Aarong billboards, hated initially, but slightly amused later on

One Aarong ad recently accrued a bit of hate from those who cared to dispense it. Actually a 'bit of hate' is a downplaying it on my part since the company was forced to apologise for their ad though their intentions were not to hint at 'flood' which was causing suffering at another point in Bangladesh, but to signify monsoon and 'Bishorjon' of the Puja celebrations which were coming up.

For those unaware of it, it was a bunch of the usual models displaying Aarong products but in a setting which is quite unlike the usual or expected in fashion photography, as seen here:

My first reaction to the image was not a positive one, since I clearly remembered an earlier billboard that hung on the way to my work which troubled me equally. It showed a female Aarong model with a woman bangle seller putting on bangles on the model's arm, as shown below:

Not knowing initially that 'bishorjon' was the inspiration for the first, I thought I saw a pattern in their ads in juxtaposing other aspects of our reality which were not first second or third picks to put on commercials - floods or social inequality. It was an odd thing I suppose, as we've not seen this before.

Our inequality's nature is such that we do all things differently, we speak differently, attend different cinemas, eat differently and so on. This inequality gives our middle and upper classes access to servants and chauffeurs where we also have distinct communication and interaction boundaries. Every household could be described as a mini-kingdom with rulers and subjects much like the second image sort of depicts.

If anyone were to create such ads, who else than BRAC who has a multitude of efforts towards bettering conditions of our economically disadvantaged. These juxtapositions may be uncomfortable, but its better to have that lead to further thought than anything else. Removing these pictures won't rid us of our dilemmas.

Related:

Aarong on Facebook

'Poor kids of Tehran'

What Monkeys and the Queen taught me about inequality

by Russel Brand

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Whistleblowing, Blow the Whistle

থাক! বল্লামনা।

আমি কিছু বলতে চাইনা।

রুচিতে বাধে।

We've been through a lot, a nation who stood its ground in '71 to gain independence. However, since inception we've failed to really create any single period of time or a continuous number of years when we've been able to put down an even rule of law. Laws are made, but a lot are visible running away having broken it. Presidential pardons or partial treatments are also not unknown to us. Through all this, I fear one thing when you don't see people quitting the parties that propagate such sickness with a bold statement that puts the blame in its rightful place. We lack whistle-blowers or have successfully swept them under lavish carpets pretty quickly. I welcome other good explanations.

I watched a movie named "The Whistleblower" which was based on true events, about a Kathy Bolkovac, a policewoman who while serving on a UN mission uncovers some really sickening and illegal operations. However, as the movie ends with some notes about what happened to Kathy in later life, it was mentioned that she couldn't get a job in the security industry, the industry for which she possessed the right skills and experience!

I feel we've always been a careful nation, where most would deny to get into a 'situation' by starting a confrontation. This probably is truer for those with a lot to lose, things like reputation or social standing, or their livelihood. The conscience doesn't haunt at the level that one would be overpowered to not care for those aspects of the self. And then there are those who took brave strides and faced discouraging outcomes like Kathy, and even faster (driver of the bus who revealed Suranjit Sengupta's black cat?). Edward Snowden, and Julian 'WikiLeaks' Assange?

However, I feel that our lack of whistleblowers or whistleblowing has helped lead us the wrong way. I wish more people would blow the covers off matters causing a serious rot.

Related:
Whistleblower Forms Party
List of Whistleblowers in History

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Bugger of the Day

How does a band go from creating an artful album like These Days to creating a drab song like It's My Life?

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Hateful Inspirations

I hate it that I am inspired to write these long, meandering posts about politics, which lose meaning pretty quickly.

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Beware the Wide-Eyed Optimist

As a loon, I am quite suspicious of the sane population, especially those wide-eyed optimists who insist the country is a beautiful place and that we're superior to so many countries around us.

Age is one factor that prevents these people from joining the legions of us loons. In fact, I can testify to the fact that I am much more the lunatic now than I was a few notches back. And I see a lot of the shades of positivity and compliance in a lot of the younger folks that I used to possess. Now and then I also meet the fascinating characters who have stayed those shades even at an age in proximity to my own! Well, Hallelujah!

