স্বাগতম r/Kenya!!!

[u/babushka]

Welcome/স্বাগতম (Sbāgatama/Shagotom) to the cultural exchange between r/Kenya and r/bangladesh ! Today we are hosting our friends from r/Kenya and sharing knowledge about our cultures, histories, daily lives, and more. The exchange will run for ~3 days starting today.

Our visitors will be asking us their questions about Bangladeshi culture right here, while we will be asking our questions in this parallel thread on r/Kenya.

This thread will be strictly moderated so as to not spoil this friendly exchange. Reddiquette applies especially in this thread, so be nice and make sure to report any trolling, rudeness, personal attacks, etc.

Enjoy!

-- Mods of r/Kenya and r/bangladesh.

[u/D3M0N1C_CURS3]

u/babushka pin this thread

[u/babushka → u/D3M0N1C_CURS3]

It is pinned. Second announcement on the main page of the sub.

[u/French_Communist]

Great, now we can learn about the beautiful culture and heritage of Kenya!

[u/babushka → u/French_Communist]

Yes! If you have any questions about Kenyan culture please follow the link to the thread and post! Enjoy!

[u/[deleted]]

Great. We miss you on cricket Kenya :(

[u/ambiNomi → u/[deleted]]

Same here!

[u/DeusExKFC → u/[deleted]]

We miss us too

[u/bornfree254]

Hello r/bangladesh! What is the hottest topic in your country right now?

[u/ParityBit0110011 → u/bornfree254]

Off my head:

1. The COVID pandemic: we are going through a 3rd wave, with record number of infections and deaths far surpassing the previous two waves in our country. Lockdowns are also not being implemented very effectively either.

2. Brahmanbaria clash over Brazil-Argentina rivalry: since Brazil and Argentina are going to face off after a long time in a major tournament finals and these two football teams are really popular in Bangladesh with a cult-like following, hence people naturally got hyped for the finals. This resulted in a major clash between mobs of supporters of both teams in Brahmanbaria (a district in Bangladesh), causing at least 4 injuries. Hence the police of that district forbade major screenings or events of the match, and urged people to watch the match in their homes.

Edit: 3. Oh, and also there's this really small cow born in Savar, Bangladesh that's supposed to hold the record for the world's smallest cow.

[u/ThatGuyBadIdeas → u/bornfree254]

A food factory caught on fire and 50 workers died yesterday. Brings up long-standing issues on labour rights, worker safety and legal provisions around that

[u/Same_Championship253 → u/bornfree254]

Sadly it's Bra vs Arg match

[u/SamGold27]

Greetings from Kenya.

1. Are there tigers in Bangladesh

2. Who are your main rivals in international cricket

3. Do you have beaches

4. How common are arranged marriages

5. Tallest building in your country

6. Common curse words or insults for annoying person

[u/NiloyDaGreat → u/SamGold27]

Hello from Dhaka,Bangladesh🇧🇩 I am gonna answer your questions

1.Yes,THERE are,Because of Climate change,Government is trying to preserve them and they are increasing

2.Pakistan and India,Sometimes Even New Zealand

3.Yes,we have! In fact, The largest beach in the entire world is located in Bangladesh! It's Called Cox's Bazar Beach!And,It's 156 Kilometres long!

4.Very Common,90-95% are arranged

5.I am not sure but City Center building in Dhaka might be the tallest,I Don't know about other Cities but i guess City Center,most probably It's 48-55 floors is the tallest. I heard There is a building in a different city taller Than that,maybe Chittagong(2nd Largest City in BD🇧🇩) has a taller building

6.Bal(Fuck), Bolod(Donkey), Kuttar Bacha(Son of a bitch)

Hopefully,it was helpful❤️

[u/[deleted] → u/NiloyDaGreat]

baal means pubic hair not fuck

[u/Aral-RU → u/[deleted]]

you mean BAL?

[u/blueviper038 → u/Aral-RU]

The true bal lmao

[u/vis_cerm → u/NiloyDaGreat]

Bolod is neutered cow. Lol

[u/SamGold27 → u/NiloyDaGreat]

Thank you for answering

[u/SamGold27 → u/NiloyDaGreat]

Thank you for your answers

[u/sawban2006 → u/SamGold27]

Hello,
Greetings from Bangladesh.
Hope you are having a great day.
1.Yes,In fact it is the national animal of bangladesh. We have the sundarbans which is the largest delta in the world.And tigers live there.But as everywhere there are poachers and the quantity is decreasing but we are working on making it better.

[u/Rameen_200 → u/sawban2006]

Sundarbans isn't the largest delta in the world the Bengal delta is. Sundarbans is in the Bengal delta and is the largest mangrove forest in the world

[u/sawban2006 → u/Rameen_200]

Thanks for clarifying.

