the hypocrisy oath

Welcome to Bangladesh, a country of hypocrites. Sometimes i wonder why the hell we were paired with the pakis when the Brits decided to carve up the Indian empire. Ostensibly it was because we were both majority muslim nations. But that really wasn't the reason. Its the deep hypocritical bond we share with our muslim "brothers" that the brits in their cunning wisdom understood. And so India was spared the ridiculous hypocrisy of my dear motherland.

We are a muslim nation and we don't drink. Oh no, wait. Its not that we don't drink, we're not allowed to drink. By law. Forget the fact that this is a democratic nation and you technically become an adult once you're 18. Apparently that just means you can pay your own taxes and that you can get married. It does not mean you can drink when you want to. Because its forbidden in our religion.

First of all i have a problem with a state of religion. My identity is not defined by my religion. I have no problems with people who do identify themselves by their faith, but i don't. And i should have the right not to. But somehow the powers that be have decided they can decide on my behalf and now i am forced to have my religion as my identity. And this is extremely maddening because first of all i hate other people assuming they can choose on my behalf on matters which do not concern them. And secondly the powers that be, the powerful politicians, the rich businessmen, the industrialists, the army people, the police, the policy makers ALL DRINK!!!

Yes i am generalizing and yes there are a lot of people who don't, but i believe the number of people in the categories i have just mentioned who drink far outweigh the number of people who don't drink. I have been privileged to grow up with people whose parents, uncles etc are people of power and i KNOW they drink. And yet these same people blindly bind the country and the normal people to outmoded religious dictum like drinking is a sin in God's eyes.

I have also been privileged to come in contact with people from lower stratas of life, the poor, the middle class, the mofoshshol, the artist, the doctor, the engineer, the rickshaw puller, the bus driver and you know what? THEY ALL DRINK AS WELL. I have a feeling that if we do a survey, it will be found that fully 70% of the adult population of our glorious nation are fond of a drink or two. So come on...why the hell is drinking illegal in this country? Everyone's doing it anyways! its not like crime and indecency will increase once drinking is made legal. The social degradation occurring is as bad as it gets and will not be rejuvenated because people are now drinking openly. And i actually believe that if we do legalize alcohol, people will find an escape from the frustrating life that most of us live.

But the thing that bugs me most is that the people who run the economy, the country are all alcohol connoisseurs. So what gives them the right to drink when they want to and at the same time make it illegal for us to drink when we want to?

Who do you think you are, you social elite double standard people?

I've just returned from my trip to cox's bazaar. It is one of the most beautiful beaches i have been to. I go every year and i love it. And yet tourists from all over the world are not flocking there. Why? Because tourists won't come if they can't drink. We are literally losing out on millions of tourist income simply because we think its bad form to drink because Islam forbids it.

Well, i believe religion is a personal thing and it should be MY choice whether i want to drink or not, not some bloody mullah's.

Once again the new year has come around and everyone is frantically running after getting alcohol and the police are planning on raiding parties etc. What fun. we live in the dark fucking ages. where we do as they say and not as they do. Where hypocrisy is a way of life.

highway to hell

I bought a new car a few days back. i think i mentioned it in an earlier blog. The whole purpose of the new car was so that i can drive at even more speed when i am traveling through the inter-district highways. And the highways are calling me!! More specifically, the dhaka-cox's bazaar highway. Cox's Bazaar is the only place you can go and have a good time in Bangladesh. Because there's the sea, the beach and there's a restaurant called Jhaubon. Just the restaurant is good enough reason to travel in excess of 400 kilometres (how metric of me!). They serve local dishes such as jhuri shutki, rupchanda maach, loitta maach etc. Plus they have amazing manners. They actually remember your face, and they will keep the special dishes for you long after the formal eating time is over. Earlier on i used to go to different places to eat but now i have decided to focus all my culinary appreciation expertise on the delights of jhaubon. For those of you planning on going anytime in the next 50 years, make sure you pay a visit to jhaubon which is located right beside hotel Sayeman and everybody knows both these institutions.

