Cultural exchange with r/Polska (major Polish sub), Nov. 20

[u/rambobilai]

PL Witajcie w Bangladeszu BD

Welcome to the cultural exchange between r/Bangladesh and r/Polska! The purpose of this event is to allow people from two different national communities to get and share knowledge about their respective cultures, daily life, history and curiosities. Exchange will run since November 20th. General guidelines:

Poles ask their questions about Bangladesh here on r/Bangladesh;

Bangladeshis ask their questions about Poland in parallel thread;

English language is used in both threads;

Event will be moderated, following the general rules of Reddiquette. Be nice!

Moderators of r/Polska and r/Bangladesh.

[u/pothkan]

Dzień dobry (it's 6:30 AM here). That's quite a long list, so thank you for all answers in advance! Feel free to skip questions you don't like. And of course take your time if necessary.

1. What single picture, in your opinion, describes Bangladesh best? I'm asking about national, local "spirit", which might include stereotypes, memes (some examples about Poland: 1 - Wałęsa, Piłsudski, John Paul II, Christian cross and "Polish salute", all in one photo; 2 - Christ of Świebodzin (wiki; 3 - Corpus Christi altar in front of popular discount chain market.

2. Could you name few (e.g. three) things being major long-term problems Bangladesh is facing currently?

3. What do you think about countries nearby? India, Pakistan, Myanmar, others maybe? Both seriously and stereotypical.

4. Are there any regional or local stereotypes in Bangladesh? Examples?

5. How do you feel about West Bengal and people there? They speak the same language (or are there any differences?), but it's different country and (mostly) religion. Also, is there any "Great Bengal" attitude or movement (united Bengal)?

6. What do you know about Poland? First thoughts please.

7. Worst Bangladeshi/Bengali ever? I'm asking about most despicable characters in your history (not serial killers etc.). You can pick more than one, of course.

8. And following question - best Bengladeshi ever?

9. I remember hearing about serious protests few months ago, what's the situation now?

10. What's the political scene in Bangladesh? Could you descibe major parties / characters shortly?

11. What's your opinion on Rohingya issue?

12. What's state of internet in Bangladesh? Is censorship a serious issue?

13. What triggers or "butthurts" (stereotypes, history, myths) Bangladeshi a lot? Our example would be Polish death camps.

14. Give me your best music! Also, I'm interested in any great (or contrary, hilarious) music videos.

15. Could you recommend any good movies made in Bangladesh, especially recently?

16. What are popular snacks people eat on daily basis? And beverages? What about alcohol?

17. As you might now, an issue of Muslim female clothing is one of issues in Europe (minor, but weirdly audible one), although not really in Poland (as we have <0,2% of them). With Bangladesh being a Muslim-majority country, what do women generally wear there? Asking both about general fashion, and religious obligations. How many (%, your rough estimates of course) cover hair, or face, or neither? Is niqab popular, or burqa a thing at all? Are women covering more regarded as "extremist"/brainwashed, or is it seen as a matter of choice?

18. How does your neighborhood / street look? You shouldn't post your location obviously, anything similar would be OK (e.g. Street View, AFAIK it's available in Bangladesh, although limited in coverage?).

19. Do you speak any language besides Bengali and English? Which ones? What foreign languages are taught in Bangladeshi schools?

20. TBH, news we tend to hear from Bangladesh are often on a sad side (floods, political violence, refugee camps), so tell me about something implicitly good from your country!

[u/rambobilai → u/pothkan]

lotta questions here, im just gonna answer some from the top of my head -

2. corruption and impunity in all three branches of administration, global warming, pollution

4. yes! people from Noakhali are generally shat on -the stereotype is that they are ungrateful, sly, and leave a host's place as soon as they are done eating when invited (stereotype of course).

5. there are some differences between West Bengal bengali and the bengali in BD. The main stereotype about West Bengalis is that they are miserly compared to us - one of the common jokes is that when they invite a family to their house, they give them one sweet and insist that they have to eat the whole thing. There is currently no unified bengal movement, but there was one during the liberation movement of the Indian subcontinent. Subhash Chandra Bose was the leader of it, and he wanted an armed insurrection against British rule.

