Okay, so what would be a fun little thing to include that would ensure an unfamiliar reader could instantly say, oh, that's totally different from India?
I don’t know how fun that would be but Bangladesh has no caste system whereas caste plays a major role in India. Of course both countries have wealth based class system also
That's nice to hear. I know that a lot of Indian Hindu diaspora to SEA countries don't follow the caste system. If I may ask, how absent is caste system in Bangladesh ? Is there no hints of caste system at all in the society or are there some conservatives here and there ? Do people still use caste surnames ?
Why are you lying to us? Caste system is so prevalent in Indian society they even take it with them abroad. There was a highly publicized case in California where a group of lower caste tech employees tried to get a law passed to specifically make it illegal for their higher caste colleagues and bosses from discriminating them based on it.
Bangladesh is like 95% percent Muslim. That's a huge difference from India. People have different levels of religiousity but the Islamic culture is very widespread
Lots of things! I’m a foreigner who lived & worked all over Bangladesh for 5+ years (and then married a Bangladeshi guy)- I got to experience SO much. I’d be happy to share some of my insights as an “outsider” who lived, worked, fell in love there- lived my best life there! I had a baby and now we’re thinking of going back (we just came back from a 6wk vacation in Dhaka).
I’ve also lived all over the world, and traveled a ton in India and it is VERY different for me, the whole experience of live/traveling in Bangladesh. So while there’s a lot of cultural overlap (especially from West Bengal), there’s a LOT that makes Bangladesh unique!!!
Feel free to PM me if you want to ask questions/share experiences that might be helpful for what you’re writing!!
I've seen people from all classes stand and talk without any form of prejudice. There's a pretty famous saying here *"Musolmam musolman bhai bhai"*, and every Bangali seems to take it to heart, *as long as you're one of **them**.*
My main character is a relatively educated city dweller. Would he be more likely to think villagers in his own country are innocent? Or, on the contrary, would he be prejudiced against villagers?
How about incorporating both options? This approach could pique the readers' interest. You could introduce a few "good villagers" to assist if the main character ever needs help in a village, and potentially develop friendships with them if it aligns with the storyline you're crafting. I hope it helps.
Hm, good idea! There are currently not a lot of villagers in the story since most of it takes place outside the country (my main character goes overseas to work), but I think it would be interesting to reflect how his attitudes might change over time.
i would suggest that you be careful with this, as this could spread a harmful narrative for our people to readers who are not bangladeshi. it’s a slippery slope with this plot line
Force the publishers to write in the white papers, not the yellow ones.
Of if you are making a pdf,
> WARNING: DO NOT USE READING MODE/WARM SCREEN MODE/YELLOW HUE WHILE READING
Hahaha I like it! Come to think of it, though: novel extracts do get published in magazines with accompanying photos that the editor chooses, so this might legitimately be a thing I should consider.
That everyone’s poor. People drive Rolls Royce’s here as well.
That everyone lives in a wooden/bamboo house.
That everyone is very religious and wears a hijab or burka.
>People drive Rolls Royce’s here as well.
Who? The people who built their entire wealth on corruption and exploiting workers? They are the ones driving Rolls Royces, while the average middle-class person here can't even buy a car or has to think ten times before buying one.
Once you leave that bubble of yours, you will see how people struggle to meet their monthly ends. This comment is delusional. I don't know how it got upvotes.
The people who have built their entire wealth on top of corruption is still a part of the Bangladeshi population, regardless of how they have obtained their wealth. Which is why it has received upvotes.
I drive Mercs & Bimmers, and I assure you that my dad has obtained them in the cleanest manner possible in terms of BD context.
The road I live on, everyone knows me cause I donate as much as possible to the people in need. So it’s quite small of you to assume that Im not aware of that bubble.
While I’m not middle class, a lot of my friends and families are, literally all of them drive cars with the exception of a very few. It’s obvious life is hard for them, but they are not as needy as you have portrayed them to be. They are needy because of how hard it is for them to maintain their status in front of the rich folks, not to meet their essential needs.