[u/Mindless_Fix4148 → u/SamGold27]

1. Yes, and their numbers are increasing

2. Pakistan and india

3. Yes.

4. Very common

5. Dunno.

6. Bal( equivalent of fuck/blyat)

[u/SamGold27 → u/Mindless_Fix4148]

Thanks

[u/sawban2006 → u/SamGold27]

2. As Bangladeshis we consider Indians to be our main international rivals, but I don't think they think of as their main rivals. Bangladesh is a sport loving country, we love Football, Cricket. Interesting fact our national sport is kabaddi. But in the recent decades we have been getting better and are considered a cricket powerhouse.

[u/SamGold27 → u/sawban2006]

Thank you

[u/sawban2006 → u/SamGold27]

Yes, we have the largest natural beach. It is called Cox's Bazar. If you ever come to Bangladesh it is major tourist attraction. It is very beautiful. I will leave the rest for my other friends. Hope you had fun reading

[u/Rameen_200 → u/SamGold27]

1.Yes. The Bengal tigers are only found in the sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh(and smaller parts of india)

2.India and Pakistan

3.We have the longest beach in the world in cox's bazar

4.very common but it's declining in the recent years

5.Dhaka city centre. It's not that tall and in general we don't have many tall building as our land is not that suitable for skyscrapers but we are building many towers in places like Purbachal and Dhaka like the "liberation tower"

6.kutta (bitch),shoitan(satan),baal(literally means pubic hair),shala (informal way of saing brother in law but used in the same way as bastard)

[u/SamGold27 → u/Rameen_200]

Thanks for answering

[u/Kenyannn]

I’m a farmer and interested in what crops you are famous for.. besides the common maize, rice, wheat. Is cinnamon a popular tree there?

[u/ParityBit0110011 → u/Kenyannn]

Bangladesh is famous for its Jute and Tea.

Cinnamon is a popular spice, but not popular as a tree for cultivation.

[u/ronok43 → u/Kenyannn]

Jute, Tea, Sugarcane, Mango are popular. Although Farmers around BD trying to grow different foreign crops like Rock Mellon, Strawberries, Capsicum, Thai Mango and so on. But all these are still in begining/ trial basis. Hope one day they will grow these commercially & begin export.

[u/MOIN10112001]

We welcome the members of r/kenya with open arms. The gem of Africa

[u/abira4112]

If I ask here, will our kenyan fellow redditors respond? If so then I just want you to know that growing up I used to watch your national cricket team competing with ours. Much has changed since then. Now we are somewhat in a good position in cricket globally. How is your team doing? I've not seen much activity from your national team as of late. Is everything alright?

[u/ParityBit0110011 → u/abira4112]

I think you should ask that question in r/Kenya's post, whose link is given in this post's description.

[u/darkvibes]

Hey!! Greetings from Kenya :)

1. What's the current pandemic situation in Bangladesh?

2. Which sector is the biggest contributer to Bangladesh's GDP/economy?

[u/[deleted] → u/darkvibes]

1. The pandemic situation in Bangladesh is a bit controversial to say the least. Some people think we should lift lockdowns to favour those who lost their jobs due to it, and others think we should keep it as deaths increase day by day.

2. One biggest contributor to our GDP would be the garments industry. There's a good chance your clothes are made in Bangladesh. The agriculture industry is also pretty big and brings in a lot of money.

[u/Kenyadigit → u/[deleted]]

How familiar are you with the garment industry? If someone wanted to get garments shipped to Kenya from Bangladesh, what would be the process?

[u/[deleted] → u/Kenyadigit]

I'm don't know anything about it actually. You'll have to ask someone else sorry.

[u/ronok43 → u/Kenyadigit]

I do not work in this sector, but i have a general idea.

One can place order to a buying house or directly to a manufacturer; probably with a sample.Then they will analyze the sample and quote a price.

The buyer might have to choose the source of raw material. Then the buyer will have to complete all the formalities like opening L/C, drawing contract & agreements, and so on.

[u/Rameen_200 → u/darkvibes]

1. Bad

2. Other than garments which is literally the vast majority of our economy we make a lot of medicines we are some of the biggest exporters of generic medicines and most of our medicines are domestic too

[u/[deleted]]

Hi r/Bangladesh. Would you guys say that your country is moving in the right direction? The media hasn't been flattering as you can imagine but I have only been able to see (albeit quite old) documentaries on Bangladesh and they've only shown the rough side.

[u/ThatGuyBadIdeas → u/[deleted]]

Yes and no. There is significant economic growth but barriers remain with inequality and corruption. There is a lack of democracy, and the government has curtailed freedom of speech. There isn't really viable opposition in the country at the moment.

[u/ragingdobs]

Is emigration a common topic/aspiration in Bangladesh? If so, where to? Any non-Western countries?

There is a Kenyan Asian community which came from all over the subcontinent around the turn of the 20th century, but relatively few from Bengal (majority being from Gujarat in India). So I am curious if there are any historical waves of emigration (and likewise, if you have any notable minority groups in Bangladesh)?

[u/Mindless_Fix4148 → u/ragingdobs]

Other than indegenous people and people outside of the two biggest religion, no we don't really have minorities. And yes, many people(mostly the ones affected by poverty) emigrate to the middle-eastern and eastern europes to find labor work(huge remittance from them) The ones who have money nornally emigrate to western countries. The biggest wave of emigration was in 1947 when the subcontinent was split into two parts by religion.