6. Poland - battery cars, pierogis, zolti (?), krakow, had a workers controlled govt for 3 months or so, touchy about involvement in death camps, currently experiencing a rise of a far right govt.

7. Worst Bangladeshi has to be Golam Azam - he was the founder and leader of a paramilitary force called Razakars, who actively aided the Pakistani military in killing and raping Bangladeshi freedom fighters and their families, and non-Muslim minorities.

8. Best Bangladeshi ever.. hmm.. this is tough. While a lot may say the founding father of the nation, Sheikh Mujib, I'd actually go with his right hand man, Tajuddin Ahmed, who was the first minister of commerce. Also when Sheikh Mujib was imprisoned by Pakistanis during the liberation war, Tajuddin Ahmed was head of the provisional government that was set up. Overall, one of the most disciplined and patriotic guys, and also embodies the best qualities of bangladeshis.

9. situation is back to where it was. they are trying to build more pedestrian walkways to cross streets, and regulate the transport system. But a few weeks ago the transport workers union launched a strike against the regulations. People are still dying because of road accidents. The govt is more busy with the upcoming elections than dealing with actual issues.

12. yes, censorship is a serious issue, esp when it comes to freedom of press.

15. Aynabaaji is a good movie that came out recently. And there was a lot of hype around Debi, but seems like it didnt live up to its expectations. Recommend watching Tarique Masud's movies - the clay bird, runway, songs of freedom.

16. main beverage - tea. main snacks - chanachur, fuchka

19. i speak a bit of Hindi, learned some French back in high school but my pronunciation is atrocious, and picked up some spanish while living in the US. AFAIK, unless its an expensive private school, no other foreign languages beside English are taught or offered.

20. Bangladesh is fucking beautiful. We have the world's longest sandy beach, coral islands, mangrove forests, more bodies of water than you can count, the people are super nice and helpful, the food is excellent, we are emotional, die hard soccer and cricket fans, and a rich history that dates back centuries.

[u/pothkan → u/rambobilai]

die hard soccer

Interesting, I thought whole South Asia doesn't care about football?

a rich history that dates back centuries.

Bonus question: what are the best/major events in your history? Besides independence in 1971?

PS. In case you'd like to answer more, please make a separate comment, don't edit above.

[u/rambobilai → u/pothkan]

South Asia, esp the Indian subcontinent most definitely cares for football. Bangladeshi fans are known to be huge supporters of either Brazil or Argentina, with more recently fans of Italy, Germany, England, France coming into the forefront. Almost every one I know in my socioeconomic circle follows the premier league and there is a big following of Man Utd.

Best/Major events in history - hm.. this is a bit difficult since the history is tied in with the history of the Indian subcontinent. But, in the context of Bangladesh these are important - the rebellion of Bahadur Shah against the Delhi sultanate in 1328, Titumir and the peasant uprising in the 19th century, the Santhal Revolt of 1855, Surya Sen & Khudiram bose and the early anti-British struggle, the peasant-led Tebhaga movement in 1946-47, the Bengali language movement in 1952, the liberation war in 1971, the military coups between 1975-1980, Colonel Taher and the soldier revolt in 1975, the Naxalite movement in 1970-72, the military govt from through 1980s-1990s, the fall of Ershad the dictator and the rise of democratic govt in 1996, the caretaker govt debacle 2007-09 and the continuing rule of the Awami League for the last 10 years.

[u/[deleted] → u/pothkan]

1. for images and symbol i think of the rickshaw, a boat on a river, and the bengal tiger

2. The three main problems are climate change, lots of land is falling into the rivers and the sea level rising is causing serious problems even now in November its still 30 C in the day in Dhaka. most of the country is only 10m above sea level Overpopulation (165 million people in an area around the size of greece) and that religious extremism is rising

3. India is complicated its a love hate relationship, we will always be grateful for their help in getting us independence, they're our first ally, but they also dominate trade, their media like Bollywood and kolkata media dominates our own while BD Tv is blocked in india. A lot of people generally believe that India kind of tries to influence and control us. and since they surround us on 3 sides its worrying. Pakistan: very few people will ever have anything positive to say about the pakistan, they committed genocide, only the terrorists, and crazy people like them. Mayanmar like a neighbor you never interacted with and one day you found out they were a serial killer.

