Last month, I had the fantastic chance to go back to Bangladesh, where I am from, on my spring festival holidays. From February 5th to February 17th, I went on a trip that was full of exciting new experiences as always; each time I went back, touching reunions and a deep dive into the touchy feeling of my native country, my village home in the rural village of Bangladesh. The trip started with a flight from China, where I live now, to Dhaka, the busiest city in Bangladesh. The city was buzzing with life, and the sights, sounds, and smells of home took me right back to my childhood. Still, I knew that the most essential part of my trip would be outside of the city, in the peaceful comfort of my village.
As the evergreen natural beauty of Bangladesh, when I went farther out into the countryside, the scenery changed into a mix of lush green fields and twisting rivers. The soft sounds of birds singing and the engine sound from the bus were my continuous companions on the journey to my village. The people in my family received me with open arms and hearts full of love. Our days were full of simple pleasures like laughing together and smelling the soothing smells of home-cooked Bangladeshi food. As a foodie I always love foods, and desi foods are like heavenly feelings for me.
Each dish was a tribute to the culinary talent of my home country. And of course, there were the sweet, melt-in-your-mouth balish pitha, which are pancakes made of rice flour and sweet coconut. They were the perfect treat for my sweet taste. The restaurent foods like Kacchi Biriyani which is the most traditional and delicious combo of Basmati rice with goat meat with tons of Masala flavours in it. The winter special Chitoi Pitha is also a popular homemade sweet item that is prepared with delicious jaggery from the date tree juice.
Most of the time I forgot to take photos as I was extremely excited and craving for these foods. What a collection of delicious foods everywhere here! The spicy flavours of chui jhal (beef cooked with a special kind of pepper) was my targeted destination in this journey which was in a different division of our country known as Khulna City which is almost 250 km from Dhaka. Also, the desi duck meat, which is soft and juicy, and the wealth of fresh desi fish made my taste buds dance with joy.
Each of the food items has a different taste which I can't get by preparing here in China and feel that the native flavor of the ingredients is unique. So I always bring a lot of spices from my country to cook here in my spare time. But I am unable to get the same taste which is found there in Bangladesh.
There was more to my trip to Bangladesh than just getting in touch with my past. It was a journey of self-discovery. As of now, I live in China again, but a part of my heart will always be in the lively villages and busy cities of Bangladesh, which I am happy to call home.
Thanks a lot for your time and attention, I will catch you at the next one.
Wish you a great day!
Dear @tanzil2024 !
Hassan!
Are those who eat with you your brothers and sisters and relatives?
The woman next to you in a red hijab and dress appears to be your wife.
Is the man with glasses sitting across from you your brother?
I find women without hijab more attractive.
I find women from the Indian subcontinent with long, flowing hair attractive!
The bespectacled woman in yellow with her long black hair flowing down appears to be a beauty! What is her name?😄
Yeah, you are right, my wife is next to me, there are some junior brothers and sisters and some of them are my wife's friends, we all had dinner in a restaurant in Dhaka. She is my wife's friend, and I don't know her name.
More than half of Bangladeshi women wear Hijab or cover their hair. In our religion, a woman's beauty is only preserved for her husband, and she can wear anything and makeup with any dresses at home for her husband but not to attract outsiders. Others also wear longer dresses as our religion and culture don't allow women to wear exposing dresses like in India. If anyone wears vulgar dresses, they are treated very badly in our society, and in many cultures, living together without marriage, pre-marriage sex, and prostitution are severe crimes here. I hope you understand our society,
Dear my friend Hassan!
Thank you for kind answer!
I hope my words don't offend you!
Everyone who dines with you is middle class and nice!
The Bangladeshi people I met seemed to be mainly workers and lower class.
They acted freely without being bound by Islamic law.
By the way, They were kind to me.
They often enjoyed alcohol and pork!😄
I respect their free choice!
I believe everyone should live the life they choose!
I hope to have many conversations with you in the future!
No worries, it's okay, I think the Bangladeshi people you meet there are not same like in my country and your thought is just like you see them drinking alcohol and eating pork there. But you can't find any restaurant selling pork in Bangladesh, may some 5-star hotel that regularly serves foreigners, but it is also rare, I didn't see that. And to find alcohol is also challenging even through the illegal way from some hidden chains. You can't find the registered bars in Dhaka city and can't find them in most of the other big cities where you have to struggle through illegal chains with a heavy price. And that's why you can't see these as normal as you see in your country and you can't find such videos by international tourists in most of cases. But many people drink in Bangladesh which can not exceed 1% though we have 10% Hindu Religious people as they also can't afford it and don't drink as our social life and social values, occasionally they drink secretly but not in public.
Yeah, you are right but it is not 100% right in our society, maybe some naked girls, or half naked in 2 pieces can be easily ignored in your country but in my country maybe you can't do it and people will think you are a mentally week or send you to the police in some cases for being a conservative society.
Religion is also a choice, many people have Muslim names but they are not as they want to do many restricted things according to Islam like eating pork, drinking alcohol, prostitution, and so on. But those people are always treated negatively in our society.
There is no choice in Islam but you have to sacrifice your wish, especially the wish against the religious restrictions, But It is not like you need to obey 100% of everything which is very difficult so people try to obey as much as they can, it flexible in this sense, as religion is for human kind, not human kind for the religion.
I hope you, understand, and please don't think that Muslims eating pork and drinking alcohol in the country are the same everywhere in the world. Our country is a secular country by nature but we don't see as you write in your country. But you will find us so social and so interested to interact with you which you can't find anywhere outside of the Indian subcontinent. You can distinguish in normal life they are much more co-operative love to talk with each other always, and are very eager to meet other people, international tourists can not be bored in Bangladesh as many people will always surround you as you can see in many Youtube videos.
Thanks for your comment.
Dear @tanzil2024 !
First of all, I would like to say that I am not against the religious laws of Islam!
The Bangladeshis I met were working as laborers overseas. Because they work hard, they seem to be relieving their stress by freely enjoying alcohol and pork!
I respected their actions and choices! I believe that people should live according to their own choices!
I believe that your religious beliefs and choices are right!
Thank you for kind answer!
What do you think about Islamic lifestyle has no meaning for anyone and I just said that don't think all the Muslims are similar to them you are having experience with.
Everyone has their choice even Islam doesn't support to force anyone to do anything, if you are not willing to accept Islam, no matter to anyone. But in Islam, their is no respect for personal wish or choice in many things that could destroy the society, that's simple. There will too much chaos and crimes if people live according to their wish and so each govt. around the world has imposed a thousands of laws to protect the lives and social stability but no one raise their voices, but when comes about religions then public think that my personal choices are being taken, it is a complex thing so I will write in a post in details if I could manage time.
Thanks for your answer.
Dear my friend Hassan!
I don't know about Islam. People who have traveled to Bangladesh commonly say that the people there are friendly and generous!
On the other hand, he said there were many thieves and pickpockets in Syria, Iran, and Egypt.
I have never been to Muslim countries.
I am not sure because there are great individual differences between Islamic countries and Muslims.
East Asian men like me generally like Hindu culture more than Islamic culture because they like the sexual charm of Hindu women!
Thank you for kind answer!😄
Thanks for the support!