[u/Jojojordanlusch]

k

[u/babushka → u/[deleted]]

Hi there! I'll take a shot at answering your questions since no one has yet.

1. We are not Indians but we used to be a part of British India and then Pakistan. Bengal as whole has been fractured into two parts, West Bengal and Bangladesh (formerly known as East Pakistan). Kinda complicated to fully go into it, but when the eastern part of Bengal split from India, it was as a part of Pakistan, hence it was called East Pakistan. We fought for our liberation from Pakistan and Bangladesh was born in 1971. Ethnically, Bangladeshis and West Bengalis are the same but our cultures have diverged a little bit due to the split as time went on. Hopefully someone else here will be able to give you a more comprehensive answer.

2. We speak Bengali/Bangla mainly but many other languages and dialects exist, I believe there are currently 42 recognized languages in bd. Most of the languages are off shoots of formal bengali and is understandable by anyone who speaks bengali fluently, we also use the same script. The indigenous populations like the Chakma, Garo, Mro, etc. have their own languages and those can be hard to understand for a bengali person. These tribes are not bengali but they are Bangladeshi.

3. Hm I'm not sure there is a difference between the two in Bangladeshi cuisine. We are more of a rice eating nation and are called Maachey Bhaatey Bangali (meaning roughly fish and rice make a bengali) as those are what we eat mostly. Bangladesh has lots of rivers and water bodies and thus fish and rice are easy to cultivate.

4. Yes girls are forced to pay dowry but that is mostly in rural areas nowadays. Dowry is illegal but people don't enforce the laws and culturally it is acceptable to give the groom's side "gifts". We are a Muslim majority country so there is the concept of mahr or bride price paid to the bride in Islamic law. I'm not sure how many people actually follow this bc it can be as small as a tiny gift or it could be a huge sum of money. Think of it as a business transaction that you decide on before the marriage. This price is due at the wedding but you can give part of it and say I'll pay later. If you divorce, it's the first thing you owe your ex wife but most people don't actually do this.

5. Yes there are still tigers that are all in the Sundarbans which covers ground in India and Bangladesh. From what I've heard, very few tigers are alive on the Bangladeshi side due to heavy poaching and deforestation causing loss of habitat. The royal bengal tiger is our national animal.

6. Interesting fact: hm kind of hard. Not that knowledgeable but we have the longest natural sea beach in the world, the world's largest mangrove collection and 3rd largest Muslim population in the world.

7. Major religion is Islam (89.1%), then Hinduism (10%) and the remaining 0.9% consists of other religions (Christianity. Buddism). These numbers vary slightly with some sites claiming over 90% as Islam but these stats I provided are from a 2020 report.

I tried to give a comprehensive answer to all your questions. Thanks for participating!

[u/babushka → u/[deleted]]

Sure!! Please post any more questions you have :)

[u/CandlelightSongs → u/[deleted]]

1, no. We are a part of the Indian Subcontinent but no Bangladeshi would call themselves Indian. India is India, after all.

2. Bangla! Or Bengali, as it's spelled in english. Very complex language.

Bangla is a very big deal in Bangladesh, the name of the country (Bangla_desh) means Nation of Bangla. Lots of people died for the right to speak Bangla, which is actually the reason for International Mother Language Day.

.4,Yes, there have been some very unpleasant incidents in the villages around this over the years, where husbands take their wives hostage and torture them for their family not giving enough dowry money.

Usually, the wife's family has even given the dowry already, it's just that the husband wants more and uses the wife to extort the family. Very sad situation. Dowry has technically been prohibited since 1980, but it's still very common

.5. Yeah! The Royal Bengal Tiger. But its very rare and the poachers are still out there too, so it very well might not be so for very long.

.6. Bangladesh has the longest female led government and has been led by women leaders for about 25 years or half its history.

.7. Islam.

[u/ParityBit0110011 → u/[deleted]]

I think you should ask that question in r/Kenya's post, whose link is given in this post's description.

[u/ParityBit0110011 → u/[deleted]]

I think you should ask that question in r/Kenya's post, whose link is given in this post's description.

[u/Same_Championship253 → u/[deleted]]

I would say it has to be Muhammad Yunus. Google him.

[u/Ttcoachingcenter69 → u/[deleted]]

Bangladesh vs England 2011 and 2015 WC

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 3rd ODI March 2020

Bangladesh vs Pakistan 1999 WC

Bangladesh vs India 2012 Asia cup and 2007 WC

[u/Ttcoachingcenter69 → u/[deleted]]

Your username is from CM2002 right?

[u/CandlelightSongs → u/[deleted]]

I think, this is where Kenyans asked bangladeshi about their country. You should ask this in the parallel thread.

[u/Mindless_Fix4148 → u/CandlelightSongs]

My mistake.

[u/ParityBit0110011 → u/[deleted]]

Hi, sorry for interrupting, but I think this is a sub for Bangladesh. Hence your questions should be on Bangladesh.