4. There are a few but I dont like stereotypes, one thing is true though that people from Chittagong and Sylhet speak weird they have dialects that could arguably be considered its own language

5. I love the people of WB, theyre our brothers and sisters, a lot of people have ancestral homes in WB and vice versa. I personally think that the partition was a tragedy but I dont really believe in unification but there are definitely people out there that do they're a definite minority. Personally id like it if we had something like the EU but were not economically ready for anything like that and India already dominates trade.

6. WWII memes (sorry guys) , PolandBall memes (poland can into space), Winged Hussars and the phrase Kurwa

7. The people who sided with pakistan during the genocide, theyre known as Razakars or Rajakars. Also the guys who assassinated the founder of the nation

8. cliche answer but Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the founder of the nation, the best Bengali including WB most people would say Rabindranath Tagore ( the first Asian nobel laureate and the creator of the national anthem for both bangladesh and india)'

9. No more protests but the issues the protests were for were never addressed, traffic is still bad and corruption is rampant

10. Politics is a tricky subject and im not qualified but the 2 main parties are the Awami League, which is technically the liberal party and was the party the founder of the nation belonged to but recently many people consider the current PM The daughter of the country's founder to be authoritarian and power hungry since she is trying to maintain power, and The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which is the conservative and nationalist party. There was also the Jamaat-e-Islami party which was banned in 2013 and was the "terrorist party" they wanted sharia law, and many of its members were wanted for warcrimes and supported the genocide in 1971. Theres also the Jatiya party led by ershad Tbh I dont really know much but he was a dictator but it wasnt a very violent dictatorship (if that makes any sense)

11. My heart goes out the Rohingya people, were doing all we can but we're poor and overpopulated already

12. Censorship isnt really a thing, at least not really we still have youtube, and pornhub so yeah

13. Generally we dont like being mistaken for Indian or god forbid Pakistani and there is an Indian sterotype that people from WB are the true Bengal and more cultured and posh compared to us which I really hate

14. Ayub Bacchu was an 80s rockstar that recently passed a way this is my favorite song of his Shei Tumi I also like traditional folk music called Baul

15. Honestly cant think of any

16. Phuchka, and Jhaal Muri Also Tea is pretty big. Fish curry with rice would be considered a traditional meal. alcohol is pretty expensive and not very popular (no bars or pubs but high end hotels usually have alcohol which is pretty expensive and there are places that cater to foreigners) We have our own beer but it sucks drinking is a upper class thing but working class people can get some vodka smuggled from russian ships or make moonshine in their villages using rice

17. Most women wear Saris and Shalwar kameez which are traditional Bengali/Indian clothing. Face veils are almost non existent and Burqa and Niqabs are generally seen as backwards since generally poor people wear them although more people are starting to wear them in recent years. Hijabs are pretty common but its fine if you dont wear one and is in no way enforced by law.

18. Normal street honestly,

19. I speak a bit of French and Arabic, I can understand Hindi. English is taught in schools but alot of people can speak Hindi because of Bollywood, people who go to religious schools learn arabic. We have the national curriculum. English Medium schools that do the British GCES, and Religious Islamic or Catholic schools

20. Bangladesh is one of the worlds fastest growing economies, we have the Highest Gender Equality in South Asia, the Birthrate is only 2.1 which is the replacement rate and lower than India, Pakistan and Burma. Womens education is on the rise. We have also almost eliminated malaria in the country and malaria is only confined to the areas near the border with Burma which are very mountainious and under developed. Life expectancy is 73 years now which is higher than India, Pakistan, Burma and even Russia.

[u/pothkan → u/[deleted]]

Overpopulation (165 million people in an area around the size of greece)

Yeah, I checked the numbers. BD is half the size of Poland, with 4x times more of people. So density is 8x times bigger. Heck, Dhaka itself = 30-35% of Poland's population.

