Friday, May 5, 2017

Dhaka with a backbend




Have you ever had a feeling that your inner organs are in your throat? 
Recently, my milt has visited my breast, my kidneys are just under my armpits. Or this is how it feels when you twist and twist,  stretch and strecth at a yoga class.  

Due to security reasons, there is not much to do for foreigners in Dhaka.
Sad, since Dhaka is a 24/7 or rather 46/7 society. This city never rests.
I can be hard to believe but sometimes I feel that New York is a sleepy village compared with the hysteric, jammed, overpopulated, absurd life in Dhaka.
Actually, Dhaka really should take a collective deep breath in and out to relax and calm out.  

Thus, living in a never-ending home arrest, any activity is welcomed and applauded. 
Yoga is one of them. For some reason Dhaka is blessed with numerous wonderful, encouraging and professional teachers. 
It is important to add that Dhaka has no fancy yoga studios, rather some hot windowless bunkers with hoards of mosquitoes in strictly guarded foreigners' clubs.
 

I have done some yoga previously, mainly to strengthen a bad back but in Dhaka yoga has totally taken over. 
Yoga in the morning, in the evening, during the weekend. 
Luckily very few of the yoga rooms have mirrors, so the "perfect" moves and postures are only in my mind, not reality. 
The practice is good for the body and the soul but it is even more important to have something to do, be a part of a society when you are far away from your loved ones. A chat with your mat neighbor or a nice cup of tea after the exercise makes your day.
 
There are many people I would hardly recognize in office outfit though I know that they tend to clip their toe nails on Sundays, sweat garlic on Tuesdays and yawn a lot on Mondays. 

The phone shots have nothing to do with yoga. Still, after two years, the street scenes here are exotic.

Namaste!




5 comments:

  1. The comparison between Dhaka and New york seemed to me very interesting. I go to sleep and I wake, I find the same chaos and crowd day after day. I have been reading your blog since i lived outside of Dhaka and now I am a part of the scenario.Sometimes my neurons betray to tolerate this madness, Sometimes I literally scream in the midst of the crowd like a crazy person and surprisingly find that nobody pays any heed as if I behave normal.My realization how you guys sustain especially whose are from a very structured and tranquil society? But Outside of Dhaka has a different sort of beauties, Mother nature is very original and very pure. I used to go through you writings curiously for knowing ourselves from a different perspective and how a foreign bird view us. So please keep your keyboard on, someday I may find a philosopher stone idea which will be the key to change us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for your beautiful and well-thought comment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. How many days are there remaining in your stay in Bangladesh? Will you go straight to Finland to your northern retreat? And then, what's next for you two? Putting down roots in Oslo, or another astonishing assignment?
    I miss you in the 9am tortures at the Flatiron Equinox, but I'm ready to introduce you to some very interesting fellow contortionists if you happen to return to NYC.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Back to Oslo ultimo July. I am so ready for any torture at Flatiron Equinox, will be there and suffer sooner or later.

    ReplyDelete