I came to Dhaka,the capital city of Bangladesh,for the first time on 16th Oct 2011 with lot of apprehensions and excitement - of the kind I used to experience before watching a new movie on a Friday during my senior school days in Kolkata - as additional baggage(for which the airlines didnt charge me,of course ! ).
It had been a little over a month by then,from the time I was offered a role in Bangladesh - suddenly on a rainy September afternoon of Delhi - and for sometime after it happened,I did'nt know how to react ! I was expecting a move no doubt,perhaps to Mumbai,Kolkata or Bangalore - but Dhaka ??? of all places ???
Anyways after some 'objective' analysis(so typical of Engineer-MBAs) and dollops of encouragement from the family the bold step was taken - okay, we are ON with Dhaka...I will give a miss to the turbulent month odd from then onwards,since that itself can form juicy content for any future blog/book of mine - but I understood shifting homes to 'another country',even if its adjoining,is a different ball game from movement within India...however,the most irritating aspect would be the huge disappointment that would come out on people's faces/expressions/words when they would hear that I am heading for...where ??? Dhaka ??? I think most of them felt I would have been better off if I was sacked than being subjected to such an unbearable banishment(the more sophisticated ones would say - "interesting move" which in plain english meant "i think you are fu*&$d" !)
Such would be the extent of sympathy and sadness around this movement that sometime I would feel as if I am committing some crime by going to this place called Dhaka - most people would fall short of asking - just out of pure politeness- whether this move is some punishment of some heinous crime I would have committed during my earlier stint ! I got tired of explaining that its a move I am taking 'positively' since no one around(apart from immediate family) was taking it as anything else apart from the proverbial 'kaalapani'
Anyways,its been 8 MONTHs today from that epochal date of 16th oct when I first landed in Dhaka for the new assignment - exactly 8 months(since today is 16th June,2012) and I feel I would have missed out a lot if,somehow,I had decided not to come in this country - which I often refer to,now,as "Beautiful Bangladesh"...
I have been surprised,to be honest,by the love,the warmth of people in this small country with a big heart...a lot of myths have been broken - the pride associated with the language 'bangla',sensitivity of people towards environment(not many in India would know that plastic bags are REALLY banned here - not a sham like its back home still),respect towards different cultures/communities(the expat population is quite diverse and widespread,from a wide range of countries ),a 'no compromise' attitude towards hard work and always being able to address hardships with a smile - these remain some of the huge highs where I find things way ahead of my expectations - and also a refreshing change from the current standards I have seen last in my own country(one must come and see how people patiently queue up for a bus and speak politely to a stranger - at least after some 2 years odd in Delhi my jaws would drop initially to see such courteous behaviour)...yes there are issues of infrastructure,development,poverty,inequality of wealth distrubution and political skirmishes - but the way this nation(into its 41st year of independance) have struggled against the odds - starting from an extremely unnatural 'birth' post the oppression of Pakistan for over two decades - is just amazing...once written off as a 'basket case' by Mr.Henry Kissinger,today this 100 bn USD plus economy features in the list of N-11 of Goldman Sachs(next 11 countries identified to drive world growth in the coming times after BRICS stabilizes/saturates) - its the garments hub of the world and driving the GDP at an avg of over 6 and half percent over last few years,which will be an envy in today's context of growth,for many a nations...I meet a lot of expats from the US,Europe,Japan and elsewhere here who are here on assignments and express a strong positive sentiment for the future of this nation !
I can write on and on regarding various small things,but I would rather save some for future -only thing I would just add is that one needs to come and soak in the spirit of this nation - small in area but buzzing with positivity and aspiration of a population of over 160 mn(9th largest in the world in that count) - to really understand what potential lies ahead for them - its really an exciting time to be here in Bangladesh !