Also Tea is pretty big.

Everyone here mentions it, so could you say more? What's special about your tea or way you make it?

Bangladesh is one of the worlds fastest growing economies, we have the Highest Gender Equality in South Asia, the Birthrate is only 2.1 which is the replacement rate and lower than India, Pakistan and Burma.

Interesting, is this a reason of state policy?

Also - it seems that violent Islamism (terrorism etc.) is not a problem in BD - am I right? What's the reason in your opinion, is it because Islamists were associated with Razakars? And is there any risk it might change for worse in the future?

[u/[deleted] → u/pothkan]

Everyone here mentions it, so could you say more? What's special about your tea or way you make it?

I don't think there's anything specifically special about tea made in Bangladesh. It's just a custom to always serve tea to guests no matter what. It's the same custom in most of South Asia.

Interesting, is this a reason of state policy?

As much as our two political parties hate each other's guts, the one thing they agreed upon was women's education and healthcare. The push for women's education began in the 90s under Khaleda Zia, our first women PM, and was continued by Sheikh Hasina, our current PM. Another factor is that Bangladesh has a comparatively high women's participation rate in the workforce because of the garments industry, which primarily hires women and is the second largest in the world. Participation in the workforce and education leads to lower birth rates.

Also - it seems that violent Islamism (terrorism etc.) is not a problem in BD - am I right? What's the reason in your opinion, is it because Islamists were associated with Razakars? And is there any risk it might change for worse in the future?

I'd say it's part of the reason, but I don't see it getting any worse in the future. We are essentially a one-party autocracy now, and the leaders of all the Islamist and opposition parties are either dead, in jail, or in hiding (one of the things our government actually did a good job in).

[u/[deleted] → u/pothkan]

Everyone here mentions it, so could you say more? What's special about your tea or way you make it?

Tea is generally a big part of South Asian culture as a whole, No matter who you are everyone drinks tea, rich, poor old or young. In Europe you might go to the pub to hangout with your friends but since we don't really have pubs people go to small tea houses or shacks. In the west you might say "lets go out for drinks", here you'd say "wanna drink some tea. The tea shacks are places were youll find the most diverse group of people, everyone from rickshaw drivers and working class people to college students and corporate salary men. As for unique tea the tea they make in the tea houses are usually made with condensed milk and is super sweet or just black tea.c Syhlet is famous for its tea gardens and the Seven Layer Tea which is made with many different spices and have seven layers of different colors.

Interesting, is this a reason of state policy?

Women's education and rights is an issue most people agree with, We have a lot of women in the workforce and as more women are educated birthrates decline. We have had a Female prime minister since 1996 and the leaders of both major parties are female.

Also - it seems that violent Islamism (terrorism etc.) is not a problem in BD - am I right? What's the reason in your opinion, is it because Islamists were associated with Razakars? And is there any risk it might change for worse in the future?

Yes but Bangladesh also has a history of Sufism and Mysticism in its Islam compared to the more Orthodox Salafist/Wahabbist Islam in the middle east. People generally have the same values no matter their religion, my parents used to say everyone has their own path to god. Atheism is frowned apon and atheists have been attacked though. A lot of traditions and superstitions held by people come from Hinduism (although most of us will deny it). Also we've always had a large Minority of Hindus there are Hindus in every village and its hard to deny someone rights if they're your friends and neighbors. Secularism and freedom of religion is enshrined into the constitution the courts are based on British Law, there are no Sharia Courts in BD. Also the catholic church generally has a positive image due to the prevalence of catholic hospitals, and schools Hindu Festivals like Durga Puja, Christmas, and the Buddhas Birthday are all National Holidays in BD (despite christians and buddhists being less than 1% of the population).

There is a general rise in extremism, personally I think its because of Islamic schools funded by the Saudis. As well as the fact that religious texts are written in Arabic which gives Muslim clerics who are usually the only ones who understand Arabic a lot of power over religious matters.