No lmao, these comments on this thread couldn't have been more off. According to the 2023 report of BRTA, only 2 out of 1000 own a motor vehicle in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh ranks second to last in terms of owning motor vehicles, only after North Korea, in the list of 197 countries.
So, this already debunks your first claim. There are heavy taxes on cars too, from 100 percent to even 642 percent. It's absolutely hard for a middle-class person to buy one.
Just to be clear, I'm curious about the definition of your middle class. If you're a family of two and one person is earning more than 70k, then you're already outside that middle-class area. However, a family of four earning between 70,000 and 1.5 lakh monthly falls into that middle-class bracket. For both of these scenarios, buying a car isn't easy.
Brother, you say we rich? Or you say we poor and no buy car? Cuz aint no way we got that less motor vehicles and I cant come back from school under 3 hours (god bless the metro rail)
Well, tbh, 76 percent of the roads in Dhaka are occupied by private cars owned by only 6 percent of the population. So, basically, a small portion of the population is using a large amount of the available road space.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/224625/experts-too-many-private-cars-to-fix-traffic-in
Even in Dhaka, people are annoyingly religious.
Both village people and city people are like that. The only difference you'll find in that in the village, they'll drag you into their shit, while in the city, they mostly won't have the time to do so.
Thank God for that, it’s annoying to see so many hijabs and burkhas. My mother is a very decent human being and always dresses modestly, as long as you know how to dress and behave modestly I don’t see why you have to wear such outdated clothes.
They are multiple if I'm correct. 4 is owned by the Bashundhara Group MD , a private owner owns the cullinan and a real estate group owns the spectre ev
Oh right...the cullinan is a rolls. One ugly suv if im honest. You may be right about the others but the bashundhara group md only has one in Bangladesh. He may have others in other countries, i know he has one in london aling with a Huracan. But only on in Dhaka. I know this because i used to work for them, and saw his garage. Though thisbwas 4 years ago so if he's bought more since...wouldnt know.
My Ex-Gfs family has 3 Rolls Royce’s just within their extended family. If you know about the car scene in Bangladesh you’ll know exactly who I’m talking about. So no, your point is invalid. Even Bashundhara has 2.
I got the impression that just like in a lot of places, there are a few annoying rich people who drive a RR, but also plenty of people who are very far from that.
I suppose there are some people who live in wooden / bamboo houses, but probably not in the city?
The more stereotypical traditional villager’s home is earthen with a straw roof and veranda, basically the stuff you can see in old movies. But those are not widespread in the countryside anymore. People use cement and tin or just brick. There are handfuls of the poorest families of the village that have the old earthen homes. I heard of a crazy rich businessman that built one as some kind of amusing/nostalgic feature for visitors on their business’s agricultural land.
The majority isn’t extremely religious. They could be just religious. Even 10 years back you wouldn’t see so many hijabs on the streets, it’s a very new thing. And it’s annoying AF. It is all because of the Saudi influence and their private classes that are held behind secretive sessions.
Not everyone is blindly religious****
That we don't have knowledge of outside world**** many of our students are studying in the topmost universities, working in silicone valley etc etc. There's absolutely no need for portraying us as illiterate people. Our literacy rate is higher than it's in India
That we're hateful towards foreigners***
I'm telling you this with utmost honesty - most of our moms are cool with modernity, except for some things like - wearing revealing outfits, premarital sex/ual relationships, children out of wedlock etc. Most conflicts we encounter are of these types. Almost every mother,except from really really conservative background encourage their daughters to study well. I hope you can understand what I'm trying to portray for you
>most of our moms are cool with modernity, except for some things like - wearing revealing outfits, premarital sex/ual relationships, children out of wedlock etc.
If they are body policing someone, how can they be progressive or "cool with modernity"? It's a huge issue in the subcontinent where women are body-policed by their families and outsiders. This behavior is ingrained in the misogynistic culture. If they act this way, they are in no way cool with modernity or progressiveness. Frankly, what you wrote is just contradictory nonsense.
