The midnight magic of shopping
A sudden hush falls over a tiny nook in the otherwise noisy hustle and bustle of Mohammadpur Town Hall Market. Roshan, a butcher by profession, reacts to the query posed before him. "Kamal store," he replies, a two-worded answer, after which he breaks eye-contact, a sign of refusal to speak more on this matter. His blood stained hands return to his gory work, splattering the red around.
This is not some Mafia-deal about to go sour; Roshan was merely asked which store would be the best place to find top quality goods in one of the busiest kitchen/life style markets in the capital city. The place he speaks of is the stuff of legends here. Lore has it that Kamal Store, after passing under the stewardship of the proprietor's two sons, transformed itself from a grocery store to becoming the biggest store in Town Hall, and the men are now well on their way to becoming owners of a chain of posh Chinese restaurants strewn about the city. There are many more such tales of true grit in within these weary walls.
There is also a busy stretch of a damp, muddy road, which consists of the stalls selling fruits and vegetables. During the night, this is the quietest area after the butchers' and fishmongers' dens, located in a cavernous pathway on the ground floor of the main market which seems to have been dug right into the building.
The inside of Town Hall is actually like walking through an ancient hallway of some abandoned castle; bare walls and floors showing no decoration and with less charm. Town Hall needs no decoration though. It is merely a market that fulfils your basic needs. The juxtaposition of progress and poverty is best illustrated when one wanders off to the top floor of the market. While the down-floor is a throwback to kitchen markets of yesteryears, the top floor is sleek, boasting a ton of affordable shops, housing the latest clothes and shoes.
There is another sandal market opposite Town Hall next to a majestic mosque. Electronics, fabrics and plumbing shops coexist among restaurants and tea-stalls. Town Hall is always alive, especially during Eid when people break their fast and throng this market.
On the opposite side of town, located in the more affluent Gulshan, is Pink City. Unlike Town Hall, Pink City does not boast grocers and butchers but come Eid, the market sees a seemingly endless line of shoppers.
Sunehra Rahman, a student of English Literature in North South University, is a regular at Pink City and waxes lyrical about this one-stop shopping complex. "Pink City is a place where you can get a huge variety of things, starting from saris, shalwar kameez sets (stitched and unstitched) and many different kinds of clothes," she says.
Dressed in a sleek white kameez herself, she clutches her purse by force of habit, and walks around, looking for something to buy. Shop-keepers call out to her, urging her to visit their store and get the best quality at bargain prices.
One passageway seems like a blur of gold, with shops displaying pure gold and gold plated ornaments in dizzying arrays. Other shops house tailours hunched over
their sewing machines, racing against time to deliver their final orders. Some have women in them, haggling over prices and demanding changes in certain designs.
One of them, Maleeha Mazen Khan, a professional dancer, is not happy, with the design and the fabric. She wishes to reconsider but there is little time left. Rushing out, she starts and begins to hail a CNG. But this is Dhaka City and no one gets a CNG when they want one, especially for where she is going. But the Eid spirit and the nightly hour helps.
Her stop is Priyangon Market, located near Elephant Road, opposite the music instrument shops near City College.
Priyangon is a shopping hub for ladies and is usually open till 11 pm on normal days and well into the abyss of the night during Ramadan.
"This place not only has tailours but also all the raw materials to make one's Eid dresses. They are open even the night before Eid and you can get anything and everything here to add that extra spark to your dress," she explains.
But what about them boys?
Ramna Bhaban answers that according to Poresh Babu, a tailour at Priyangon. "My brother has a store there. Tell him about me and he will certainly give you a discount," Poresh Babu says, his weary hands moving constantly, a broken toothed smile on his face as he speaks without looking away from his work.
He will make do 'suit-ing', 'pant-ing', 'shirt-ing' - anything you want and the best fabrics are available too, his card boasts, making each activity a continuous tense, as if that lends it even more significance. Some suggest Elephant Road for the suits, but who needs to make a suit right before Eid?
The area around Elephant Road has an added appeal though; if nothing, the Singapore Market, the one located opposite to Nilkhet and best access through the entry behind the Market Proper, next to the Graveyard, houses the best cutleries in town. There are also plenty of gift options there.
Dhaka City never wants for a commercial district. One will not be too wrong claiming the entire city is partially residential and mostly commercial, with a garment's factory thrown in here and there, in the least suspicious locations, with even power plants hiding in the foliage. However, what is interesting is all the reputation and folktales these places hold. And it seems, the oldest among them have the most magical and interesting history and while they may all differ wildly on the surface, their hearts are all in the same, hospitable place, where the
customer comes first.
By Osama Rahman
Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed/Bibiana
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