I also, have lots of opinions about that, loony as they may be, that the wide-eyed optimism is harming us, - not doing us any good. As with the wide-eyed of any age, there seems to be a tendency to forget or forgive the authorities from any duty or accountability. If only having an increased number of cell phones on our hands, less child mortality and and sustained level of growth were enough to make our lives better, I imagine I would feel it. Maybe the wide eyed ones feel it, and I would only extend to them, my jealousy and admiration, but I don't perceive we're getting any better. I only see, in contrast to their views, a drop in every humane indicator (compassion, respect, courtesy, honesty and the like), and a drop in my sense of security* (yes even with all of our fine top-gun sunglassed policemen, RAB and armed police and their exposed weapons big and small, and their check posts**).

I would even go as far as saying that these wide-eyed-ness is a threat to our road to developing out of this mire of corruption and bureaucratic vertigo.


* Actual security and the sense of security, I think are different. I haven't died yet from a stabbing or got robbed of my car or belongings, which might mean I am secure, but I don't feel its very hard to die from a stabbing or get robbed, and I don't feel I can get justice if it should come to that - that's the 'sense of security'.

** Sometimes giving me the impression of this being Palestine or Iraq!

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Wow, Pow, Ciao Phenomenon

Martin Lindstrom has used this to describe our tendencies in the world wide web's social spheres. Described as such:

• Wow: We see something that offends us, we’re shocked and outraged, and then, all fired up.
• Pow: We take to email, Twitter, Tumblr, and text to vent our horror and dismay to all and sundry, and then, almost as soon as it began…
• Ciao: We’re on to something newer, more interesting, and perhaps even more controversial.

The article was discussing the 2012 Olympics logo and the kind of reaction it received upon its unveiling. I find it a very interesting way to describe it, and I don't think we can deny this phenomenon.

Overall, its also a way life in Bangladesh seem to roll day-to-day, web or no-web, stark naked on the streets and on our newspapers. Issue after issue of newsparpers, episode after episode of talk shows and interviews, we were wowed, we powed, and we ciao-ed.

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World Bank, Wassssuuuuupppp!?

I picture my government dressed up like Ali G and crossing her hands in front of her in the hip-hop fashion and saying the above to World Bank who is standing across, ICE-T-ish in its stature and demeanor, with his hands crossed across his chest showing unflinching sternness.

This is historic though, at least I think it is! Has a poor country ever before lashed out at World Bank saying its corrupt? It would've been doubly historic and AWESOME if that same charge wasn't thrown at us first and had funds meant for us canceled based on those charges. So we wanted their money, they refused and now we're bad mouthing them in the parliament and the news. A-h-a. That has 'sore' written all over it. And 'Loser'. When we have such such low opinions of WB, why gun for their funds!? A-ha ... 'Cuz we need it! WB's pull out from the Padma bridge project also influenced the ADB (Asian Development Bank) to pull out too. Only our friends, the Japanese, are sticking around.

In most countries that are careful of the people's opinions, slight corruption charges and even a single instance of failure have inspired ministers and other government officials to resign to make way for fair investigations and to make way for better representation. This is something, Bangladeshis are deprived of. Amidst the first corruption alerts, we saw the minister being moved to a different ministry. Sahara Khatun, our state minister is another example, where a series of failures weren't good enough for her to step down. They can face reporters and deny with a straight face any failure.

Our PM has finally risen to the occassion last night on parliament, broadcast throughout the nation, and given her views. The World Bank is corrupt! So our governments' overall response is a "How dare you!" and a "Did you look at yourself?!". :) Merry!

PS, The PM also gave out a mobile phone number and an email address to receive corruption allegations against members of her family. She denied any of her family is corrupt first.
sheikhhasina@hotmail.com / 01711-520000 and 01819-260371

Ludicrous? I think so!


Related:
পদ্মা সেতু প্রকল্প: প্রয়োজনে নিজেদের অর্থেই পদ্মা সেতু
PM on phone to receive family graft allegation
PM trashes WB graft allegations
Commentary: Public interest sacrificed to protect one man

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The Lunatic is on the Grass

Here is Roger Waters singing "Brain Damage" in a studio for the Making of the Dark Side of the Moon documentary.