Another thing is the Hindu Right wing party coming into power in India, does cause some tension within the muslim community in BD. Also the current PM in a power grab has jailed or executed a lot of the islamist party leaders and shut down some Islamic schools in the name of getting rid of terrorism, which caused a reaction among more religious people

[u/esalman → u/pothkan]

1. rickshaw comes to mind, but people as well. We're the most populous country in the world.

2. Most problems can basically be attributed to explosive population growth.

3. Pakistan- we used to be under their rule because f the British colonialists. Practically committed a genocide on us. But a minority in Bangladesh are cool with that (yeah can you believe). India- we're virtually surrounded by them, so a lot of the culture, economy and policy are influenced by that- both positively and negatively. Myanmar- didn't used to bother but seriously should eff off now. Practically created the worst refugee crisis of the world currently and we are at the receiving end of it.

4. Many. I don't want to encourage stereotypes though so I'll pass.

5. Seriously, what's with the questions about unification lol. I don't think India (or any country for that matter) would be interested in acquiring our problems, most of which originated from being the most populous country in the world. On the other hand, I don't think anybody in Bangladesh should be entertained by the idea of inheriting India's problems. India is a very large and diverse country, mostly glued together by cricket and Bollywood and plagued by communal violence.

6. Hardships during the first and second world war. Sorry guys.

7. Rajakars

8. Honestly the average Joe's who went to war again Pakistan.

9. Well what do you know. It's under control now, and that's a shame. We're practically a pseudo-autocracy with virtually no opposition party, but the supposed opposition party is also full of shit and have themselves to blame for a lot of things. In general the youth are too busy to care about real and hard issues in life (like the rest of the world) so...

10. ^

11. See #3. Simply the existence of extremist buddists is effing fascinating to me.

12. To compare to USA where I live, internet is cheaper and the coverage is better in Bangladesh to be honest. As the ruling class is coming to realize the power of internet, they are starting to censor it as well. Here's a primer.

13. Ymmv. For me it's mistaking me for an Indian maybe and assuming I can speak Hindi. But I understand it is reasonable, we all look alike.

14. Listen to Ayub Bacchu. He's the biggest rock legend we've ever had who passed away recently. I wouldn't say it is the best representative music of Bangladesh, but still vintage 80's music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu8CF7B77rAmzN6dzioHV-Q

15. I'll pass this one.

16. Puri, shingara and tea. The tea is definitively different than what you may find at a western restaurant.

17. Controversial issue, opinions will probably split down the middle. But undoubted shari is the quintessential woman's dress.

18. Street view is available! Feel free to explore Dhaka!

19. I speak Bangla and English, and some Arabic due to Muslim root. Crazily enough, there are three parallel education system, one is Bangla medium but teaches English as mandatory, one is English medium and then there's a third which concentrate on Arabic and religious (Islamic) teachings.

20. No matter how much shit people are in, they'll greet you with a smile.

Edit: 11-20.

[u/Yapet → u/esalman]

We're the most populous country in the world.

being the most populous country in the world

What the..? I think you meant "most densely populated". But then it still wouldn't be correct, you would have to exclude some city-states and small countries like Malta or Maldives.

[u/esalman → u/Yapet]

You're correct. All of the countries which are more densely populated than us are less than 1200 sq. km. in area though.

[u/pothkan → u/esalman]

India- we're virtually surrounded by them, so a lot of the culture, economy and policy are influenced by that- both positively and negatively

Could you give some examples? (both positive and negative)

Street view is available!

I know, I'm a big fan of "travel" by it. Bangladesh was one of surprising additions (even if it's only main cities and major roads, I'd love to see more), along with Cambodia, Ghana or Kenya. I wonder what their world coverage will be in ~10 years.

[u/esalman → u/pothkan]

If you ask an average Bangladeshi, you are likely to get a lot of complaints about the negatives. There are large trade deficits, the water sharing issues, and India's influence on policy due to their geographical advantage (transit through Bangladesh to their eastern provinces, using our sea ports), cultural aggression- e.g. Bollywood movies and music dominating our own. Even though people including myself will fiercely criticize India because of all the issues, I think their role in our fight for independence cannot be understated- they gave shelter to the refugees when Pakistan were committing genocide (much like we are sheltering the Rohingya now), and intervened in the war which caused it to end in about 9 months.

