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Boys love toys!
Cyrus Dadachanji & Mohit Midha
16th March, 2007: Chittagong to Dhaka
Give a boy a toy, and he'll fiddle around with it until he's mastered
it, or broken it! With all due apologies (and credit) to the ladies
driving with us, it's a Guy Thing! Today, we are into the second day of
the SAARC Rally 2007. After the initial excitement of being part of a
giant multi-country event started wearing off (just a bit), the boys
decided to see what their new toys could do. Once we set off from
Chittagong, they got comfortable with the controls of their new
Safaris. Figuring out what the various buttons did, what the lights
meant, how assorted controls worked and all that kind of stuff.
Mile after mile of glorious greenery passed by as comfort levels with
the new vehicles increased. Then all of a sudden, the radio burst into
song. Our resident wannabe DJs decided that the group could do with
some pepping up. So every once in a while, one of the cars would let
everyone else hear what they were hearing, courtesy the HAM radios. If
it wasn't music, it was a joke or idle chatter. The Bangladeshis kept
up a running commentary on the sights that we were passing...On your
left is a ship braking yard�and on your right the Sitakund range, as if
auditioning for a travel guides' post. This bonhomie made the miles
disappear faster than ever and we were at our lunch halt at a resort
called Vita World by 10.30 a.m!
Surprised by our rather early arrival, the cultural troupe swung into
action and kept us entertained with traditional dances and songs.
However, the real scene stealer was a little 9 year old girl, Anuna.
With the attitude of a superstar, she crooned and swayed her body to
the beat, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Our very own Bangladeshi
star Priya hopped on to the stage to sportingly do a duet with her.
Without batting an eyelid, Anuna led the way with a song and dance
routine that had us all asking for more. After a sumptuous lunch, we
hit the road again and halted at the tourist destination of Sonargaon.
Famed as being Bangladesh's capital city for over 800 years ( 9th
Century - 17th century), not much is left of this glorious
city. But we were transported into an era of royal pomp and pageantry
by a thousand odd school children who lined a two kilometre approach
route to the Sonargaon Museum. It was as if the world had come out to
greet us and offered us a one-string musical instrument, an Ektara, as
a welcome gift. More than the museum's impressive collection of 19th
Century artefacts, it was the sight of little girls enacting a marriage
proposal and ceremony on the lawns that had us floored. Not
surprisingly, we drove away with cheers echoing in our ears.
Ever tried to fuel 30 cars at once. Believe me it's a logistical
nightmare. But the boys found a way to keep the boredom at bay; thy
played "How to make an Ektara talk!" Thankfully, that stayed off the
radio once we were bound for Dhaka.
Around 90 minutes later, we found ourselves cruising along the streets
of Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital city. The city had literally come to a
standstill for us (thanks to the police). But every sidewalk, divider
and over bridge along our route was packed with thousands of people
wanting to get a glimpse of us, and welcome us to their city. Like
modern day conquistadors, we drove towards our palace, the Dhaka
Sheraton, and parked our chariots for the night. Only to be reminded to
switch our toys off, or they wouldn't be working the next day. Well,
boys will be boys....
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