Eid ul Azha cows

Two days before Eid. The cow trade is at its peak. Apparently they are cheaper this year.
A lot of cows come from India, maybe because our Indian Hindu cousins don't eat cow.

The black goats are local, white ones are imported, there has been reports of goats being painted black.

Luckily the streets are far more empty then normal, most people went to their vilage to celibrate eid. It is a mixture of pleasant and eerie.

There are cows in all sizes. For the poorer people there are goats, but as it is status you try your best to get a cow.
Our (small) street has only got a goat, probably mostly foreigners here and others have gone the their village. On the next street there are two cows, they look like good cows, but what do I know.

I call them EU cows, but the EU is actually next door (left of the photo)

Cows have to eat

Don't look at the street.

For those looking at details: they are all male.

Cow decorations

Knives. I leave it to you to make the link.

The VIP cows got their own tent.

The dark green leaves are for goats.

At the right on the pavement (and beyond) the cows are sold.

Crossing the road

Parking?!

Durga Puja in Banani (around the corner)

Durga Puja is a hindu festival. Only about 8% of Bangladesh is Hindu. However there being 160 million Bangladeshi, this means their number roughly equals the population of Belgium.

On a communal field nearby a building arose mostly out of triplex. It seems a popular outing. Food, toys and other junk are being sold. The effect is impressive.

Unfortunately I did have not much time in between work and sunset to capture it all.

A good opportunity for some PR

A good festival deserves temporary hand painting

Impressive for a temporary building

 

Playing with the fans

It's huge inside

Decorated street with a lot of vendors

Durga Puja at Kumudini hospital

Durga Puja is a Hindu celebration in which statues are made and on the last day sunk in the river. As any good festival people dress up in their finest and a lot of food is involved, preferably sweet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja


We received an invitation from the Kumudini trust. Not exactly knowing what the trust is about or where it was we set off around 13.00. Traffic was terrible as always, we arrived before 16.00 as planned.

We were warmly welcomed, of course with food, by one of the directors.

Everyone gets food

The hospital is completely financed by the Kumudini enterprises. Treatments are free, or almost free. It is also a teaching hospital for girls. The scale is enormous; about hundreds of patients are seen daily, mostly out-patients. Several hundred nurses stay in this boarding school. All have a task in the hospital.

Link to Kumudini College

The girls dormitory

Some wards are more empty than others

They look like bricks, but are counterweights to keep limbs in the air

After dinner (just three hours after lunch) we headed back for the Durga Puja. It was absolutely packed. As everyone is equal we got seat in the front row. A nice performance of what I think is Durga killing evil and some dancing around that.

Tea for the VIPs in the library under the watchful eye of the founder.

After lunch we headed over for the festivities. Some nice dancing with funny movements of the feet a man ringing bells another drumming. Luckily not too long.

At the end we got blessed in two ways. First you get to catch the smoke of a flame and 'pour' it over yourself, after that a man sprinkled some water over us. We are lucky.

God Durga defeating evil and dance around that.

The many arms, one of the signs of Durga

 Some of the beautiful public

 

After all that we had to drive back home. Traffic was terrible, mostly due to trucks. As Durga Puja almost coincides Eid ul Azha this year we were caught in the cow traffic towards Dhaka. Any self respecting muslim does his very best to get a cow or at least a goat. Even our driver with a modest salary got a third of a cow. We are momentary also the lucky neighbours of a goat.

Last Thursday there was a 70 km traffic jam of people leaving Dhaka for their village the influx of cows is slightly more spread. Hoping to post some photos of the cow 'market' on this medium soon.
In any case, after some over- and undertaking where it is impossible we were glad to set foot on solid soil of our apartment, the blessing must have worked.

On the road

Going anywhere in Bangladesh is always an adventure. If you don't believe in a God you will start soon, as you need the help of at least an angel to survive.

Most vehicles are so badly damaged that it doesn't matter if they crash into anything or anyone. Yet, if you were to crash into someone an argument will surely follow. In such case it does not help to be foreign, on the contrary it means you have money, so an argument might pay off.

On the positive sight it gives nice pictures, specially as often the pace slows when cars try to go in opposite directions on the same side of the road.

We are lucky enough to have a driver, not that we can't drive, but it saves us from heart attacks. Also our driver is used to (how do I put it politely) take a more pro-active approach. If we were to drive ourselves a journey would take twice as long.

Pictures below are made on a single journey, hoping to give you a small impression.

  

Notice the professional repairs

If he crashes its better to run; filling up several barrels with petrol.

Eid is comming, this cow has less than a week to live.

A roaring auxiliary trade in Eid, chopping blocks and mats to lay the meat on.

The best way, add another layer with bamboo sticks and mats.

The dyke past/through a lake, the perfect spot for a tea stall.

One of the ways to tell where you are are the modes of transport. Slight difference in design to do with space, roads and needs.

CNG's are caged in Dhaka

Electric rickshaw, banned in most parts of Dhaka. The battery is under the seat.

Too big for the city.

Brilliant adaptation. The backseat can be removed for goods transport.

Not really an exception.