I used to think I was very lazy. I still think that. I found shortcuts to everything possible. And somehow, in most things there are shortcuts. Especially here in Bangladesh. So with my lazy yet ambitious mind, I went for everything that Dhaka had to offer.
And in this offering, I eventually started running, getting busy with Dhaka, and that is when I discovered the Abdullahs, and it has been a constant chase to keep up with the mighty ones.
The Abdullahs are, however, a tricky breed. You never know what they are doing next, often very obvious things … but still. Chasing trends, breaking boundaries, obliging to tradition. The new and the old. The unpredictable opinions of the Abdullahs throw me off at times. The half-exposed souls, semi-expressed taste, and quarter-step-progressiveness of it all. How do I figure out if I am adding up the Abdullahs equation close to proximity?
Often the Abdullahs scare me a bit. Sometimes I lock myself in for days, afraid of being compared to the Abdullahs. All these eyes looking. There are so many people to look at here in Bangladesh, yet we still look at just a few. The game of being special, easy and hard successes of Dhaka, and easier gain of name. And money, always money. Money can buy you everything and the Abdullahs always have ample of it, if not in the bank then in different pockets, collectively strong.
Sometimes the Abdullahs start protests for human rights, they stand up against inhumanity. Other times they are away doing their own things as some crisis hits the rest of us and the ones they once tried to save become victims. But the Abdullahs don’t find out these things on time, cell phones don’t ring the same way in the Abdullah household.
And then again, the Abdullahs surprise me with acts of kindness, giving opportunities to the ones looking to them, the ones wanting to be them. The privileged Abdullahs! So much to learn from them. We must all run to them if they invite us to hear their thoughts, give us a present or two.
I am not poor and I am not rich. I am in the middle, my life represents poverty in some cases, and in other cases indulgence. Where do I fall, I want to ask the Abdullahs. But the Abdullahs do not give direct feedback. They just claim standards, the ever evolving standards.
I wonder who is advising the Abdullahs. If my Abdullahs have a different set of Abdullahs, they need to be kept up with as well. How many steps to the top or to the bottom? How many alterations of thoughts, sharing of ideas will get you that ticket to be one of the Abdullahs?
And do I want to be part of that family? Will things be easier or harder? I do not know, but at least I have found the Abdullahs. Now keeping up with the Abdullahs will remain the real challenge. Shortcuts anyone?
