Snapping it up

The last few weeks have been packed with fun!!  And as it happens, I've had my camera with me for many of them.

I went to a wedding.   In a white dress!

In Feni, after visiting the amusement park, we stop for snacks
and a stroll at a local pond.  It is way calm.

Feni, Feedi, Fici

Translation from "Latin": We came, we ate, we had fun.

Over the last few months, Shazzad designed a series of murals for a new amusement park opening in place called Feni.  Now that the hard work is over and the park is open, we organized a road trip to go check it out.

wherefore Art thou, Dhaka?

The second Dhaka Art Summit took place this past weekend.  The bright pink advertisements all over the streets claimed that it is "the largest art event in South Asia."  I'm always skeptical of these types of statements (recently a mall opened here calling itself the "largest mall in Asia," but right now it's mainly a food court and a lot of empty space).

In any case, we went to the 2012 art summit, so it seemed natural to go to this one.  One major difference was that the objective this year seemed to be exposing Dhaka to the rising artists of South Asia (Pakistan, India, Nepal, etc) rather than showcasing local artists.

#tweeting from the Art Summit

I'm still not much of an art person, but I'm trying.  The installations usually prove to be too much for me--there was a mainly naked man painting himself and the wall with shoe polish, and it just looked like insanity to me.  But here they call it art.

All we're missing is a ball.  Get it?  Basket. Ball.

I probably watched Shazzad looking at art,
more than actually looking at the art itself!

Glad I went, but I'm content with the gallery I have at home!

The latest addition to the home collection.

Popcorn makes everything better

Chaos as usual on the Dhaka highway.  Almost makes
you crave for the empty roads of hartal days.

For the past few weeks, Bangladesh has slid back into its normal routine.  The political chaos died down surprisingly fast after the election, and people leaped at the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with peace.  Violence was just one problem; the threat of violence affected a much higher number.  Indirect consequences included:

• Banks stopped refilling ATMs, and outside of Dhaka, some banks refused to let people cash checks
• Gas stations lacked fuel
• Farmers couldn’t get their produce to the markets, so food prices went up quickly
• Fertilizer, crucial during planting season, couldn’t be delivered everywhere
• People stopped going out for fun and only shopped for necessities; restaurants and shops were hit hard.  Many struggled to make their rent and pay workers.

Experts estimate that the political violence and strikes cost the economy $6 billion last year.

I live within the diplomatic zone and work just beyond its border, so my life was less affected than most.  The main change was that my life reduced to a tiny radius, encompassing just the office and the diplomatic area (thankfully North End Coffee shop was within there).  So for two months, I barely saw Dhaka, much less traveled beyond.  My only foray out of my designated “safe zone” was to go see Catching Fire at the movie theatre one morning right before Christmas.