The lunatic is on the grass
Remembering games
And daisy chains and laughs
Got to keep the loonies on the path

The lunatic is in the hall
The lunatics are in my hall
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day the paper boy brings more

And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade
You make the change
And you rearrange me 'till I'm sane
You lock the door
And throw away the key
And there`s someone in my head, but it's not me

And if the cloud bursts thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

Roger Waters explains in that documentary that a "Do not step on the grass" sign inspired him to write this song. Society lays down the rules - some explicit, and some implicit which comprise an overall structure in which to operate. But often the rules make no sense to some. And to others, those who oppose them make no sense - they are criminals or lunatics. Interestingly, the bauls of Bangla also commonly sang describing themselves as "pagol" or "pagla" (lunatics, mad men). It does seem that they derived that title for themselves from what people around them were saying about them. They were on the grass.

জাত গেল জাত গেল বলে
একি আজব কারখানা
সত্য কাজে কেউ নয় রাজী
সবই দেখি তানা না না।।

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24

The number of hours in a day. Cut out the neccessary 6 hours of sleep (or so i heard, 5, 7 and 8 are also good candidates) that is healthy then you have 18 hours or so. I am coming close to regarding myself as a slob of the highest order when I think of how I spend those hours.

First I guess i should mention the little assignment we got recently for a course. One of the requirements of the course is to catalog or record basically, a 24 hour period of our lives from this week. I started mine at 12 AM (a few hours ago). I decided to record on a 24 hour timeline a few things i consider are variables of my life - the band i am listening to at a point in time, the clothes i am wearing, the food i am eating, something I am reading (website, news, books etc) and a person i am talking to.

Now that I am writing down at the precise moment I am for example starting to read something or change the music to a different band, I am realizing that I am reading 3 things at the same time, and the urge to change a song when it hasn't even reached halfway is immense. I cannot focus on one thing for a considerable amount of time to let it sink in. Writing down as i am doing now however has served to raise my consciousness and thus I am fidgeting less tonight. I hate to think how i go on about things usually. As of a few seconds ago i was reading a Daily Star article on the rich - poor gap in our society, "How to Create Timelines" at a opensource project website, and John Maeda's book Simplicity. John was saying something about complexity and simplicity being on a cycle of their own, coming and going with equal portions of stay and thus creating a balance of things. I need that balance. The cycle I am on has square wheels.

As much as I had loathed the beginning of this assignment, it has been nothing short of an eye opener for me. 24 hours could be put to so much use.

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Time

Ticking away
The moments that make up a dull day
[Time, Pink Floyd]

Time. What is it? It is one thing which to me is boundless. It will carry on even when my body has stopped and maybe have dissolved into the ground. It is what we use to measure our lives. The tick tock of clock hands and the silent displays of the digital clocks its servants, lashing a whip on my back everytime I let things slip.

Not exactly.

Time is the one slipping between my fingers like sand while i clench harder to hold on to it. I want to make it go with me, arms around shoulders like buddies with nothing better to do but stroll around a busy street, make jokes and checking out ladies.
Me: "Oh she's nice!"
Time: "No! I like her..."

Thats not happening either.

Today while returning from the library I nearly walked into a car coming out of an obscure corner. But the driver stopped and nodded at me to pass. People have time for people. That is wonderful to see. It reminded me quickly of Dhaka, in 2004 I think, when a car almost got touchy touchy cause me and Ashu (who was visiting from UK) were walking on the side of the road! Not even a rude honk to let us know its behind, just crept up behind us too close for comfort. And to make the situation totally priceless I was telling Ashu at that moment how people in Bangladesh seem to have no time for other people anymore. Just busy with themselves. Oh Well.

Time management is big business now even. If I could afford it, I don't know whether I would get a consultant into my life or something. I totally am bad at it (trying to avoid "sucks"). I am sleepy for more than half of each day, which I have a feeling might be helped if i start getting physically active again. Maybe get into squash (too expensive) or jogging (too boring). Maybe.

Well, come to think of it, even as i am typing out this post, i am actually wasting my time! Considering how far behind i am with my term project's work. So, Maybe i will try to be wiser for the moment.... and... i am outta here.

Meanwhile,

Time, by Pink Floyd:

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
And when I come home cold and tired
It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells.

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