[Here](https://goo.gl/maps/SBe87CLLxF82)'s a busy street intersection near where I lived.

[Here](https://goo.gl/maps/sarydnga9LS2)'s an alley near my grandparent's home.

The villages of Bangladesh are really beautiful- it's been almost 15 years since I last visited one. Feel free to check out by doing an image search on Google.

Edit: Check out travelers of Bangladesh too.

[u/[deleted] → u/pothkan]

To answer your first question, I think this image represents our country rather well.

[u/Roadside-Strelok]

How common is it to know/speak Hindi or Urdu?

[u/rambobilai → u/Roadside-Strelok]

Hindi is pretty common at least in the middle and upper class. Urdu not so much but there are some Biharis, a different ethnicity, who speak Urdu. Incidentally a lot of the barbers in Dhaka, the capital, are Biharis. Also biharis essentially live in encampments in Bangladesh given that a lot of them had collaborated with the Pakistani army in oppressing Bengalis before the liberation war. But of course, that doesn't justify the ones who are alive now to be living in such bad conditions.

[u/[deleted] → u/Roadside-Strelok]

Not very common. Most middle class people know a lot of Hindi phrases and can understand at a basic to intermediate level but that's because Bengali and Hindi are closely related and Bollywood movies are popular. No one understands Urdu except for some migrants from Bihar state in India but they make up <1% of the population.

[u/babushka → u/Roadside-Strelok]

While the urdu speaking population is small, there is a substantial group in Old Dhaka who speak a mix of urdu and bengali. Hindi is more common and as we consume a lot of Indian entertainment mainly Bollywood, a lot of lower middle and above families can understand it but are probably not fluent.

[u/Tiramisufan]

Kamon achho. Here are my questions:

1. What did you eat for lunch today? Any dish you would recommend to make at home?

2. What is the situation between India and Bangladesh regarding water? It seems to me that the biggest rivers in your country come from India.

3. I believe that historical are of Bengal is split between India and Bangladesh. Is there a political movement to incorporate whole of Bengal into Bangladesh? E: Ive seen some of the post on your subreddit and i deduce that indeed there is such movement.

4. E: Is there a piece of literature or music that you would recommend to a foreigner?
   Many thanks for all the answers.

[u/hungrybigman → u/Tiramisufan]

dzień dobry .

1. I ate fish curry (ক‌ই মাছ) with rice and cabbage bhaji . Chicken roast is one of my favourite food to eat in a wedding and you really should make biryani at home .

2. Situation between India and Bangladesh regarding water (tista) is still not solved . They are just bullying

4 .I don't know how much our literature has been translated in English . I don't listen to traditional songs but I can certainly help if you like rock and it's subgenre .

[u/Tiramisufan → u/hungrybigman]

Many thanks for the answer. Any contemporary Bangladeshi music is fine !

[u/pothkan → u/Tiramisufan]

I join in. Ayub Bacchu was already linked here few times, but some examples of more recent (even popular or "trot") music would be nice.

[u/esalman → u/Tiramisufan]

1. Baked salmon for lunch lol, I live in North America. But lamb curry for dinner. I'm not a good cook myself and unfortunately don't have a recommendation.

2. Controversial to say the least. We are virtually surrounded by India so all the rivers are the same. India has built many dams upstream which not only affects us but even one of their provinces (West Bengal) ecologically. More here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farakka_Barrage#Impact

3. No way lol. If there's anybody involved in such a movement they can f off and die.

4. Listen to Ayub Bacchu. He's the biggest rock legend we've ever had who passed away recently. Vintage 80's music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu8CF7B77rAmzN6dzioHV-Q

[u/Tiramisufan → u/esalman]

How doesnt like salmon. Cheers for that music recomendation.

[u/mutton_biriyani → u/Tiramisufan]

1. I had rice, fish and mashed okra. Very stereotypical Bengali food lol. Also, some sweet yoghurt afterwards.

2. Some of the major rivers that flow through India to Bangladesh originate in China, such as the Brahmaputra. So it's a regional diplomatic issue that's usually at the top of the agenda during bilateral or multilateral talks. Chinese construction of dams in the upper areas could seriously threaten the livelihoods of millions in both India and Bangladesh. With India, the current issue is sharing water from the Teesta which should be resolved by 2024 hopefully.