But let me get back to my first love, which is driving at mad speeds through interstate highways. Generally i love driving at night because a) there is little or no traffic and b) i love the night. I generally go to sleep very late and love staying awake past everyone's bedtime because i feel like the night belongs to me, because i'm one of the few awake to appreciate the beauty of the dark. And on the highway, its a whole different feel. Not only does the special feeling remain, you also feel like you're the only person in the world and you're carrying your own little civilization in the form and environment of your car. You're an island of light in a sea of darkness. And the little stops at night in random t-shops, or those all nighter restaurants where you pop in for a bit of ruti and goru bhuna and end up having a full meal. Its simply amazing really!

This time however we're not traveling at night. Its winter and night equals fog and you really don't want to get stuck in a fog bank where you can't even see one feet in front of you. It happened to me back in January 2006 and although it was very thrilling its a thrill i can do without. For the first time i will be driving to cox's bazaar in day time and day time means you get to see more of the country and i just can't wait for that!!

I do

Winter is finally here and its the season to be married!! Just like all other Bangalis, i have millions of weddings to go to this season and unlike all the other bangalis i'm not going to most of them. I am viciously unsocial and see no benefit in meeting new people, which totally defeats the purpose of going to weddings. For unlike the West, or even advanced cultures like India, we do not have bars or pubs or happening places where young people can go to meet other young people of the opposite sex. So if you're in university, you better hope you find a girl there. If you're working, you better hope to have some cute colleagues. Otherwise, the breeding ground of meeting new people is weddings!

This is where all the guys try to look cool and the girls try to be dazzling. Love and sex is in the air and everyone checks out everyone else. And more often then not, two people see each other, a smile is exchanged, a cousin or friend is dragged into making an introduction and the rest is history.

I was never into these things, partly because i never considered myself particularly eye catching and partly because the thought of meeting new girls in weddings never interested me. i was always the sort who waits for the girl to drop into his lap. But i've been to a friend's wedding recently and i have to say i was much pleasured by the scenery. So many young girls and all of them pretty!! made for a highly enjoyable viewing experience. Unfortunately most girls were half my age so i was restricted to viewing only. I didn't mind though. I had good company.

I was actually dreading this wedding season. I wasn't really in a happy state of mind, and i didn't want to go to all these weddings and pretend to be jolly and sociable. But thats the beauty of having goods friends. pretty soon i forgot i was pretending to have a good time and started actually having one. I do believe i will have a great winter!

I do.

e-motion

i am in love. with music, with cricket, with books, with star trek, with friends. Oh wait, thats a no no. one shouldn't fall in love with one's friends. thats considered bad form, or thats what other guys tell you while they're busy making a move on your hot young female friend. It goes to the stage where you two love hanging out, know each other best, but there's nothing romantic at all in what you two do together. and more often than not the guy starts feeling a little more then brotherly towards the girl but then pushes it to the back of his mind because its not proper. and the girl never sees the guy in that light because the moon never shines when the sun is out.

Out. we do so many things out of out. out of hate. Out of fear. Out of greed. Out of love. Everyone who's been in love has also been out of love. As in there is no more love to give, you just want to be left alone to ponder the mysteries of the universe. It's a vacation of sorts, this pondering of universal mysteries. I immerse myself in science fiction, in fantasy, in horror i watch the sadness bleed out. And out it goes, to embed itself in the all nothingness of negativity that comprise the anti-matter universe. And once this purging is done, its a brand new day baby. You get the sting back. You're out on the hunt. The familiar places, the familiar faces become interesting again. Society exists once more. You suddenly have time. Time to get in motion.

Picture that.

the first

everyone and their dogs have a blog now. so according to my "style follower" nature i have decided to jump on the band wagon. although i have had a band for a long time, and now i own a station wagon. Why would a hot blooded metal head and creative person like me buy a station wagon? economics. Toyota = re-sale value. The cheapest toyota i could find was the distinctly ugly probox. so i bought it. No, not with my hard earned cash that i have plundered from the agency over the years, but by taking a loan from a bank. As opposed to taking a loan from parents, which i never really pay back, you know? And speaking of pay back, what have YOU done for the cyclone victims recently? *I* have donated money. And i feel damned good about it. But i have a friend, Zaid Islam, who's a) collecting relief materials and b) going to the devastated areas and physically helping them out. I mean thats all great and everything, but somehow it diminishes the feel-good factor i had from donating some money. So i think i'll tell him to stop going there physically and making me look bad. and feel bad.

i wish i was a born business man