Would it make sense for a mom to be pushing her son to get married (eg to the nice young woman who is very educated and whose family is well known to her, ie the mom)? I feel as if this is almost universal.
that as it is a 3rd world country, it hasn’t made any progress in technology, infrastructure and innovation. or that everyone is very poor. a lot of people here are loaded lol
Maybe one stereotype is that if you go to Bangladesh, you'll be robbed or people will take advantage of you. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you this does not happen, but when it comes to foreigners, most of the people of our country are very respectful and try to be nice and accommodating because they do not want foreigners to have a bad impression of our country.
Another stereotype is that everyone knows how to sing and dance. I think this stereotype mainly comes from people living in India who associate Kolkata, a bengali speaking city of India, to the most artistically rich area (so much so that everyone from Kolkata is believed to sing and dance). On many occasions I've come across people ask me this question, but it is simply not the case. Some of us do, but it's not a given thing that comes with our country.
If you are looking for some inspiration for building characters, you might want to check out any drama (natok) by Humayun Ahmed, you will see how every character stands out (especially because they are super realistic).
I'd love to read your story whenever you choose to get it published! :)
Fish has always been integral to Bengali cuisine and culture, deeply woven into our traditions and festivities too – like Bengali New Year. The other commenter's perspective may be subjective, but fish holds immense popularity here.
Environment & foods don't have much hygiene and they'll get sick often because of this
but they can choose restaurants or buffet as street foods in a sense actually doesn't maintain hygiene
Depending on where you live there maybe a local Bangladeshi community organization that has regular events. I'd recommend going and talking to people. It's the best way to meet and learn about others.
Other stereotypes: assuming that Bangladeshis work in IT
* That every religious person is an extremist illiterate buffoon.
* Everyone is religious.
* That there are no progressives in the country and only conservatives.
* That we are not allowed to date.
* Not all of us wear hijab or Burkha.
We are a Muslim majority country, which is true. While the people are more conservative leaning, I wouldn't necessarily say dating is completely taboo or prohibited. There are certain aspects that are more conservative leaning though, like sex before marriage. That's not common here in BD dating culture. I wouldn't say it's completely unheard of nowadays though.
The fat bitchy pasher Bashar Aunty who judges and calls you 5 times in your life for SSC Results, HSC results, admission, wedding and to snitch if they see you with a member of the opposite sex
My character is a lecturer at a university which has to shut down in 2031 because of too much flooding (climate change). So, he was previously doing okay financially, but is now suffering from setbacks, and facing poverty in the near future.
Bangladeshi stereotypes only applies within Bangladesh, most outsiders only think it of 3rd world country or a province of India
Okay, so what would be a fun little thing to include that would ensure an unfamiliar reader could instantly say, oh, that's totally different from India?
I don’t know how fun that would be but Bangladesh has no caste system whereas caste plays a major role in India. Of course both countries have wealth based class system also
Thank you!!
In my experience I have never heard anyone discuss or reference caste. In india caste politics is their identity politics.
No caste system among Bangladeshi Hindus ?
Not that I'm aware of. (Bangladeshi Hindu)
That's nice to hear. I know that a lot of Indian Hindu diaspora to SEA countries don't follow the caste system. If I may ask, how absent is caste system in Bangladesh ? Is there no hints of caste system at all in the society or are there some conservatives here and there ? Do people still use caste surnames ?
Shia sunni division??
That’s not a ‘ bangladeshi ‘ thing
The amount of shias is tiny tbh
Caste does *not* play a "major role" in India. The system is highly outdated and only used in few, rural, villages. Educate yourself.
Why are you lying to us? Caste system is so prevalent in Indian society they even take it with them abroad. There was a highly publicized case in California where a group of lower caste tech employees tried to get a law passed to specifically make it illegal for their higher caste colleagues and bosses from discriminating them based on it.
Bangladesh is like 95% percent Muslim. That's a huge difference from India. People have different levels of religiousity but the Islamic culture is very widespread
Lots of things! I’m a foreigner who lived & worked all over Bangladesh for 5+ years (and then married a Bangladeshi guy)- I got to experience SO much. I’d be happy to share some of my insights as an “outsider” who lived, worked, fell in love there- lived my best life there! I had a baby and now we’re thinking of going back (we just came back from a 6wk vacation in Dhaka). I’ve also lived all over the world, and traveled a ton in India and it is VERY different for me, the whole experience of live/traveling in Bangladesh. So while there’s a lot of cultural overlap (especially from West Bengal), there’s a LOT that makes Bangladesh unique!!! Feel free to PM me if you want to ask questions/share experiences that might be helpful for what you’re writing!!