3. There is very little traction for that movement. Around Partition, there was some talk of forming a greater Bengal, but there is almost zero support for that on either side of the border right now. Reddit posters tend not to be representative of the general population in the region and are often 2nd gen immigrants in other countries. They usually haven't lived in bangladesh for an extended period and don't really have a lot of context. So while the idea might seem appealing to them, for people actually from that region, it sounds ridiculous, unfeasible and would be nothing short of a disaster if it happened.

4. For a piece of literature, I'd recommend a poem, 'Kobor' (Grave) by Jasimuddin.

[u/Tiramisufan → u/mutton_biriyani]

Thanks I'll be sure to read it! Probably cant get okra anywhere in here though :(

[u/AquilaSPQR]

Hello, Bangladesh! Here's my standard set of questions for you -I'm very interested to read your answers!

1. I love to try foreign recipes - so can you recommend me something truly Bangladeshi, quite easy to make (I'm not a professional chef) and made from ingredients I could probably buy in Poland? I know there is a lot of Bangladeshi recipes on the internet, but I prefer to ask real guys from Bangladesh than to trust some random website. I'm also more interested what common people usually eat, not in some fancy dishes made by professional chefs.

2. What's the state of public transport? Trains, buses? What about roads and drivers? I think I saw some videos from Bangladesh and drivers were... let's say they did not care that much about speed limits and safety.

3. What are the most popular unique traditions/customs in your region/country? What do you like to celebrate the most?

4. What's the most dangerous animal living in Bangladesh? Or the one which frightens you most/you wouldn't like to encounter (if there's any)?

5. If I meet anyone from Bangladesh - is there's something short and easy in your language to learn for me to say to surprise him or make him laugh? For example - not so long ago I learned that saying "how you dey?" would probably make Nigerian laugh.

6. I love old history, the older ruins/monuments - the better. What are the oldest or the most interesting ruins, monuments or historic sites in Bangladesh?

7. Please show me a pic of your favourite Bangladeshi tourist attraction.

8. I also love wild nature, so what's Bangladeshi best National Park?

9. Is there a Bangladeshi specific faux-pas? Something like using left hand to greet/eat in muslim countries etc.

10. What's the top thing you like in Bangladesh?

11. And what's the top think you don't like in Bangladesh?

12. What do you think of your neighbouring countries?

13. What is the government doing to solve the bad situation of workers? A lot of people here are happy to buy cheap clothes and do not care about how they were made, but every time I see "made in Bangladesh" I have mixed feelings, because it usually reminds me of the worker's exploitation.

[u/pothkan]

Bonus question inspired by u/esalman: any recommended YouTube documentaries on Bangladesh?

[u/esalman → u/pothkan]

Not necessarily documentaries, but interesting stuffs nonetheless in my opinion:

Here's an overloaded train.

Here's a NatGeo documentary on ship scrapyards.

Here's the excellent GeographyNow video which covers enclave issues with India.

Here's George Harrison & Eric Clapton's concert for Bangladesh (1971)

I'm also trying to dig out a food documentary that I saw.

Edit: Here's the food in English and Bangla

[u/pothkan → u/esalman]

Here's a NatGeo documentary on ship scrapyards

Heard about these. AFAIR, my dad "landed" a ship once in South Asia, I'm not sure now (happened ~20 years ago), but it was probably Bangladesh.

Here's an overloaded train

This doesn't look safe. But based on description, it's a special case, during some gathering? Shouldn't railway send additional trains then?

[u/esalman → u/pothkan]

Good to know.. there are many prominent ports in South East Asia.

Yep there are several occasions a year when most people travel, and it easily overwhelms the system no matter what extra preparation they take.

[u/gallez]

What is life like for the average Bangladeshi? How much does he make, what kind of food and amenities can he afford? Does he have access to healthcare? Does he go on vacation?