Dhaka diary
Crowds, congestion, noise pollution and traffic jams are the first impressions of Dhaka
Partab Ramchand
11-Nov-2000
Crowds, congestion, noise pollution and traffic jams are the first
impressions of Dhaka. With about 120 million packed into 144,000
square kilometres, the country is one of the most densely populated
regions in the world. And the capital is symbolic of this. Wherever
you go there are people. Wherever you go, there are crowds. As if this
is not enough, there are cars, buses, cycle rickshaws, autos and other
vehicles vying with people for a place on the roads. Mini motor vans
which are meant for six, carry ten passengers. Auto rickshaws meant
for two carry four. Every available space is utilised by vendors or
beggars. And boy, are they persistent! Traffic rules are a casualty in
Dhaka. It is literally every man for himself on the Dhaka roads as
they have to look out for various contraptions and dodge their way
out of trouble. But despite rushing here and there the people are
generally polite and helpful. They listen patiently as you ask for
directions and then give the details as clearly as possible. Even if
it is in Bengali, no one can accuse them of not trying to help. And
the officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board have proved to be second
to none in going out of their way to be of assistance.
A curious thing about the Bangladesh players is that all of them are
known by their nicknames. They are hailed thus not only by their
teammates but by everyone else - the officials, the media, the scorers
and even the man in the street. So Naimur Rahman, the captain, is
known as Durjoy and Khaled Masud, his deputy, is called Pilot. Javed
Omer is Gullu, Mehrab Hossain is Opee, Habibul Basher is Sumon, Aminul
Islam is Bulbul, Hasibul Hossain is Shanto, Enamul Haq is Moni and Al
Sahariar is Rokon. It transpires that their parents gave them the
nicknames when they were kids and such has been the impact that these
names have stood the test of time and in most circles, the players are
better known by their nicknames than their family names.
It is a special occasion, the inaugural Test played by Bangladesh and
the Bangladesh Cricket Board has spared no efforts in making it an
event to remember. A series of programmes were organised as a lead up
to the big day and while most of them were of a grand or festive
nature, the BCB also took the opportunity to deal with one serious
issue - polio. 'Stamp out polio' was the slogan adopted and in keeping
with this, two cricketers, Bangladesh captain Naimur Rahman and
India's Yuvraj Singh administered polio drops to four children at the
Bangabandhu stadium during the tea break on the first day of the Test.
According to a press release, it was hoped that this symbolic
initiative would encourage all Bangladesh cricket fans, their families
and the entire nation to bring their children to polio immunisation
booths on November 15 on the occasion of the first round of National
Immunisation Day. Earlier in the week the BCB had announced its
association with the Bangladesh government and the coalition of
international partners for polio eradication. Under this arrangement,
cricketers and officials will visit several immunisation booths on
November 15 to encourage parents and guardians to immunise their
children.
Predictably enough, Bangladesh's impressive showing on the first two
days of the inaugural Test has drawn encomiums from all quarters - the
media, officials, fellow players et al. But perhaps the most
noteworthy praise was paid by former coaches Mohinder Amarnath of
India and Gordon Greenidge of West Indies. Amarnath coached Bangladesh
during 1994-95 while Greenidge was the country's coach during their
triumphant campaign in the ICC Trophy in 1997 and their impressive
showing in the 1999 World Cup. He however, left in controversial
circumstances after suggesting that Bangladesh was not yet ready for
Test status. Both have been invited to Dhaka for the special occasion
and they have been effusive in their praise for the Bangladesh batsmen
in adapting themselves so quickly to the much more exacting field of
Test cricket. Also expressing happiness at Bangladesh's showing was
Nasim ul Ghani, the former Pakistan all rounder. Now a member of the
ICC's development committee, Ghani said that he was one of the few who
had spoken on behalf of Bangladesh being granted Test status and he
was happy that the players had vindicated his stand.