Urmi Rahman - Bangladesh--Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

ISBN 978 1 85733 695 5

This book is also available as an e-book: eISBN 978 1 85733 696 2

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

First published in Great Britain

by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd

59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8446 2441

www.culturesmart.co.uk

Inquiries:

Series Editor Geoffrey Chesler

Design Bobby Birchall

Cover image: Decorated cycle rickshaws in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Alamy

The photographs on , Fotolia.

Images on the following pages reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license: Auyon.

Reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license: under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication Miansari66.

v3.1

URMI RAHMAN is a Bangladeshi journalist and author with a Masters degree from Chittagong University. After working for several years on various newspapers and magazines in Bangladesh, she was awarded a UNESCO Fellowship to Michigan State University and to the Press Foundation of Asia in Manila, Philippines. In 1985 she joined the Bengali Section of the BBC World Service in London as a producer and broadcaster, and remained with them for eight years before leaving to work in local government in London. Urmi has published a number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and has translated several books from English to Bengali. She now lives in Kolkata with her Indian husband, and regularly contributes to newspapers and journals in both Kolkata and Dhaka.

The Culture Smart! series is continuing to expand.

For further information and latest titles visit

www.culturesmart.co.uk

The publishers would like to thank CultureSmart!Consulting for its help in researching and developing the concept for this series.

CultureSmart!Consulting creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate, public-sector, and individual needs. Whether delivering courses on multicultural team building in the USA, preparing Chinese engineers for a posting in Europe, training call-center staff in India, or raising the awareness of police forces to the needs of diverse ethnic communities, it provides essential, practical, and powerful skills worldwide to an increasingly international workforce.

For details, visit www.culturesmartconsulting.com

CultureSmart!Consulting and CultureSmart! guides have both contributed to and featured regularly in the weekly travel program Fast Track on BBC World TV.

Bangladesh is a lush, green, fertile land situated on the Ganges Delta, adjacent to the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura. With mountains and hilly areas in the northeast, this densely populated country is mostly flat, and crisscrossed by many rivers. Much of its coastline forms part of the worlds largest mangrove forests, the Sundarbans, home to the Royal Bengal tiger and many other flora and fauna. Coxs Bazar in the southeast has the worlds longest unbroken sandy beach. The cities are hot and crowded, but if you grow tired of the hustle and bustle its easy to get to these places for a relaxing holiday, or to visit the countrys ancient temples and shrines.

Bangladesh is a young country with an ancient history. The province of Bengal was divided when India became independent in 1947, and its mainly Muslim eastern part became East Pakistan. This was followed by years of upheaval, and in 1971, after a freedom struggle and a war, the east Bengali people finally gained independence as the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh.

Most Bangladeshis live in rural areas, and the majority are Muslim. Historically they have coexisted in harmony with many other faiths, and the Islam of Bangladesh is tolerant and inclusive compared to many Muslim countries of the world.

Bengali, or Bangla, is the lingua franca, and there are dozens of regional dialects. The Bengal delta region, once the hub of the southern Silk Route, has a long and rich cultural tradition. Over the centuries it has been influenced by Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. It is a land of writers, saints, scholars, and artists, famous for its music, dance, and drama; arts and crafts; folklore; literature; philosophy and religion; festivals and celebrations; and its distinctive culinary tradition. Life in both urban and rural areas is a mix of the modern and the traditional.

Bangladesh has been regularly hit by floods and cyclones, but, despite natural disasters and poverty, there is positive economic growth, and the country is one of southeast Asias largest exporters of garments to Western markets.

The Bangladeshis are easygoing, relaxed, and amazingly resilient. They seem able to cope with any disaster, natural, man-made, or political. Whenever there is a crisis, they put aside their political divisions and come together to deal with it. Despite the daily hardships that ordinary people endure, they are friendly, warm, and hospitable.

When you first arrive in Bangladesh you may be overwhelmed by the crowds, the traffic jams, the humidity, and the lack of familiar facilities. Your perspective will change as you come to know its people. This book will introduce you to their culture and to the generous, creative, and genuine people beyond the headlines. To smooth your path it offers advice on what to expect and how to behave in different social situations, whether you are a tourist or you are traveling on business.

Welcome to Bangladesh! Bangladeshe swagato!