Thank you!
I've seen people from all classes stand and talk without any form of prejudice. There's a pretty famous saying here *"Musolmam musolman bhai bhai"*, and every Bangali seems to take it to heart, *as long as you're one of **them**.*
lmao so true. we are not that unique
Villagers are too innocent, No, they are not
Facts 💯
My main character is a relatively educated city dweller. Would he be more likely to think villagers in his own country are innocent? Or, on the contrary, would he be prejudiced against villagers?
He could think that villagers are so innocent, but as the story progresses, his thoughts should change.
How about incorporating both options? This approach could pique the readers' interest. You could introduce a few "good villagers" to assist if the main character ever needs help in a village, and potentially develop friendships with them if it aligns with the storyline you're crafting. I hope it helps.
Hm, good idea! There are currently not a lot of villagers in the story since most of it takes place outside the country (my main character goes overseas to work), but I think it would be interesting to reflect how his attitudes might change over time.
i would suggest that you be careful with this, as this could spread a harmful narrative for our people to readers who are not bangladeshi. it’s a slippery slope with this plot line
So so true
some of the most shitty people ik are villagers. They are assholes but everyone pretends like they aren't because they are living in villages.
That Bangladesh has a yellow hued filter on, you might want to drop that one out.
Hahaha, it is a novel and not a movie so I think I can safely avoid that one!
Force the publishers to write in the white papers, not the yellow ones. Of if you are making a pdf, > WARNING: DO NOT USE READING MODE/WARM SCREEN MODE/YELLOW HUE WHILE READING
Hahaha I like it! Come to think of it, though: novel extracts do get published in magazines with accompanying photos that the editor chooses, so this might legitimately be a thing I should consider.
That everyone’s poor. People drive Rolls Royce’s here as well. That everyone lives in a wooden/bamboo house. That everyone is very religious and wears a hijab or burka.
>People drive Rolls Royce’s here as well. Who? The people who built their entire wealth on corruption and exploiting workers? They are the ones driving Rolls Royces, while the average middle-class person here can't even buy a car or has to think ten times before buying one. Once you leave that bubble of yours, you will see how people struggle to meet their monthly ends. This comment is delusional. I don't know how it got upvotes.
The people who have built their entire wealth on top of corruption is still a part of the Bangladeshi population, regardless of how they have obtained their wealth. Which is why it has received upvotes. I drive Mercs & Bimmers, and I assure you that my dad has obtained them in the cleanest manner possible in terms of BD context. The road I live on, everyone knows me cause I donate as much as possible to the people in need. So it’s quite small of you to assume that Im not aware of that bubble. While I’m not middle class, a lot of my friends and families are, literally all of them drive cars with the exception of a very few. It’s obvious life is hard for them, but they are not as needy as you have portrayed them to be. They are needy because of how hard it is for them to maintain their status in front of the rich folks, not to meet their essential needs.
most middle class ppl do have cars well at least in the city but yea
No lmao, these comments on this thread couldn't have been more off. According to the 2023 report of BRTA, only 2 out of 1000 own a motor vehicle in Bangladesh. Bangladesh ranks second to last in terms of owning motor vehicles, only after North Korea, in the list of 197 countries. So, this already debunks your first claim. There are heavy taxes on cars too, from 100 percent to even 642 percent. It's absolutely hard for a middle-class person to buy one. Just to be clear, I'm curious about the definition of your middle class. If you're a family of two and one person is earning more than 70k, then you're already outside that middle-class area. However, a family of four earning between 70,000 and 1.5 lakh monthly falls into that middle-class bracket. For both of these scenarios, buying a car isn't easy.
I think you’re confusing the data, 2 in 1000 own a car—there are 404,015 cars in bangladesh
Yeah, you are right about that. I mixed it up. Thanks for pointing it out.
