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New Year's eve, the term means nothing much to me if one is talking about the habit of welcoming the new year with a scream or a belch and some loud noise of assorted count.
New year's eve better not be any different than last year, this eve being the eve of my life, the apple of this Adam, mommy dearest to my child. It would be hard to digest, if the eve I know for so long suddenly appeared to be a new person, it could be something different if this new person was to have become new quite literally, a new person altogether. But as one who has counted so many new years eve (not speaking metaphorically) would know, it is better if one has stability in ones life and the taste of something new can be dangerously fickle and unhealthy. If that were so then what would happen to the New Year's resolution? One must have a new resolution for the New Year because the whole system of the New Year resolution is devised to urge us to create new challenges for our personalities and better ourselves or belittle the size of the more rotund part of our physiology! Learn something new this year, language or two and take care of your health. Easier said than done? So what? It is fine enough if one is making the resolution, success will come one day, one is loath to be cute or non -committal about important subjects like some laid back deshi manush are prone too. We should try and fall in line with the new awareness in the world about health issues. Why is it too difficult to tighten your belt or better yourself? One is inclined to mention our young banker friend Mr.Rabiul. Just yesterday on the way back form Singapore; the young Banker was mentioning that he attended New Year's Eve in Trafalgar Square. There was nothing new by way of flavour , the routine being the same like anywhere in any decent party in Bangladesh - loads of screaming and flailing of the arms and yes making noise of many kinds. That topic gone, I moved to something that seemed more interesting to me. The young man works for the Treasury department and is well on the way of doing his MBA from Dhaka University Institute of Business Administration (IBA). If he can do it so can we, please give yourself some credit and do some credit hours in some course, you can do it! Do I hear screams of shut-up Joe? Allow me to move on but not before mentioning that your's truly is learning French and significant progress has been made. Inshallah shall finish the course this year in 2005!
Urban life in Singapore is the real taste of urban life that we would like to see in Bangladesh. Apartment buildings are planned in such a way to allow maximum order in the most family friendly way. Children are kept in mind the most when design is approved of any new satellite city. That is the way most new cities are built in the world. Why on earth was that never followed in Bangladesh? Well, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar was part of a plan and look what happened to the architectural masterpiece of the modern world, we went ahead and built new houses for the speaker and deputy speaker! Anyways, children's park and walkways, sitting and resting places for the older citizens and easy transport navigability for the housewives and office goers and young men are looked into. Markets and shops are allowed in limited and controlled numbers and permits are given for new construction by clearly defined guidelines that relate to the size and structure and utility in relation to the satellite town itself. This only means that city planning is for the people living in the city. How do we relate this to Dhaka? We in Dhaka city have started using proper road lights with signs for the passersby. You may walk and cross the road when the sign shows green and cars are passing by in some other side.
Do the unknowing passersby know what to do? Not at all and neither is there any way undertaken to let them know. The citizens walk right in front of the cars while the light for the passersby shows Red meaning stop. Not many, if at all, are seen to understand the need to pay heed to the sign and the oblivious policemen, who are city officials as long as they are serving in Dhaka, take no notice at all.
According to a senior friend of your's truly, things would change or become like Singapore only if one is able to import the senior leader Mr.Lee Kuan Yeu to run Bangladesh. The father of the nation of Singapore Mr. Lee is the architect of the wonderous development of Singapore. The senior friend, who is a politician, is only speaking the truth. If a politician can understand that we need proper leadership, what is stopping the politicians from making the right choices? The same thing the man on the street is lacking, awareness, and that is a commodity only time and learning will teach us. Things will remain the same as long as we remain slow learners.
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