not find any poor. But 20% have 80% of the country's wealth in this hypocritical Muslim majority country. And yet they spend it in huge consumption show-offs including having a holiday abroad. Some of them are ultra-religious in going to Mecca for 'Hajj' while their relatives and neighbors back in village homes cannot secure three meals a day. What a pity, what a contradiction of the religious teachings.

The opposition MP of northern region, Asaduzzaman Noor (a renowned celebrity and activist) has started an initiative for helping the Monga stricken people. He has made a touching appeal (via Imtiaz) please read it. Imtiaz has contributed his Eid shopping budget. And he has asked what can you give? I know surely we can start giving away according to our capability, our judgement. We would like to see the end of the sufferings real soon. That will be our Eid, our greatest festivity. Can we change the situation?

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THE SERPENT HISSES

The Bangladesh security forces are caught up in the three way strangle-hold. Firstly, they are very busy catching the extremists, who were behind the August 17 bombings. Secondly they have the duty to keep the law and order situation well in the busy month before the Eid festival. Thirdly the SAARC summit is impending within a fortnight.

So far more than 500 extremists have been captured and more are already caught in the web, only to be put behind bars. But in recent time the govt. has instructed the security forces (police/RAB) not to spent much time on the extremists rather concentrate on SAARC summit security. But these are not mutually exclusive.

No wonder they have become an enemy of the extremists as they dared to threaten them. The report says:

A letter, signed by a self-proclaimed Jamaatul leader, Moulana Hafizuddin, threatened to "blow up all of Bangladesh's police stations" if their demand for Islami rule was ignored.

Only recently they threatened the judges. This is really a comical situation as the government is seen helpless in tackling them. I have wrote about this looming threat before.

It is of our great concern that the masterminds of the bomb attack are still eluding police. There are scary rumours everywhere:

"A high police official in northern part of the country said neither Abdur Rahman nor Bangla Bhai could be arrested until and unless the ministers and BNP lawmakers stopped backing them. 'There is a strong lobby in the government that always stand against action against the leaders and activists of Islamic organizations,'"

The opposition Awami league claims below may be a bit exaggerated but cannot be ruled out:

"As the Jamaat is the mother organisation of some 58 militant outfits in Bangladesh, the government remained mum on their deadly terrorist activities without nabbing their supremos and bringing charges of sedition against them for jeopardising Bangladesh’s independence, sovereignty and its very existence."

Until you are committed enough to kill or destabilize the serpent, you cannot save the people no matter how strong the iron cage of protection is.

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TODAY'S LINKS

* No longer safe for work: Blogs?

* The first bangladesh salwar kameez web portal.... just launched with Eid 2005 collections.

* They have a toilet museum near Delhi.

* The chemistry of bloggers.

* Will blogs change development thinking?

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TATA BYE BYE

More bad news. India's Tata Group's proposed $2.5 billion investment in four ventures in Bangladesh may be prolonged. Some are predicting that there is a serious chance of the deal being cancelled.

Nitin blames the status quo on the Khaleda Zia government’s reflexive antagonism towards India. He comments that "hauling a mighty Indian company through the coals may boost certain egos in Dhaka, but they dent international confidence in a country that sorely needs investment and aid". He adds further:

"Cocking a snook at India at every given opportunity may play to certain political constituencies in Bangladesh. But very often it works against the country’s broader interests."

And when were the political leaders more keen on the country's interests rather than their own?

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