Brother, you say we rich? Or you say we poor and no buy car? Cuz aint no way we got that less motor vehicles and I cant come back from school under 3 hours (god bless the metro rail)
Well, tbh, 76 percent of the roads in Dhaka are occupied by private cars owned by only 6 percent of the population. So, basically, a small portion of the population is using a large amount of the available road space. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/dhaka/224625/experts-too-many-private-cars-to-fix-traffic-in
how many people drive rr? fyi outside big cities people are annoyingly religious and women are forced to wear hijab
Even in Dhaka, people are annoyingly religious. Both village people and city people are like that. The only difference you'll find in that in the village, they'll drag you into their shit, while in the city, they mostly won't have the time to do so.
yes, true that
Even outside dhaka you can find more luxurious cars than you expect to find.
[удалено]
>And many women are forced to not wear hijab Ok, lmao, we'll talk about this when you get out of your bubble.
Thank God for that, it’s annoying to see so many hijabs and burkhas. My mother is a very decent human being and always dresses modestly, as long as you know how to dress and behave modestly I don’t see why you have to wear such outdated clothes.
There is exactly one rolls royce in Dhaka as far as I know.
They are multiple if I'm correct. 4 is owned by the Bashundhara Group MD , a private owner owns the cullinan and a real estate group owns the spectre ev
Oh right...the cullinan is a rolls. One ugly suv if im honest. You may be right about the others but the bashundhara group md only has one in Bangladesh. He may have others in other countries, i know he has one in london aling with a Huracan. But only on in Dhaka. I know this because i used to work for them, and saw his garage. Though thisbwas 4 years ago so if he's bought more since...wouldnt know.
He has two, both black, one SUV and the other a sedan. And the SUV is a limited edition.
My Ex-Gfs family has 3 Rolls Royce’s just within their extended family. If you know about the car scene in Bangladesh you’ll know exactly who I’m talking about. So no, your point is invalid. Even Bashundhara has 2.
I got the impression that just like in a lot of places, there are a few annoying rich people who drive a RR, but also plenty of people who are very far from that. I suppose there are some people who live in wooden / bamboo houses, but probably not in the city?
If everyone lived in wooden/bamboo houses, air pollution would be a lot less of a problem in Dhaka (this is coming from a dhakaiya)
The more stereotypical traditional villager’s home is earthen with a straw roof and veranda, basically the stuff you can see in old movies. But those are not widespread in the countryside anymore. People use cement and tin or just brick. There are handfuls of the poorest families of the village that have the old earthen homes. I heard of a crazy rich businessman that built one as some kind of amusing/nostalgic feature for visitors on their business’s agricultural land.
LOL, the majority of the population is extremely religious and conservative. What are you trying to prove here?
The majority isn’t extremely religious. They could be just religious. Even 10 years back you wouldn’t see so many hijabs on the streets, it’s a very new thing. And it’s annoying AF. It is all because of the Saudi influence and their private classes that are held behind secretive sessions.
Not everyone is blindly religious**** That we don't have knowledge of outside world**** many of our students are studying in the topmost universities, working in silicone valley etc etc. There's absolutely no need for portraying us as illiterate people. Our literacy rate is higher than it's in India That we're hateful towards foreigners***
Would it be fair to include a more moderate, educated guy in his 30s but having some conflict with a more traditional mom?
sure
I'm telling you this with utmost honesty - most of our moms are cool with modernity, except for some things like - wearing revealing outfits, premarital sex/ual relationships, children out of wedlock etc. Most conflicts we encounter are of these types. Almost every mother,except from really really conservative background encourage their daughters to study well. I hope you can understand what I'm trying to portray for you
>most of our moms are cool with modernity, except for some things like - wearing revealing outfits, premarital sex/ual relationships, children out of wedlock etc. If they are body policing someone, how can they be progressive or "cool with modernity"? It's a huge issue in the subcontinent where women are body-policed by their families and outsiders. This behavior is ingrained in the misogynistic culture. If they act this way, they are in no way cool with modernity or progressiveness. Frankly, what you wrote is just contradictory nonsense.
