This little tale concerns an event in the sleepy provincial town of Rajshahi, where we lived many years ago during our first stay here. Recently, Jules and I were asked to be godparents to our former cook’s elder brother’s daughter. Here in Bangladesh, where every family relationship has its own exact title, there’s probably a term for cook’s elder brother’s daughter too, but I haven’t learnt it yet.
After a six-hour car journey and a short night’s sleep, we turn up at the neat little Christian Mission church at dawn, the cross up on the roof silhouetted against the expanding morning sky. Long shadows intermingling with gold lozenges of sunlight on the ground. Ducks and geese waddling past, pecking at the earth. The service, we’ve been told, is to begin at 7.00. It would appear the British concept of a Sunday lie-in is a little lost on the Church of Bangladesh.
Read more here and view photos here.
November 3rd, 2006 at 4:28 pm
A wonderful narrative.
When you say “retrousse nose”, do you mean flat-broad nose?
November 3rd, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Thanks Muhammad. No it means a little delicate nose which points up a little at the end, bit like a ski jump! It’s a rare word, and is only ever used with noses. And meant as a compliment rather than in a negative way - in our culture it’s considered quite a pretty thing.
November 5th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Well, funny you should say that Andrew, it seems that your culture in B’desh is so akin to our culture in the southwest of UK.