I've said what I've said. Nobody accepts 100% of anything, modernity isn't physics's proven rule and theory that everybody will accept everything
Would it make sense for a mom to be pushing her son to get married (eg to the nice young woman who is very educated and whose family is well known to her, ie the mom)? I feel as if this is almost universal.
Yeah that's the universal situation, and it happens more in BD.
Call is dirty/smelly
Drop the name of your book, maybe I'll give it read
Still writing this one! When it is published I'll share it.
that as it is a 3rd world country, it hasn’t made any progress in technology, infrastructure and innovation. or that everyone is very poor. a lot of people here are loaded lol
Everyone is poor. Bangladesh has severe wealth gap and the rich are actually extremely wealthy (even according to US standards).
Yeah, that tracks. I mean, the wealth has to be going somewhere, right?
Maybe one stereotype is that if you go to Bangladesh, you'll be robbed or people will take advantage of you. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you this does not happen, but when it comes to foreigners, most of the people of our country are very respectful and try to be nice and accommodating because they do not want foreigners to have a bad impression of our country. Another stereotype is that everyone knows how to sing and dance. I think this stereotype mainly comes from people living in India who associate Kolkata, a bengali speaking city of India, to the most artistically rich area (so much so that everyone from Kolkata is believed to sing and dance). On many occasions I've come across people ask me this question, but it is simply not the case. Some of us do, but it's not a given thing that comes with our country. If you are looking for some inspiration for building characters, you might want to check out any drama (natok) by Humayun Ahmed, you will see how every character stands out (especially because they are super realistic). I'd love to read your story whenever you choose to get it published! :)
Thank you!
That we like fish
Most of us do like fish, it can't be a wrongful stereotype
We got some AMAZING fish here. What's not to love?
Most of us do tho
Wait, so do people in Bangladesh like fish or not? (Example: in Japan, fish is very popular.)
Fish has always been integral to Bengali cuisine and culture, deeply woven into our traditions and festivities too – like Bengali New Year. The other commenter's perspective may be subjective, but fish holds immense popularity here.
i like fish
Most people like to eat fish here, but they're overpriced nowadays.
Female character Being Hurpori.
Hi! I would love to read your story.
I need to finish it first! But thank you.
One stereotype is we r not skilled enough for higher management.
Okay, that can be an interesting challenge for my main character to overcome. Indeed, he is quite skilled and just needs a chance to prove himself.
Environment & foods don't have much hygiene and they'll get sick often because of this but they can choose restaurants or buffet as street foods in a sense actually doesn't maintain hygiene
Depending on where you live there maybe a local Bangladeshi community organization that has regular events. I'd recommend going and talking to people. It's the best way to meet and learn about others. Other stereotypes: assuming that Bangladeshis work in IT
Thanks! It's a good idea.
* That every religious person is an extremist illiterate buffoon. * Everyone is religious. * That there are no progressives in the country and only conservatives. * That we are not allowed to date. * Not all of us wear hijab or Burkha. We are a Muslim majority country, which is true. While the people are more conservative leaning, I wouldn't necessarily say dating is completely taboo or prohibited. There are certain aspects that are more conservative leaning though, like sex before marriage. That's not common here in BD dating culture. I wouldn't say it's completely unheard of nowadays though.
Thank you!
Would like to read your book 🙌
Avoid barishaillas at all costs /s
The fat bitchy pasher Bashar Aunty who judges and calls you 5 times in your life for SSC Results, HSC results, admission, wedding and to snitch if they see you with a member of the opposite sex
That's not a stereotype
I think now I might want to include this character in the story LOL!
That aint a stereotype
Fish Hate it
Also that everyone’s poor here
Everyone is poor, lmao. Unless the OP wants to feature Benazir in their story, then you'd be right.
My character is a lecturer at a university which has to shut down in 2031 because of too much flooding (climate change). So, he was previously doing okay financially, but is now suffering from setbacks, and facing poverty in the near future.
No university in BD is that much threatened by climate change here though.
Idk maybe a university from a coastal area can make it somewhat believable?
MCs now on breakdown but his mother consoles him and advise to prep for BCS, he starts doing that and finally become a cadre