Struggles of Trying to be Goth in Dhaka

If you're anything like me, you have been tempted by the dark and mysterious world of the goth subculture at least once in your life. Honestly, what's not to like about it? The obligatory dark clothing, the equally dark music library, the cool hairstyles; the overwhelming sense of angst and loneliness that you become prone to feeling and can't escape no matter how hard you try. Theoretically, you could become the Acid Bath Princess of The Darkness of your dreams. But it's quite a different story in the real world, especially when you live in the heart of a tropical country filled with luscious greenery. You will inevitably come across some common obstacles during your quest to become a deshi Anne Rice protagonist.

One of the biggest problems a deshi goth would have is combatting the hellish weather while dressed like the abyss. It becomes quite the battle to prevent your body from frying to a crisp when you head out for some angsty, summertime merriment with your friends. Your friends will frolic in the sweet sunshine and you'll try to put on a brave face and join them. But eventually you'll be reduced to a hobbling goblin (a gothlin, if you will) trying to find some shade.

Additionally, the dust pollution of Dhaka plays a big role in curbing your true despair shown through fashion. The dust clings to your black clothes like you cling to your undying loyalty to My Chemical Romance. As a result, you have to do some angst-fuelled laundry which ultimately gives you black clothing items of ever so varying shades. How can you express the darkness within when your clothes are different shades of black? It almost looks like, dare I say, a palette of colours! Disgusting!

Apart from your killer fashion, dodging killer questions from concerned family members is just another grain of sand in your dark beach of despair. You'll often face queries regarding your lifestyle that can range anywhere on a spectrum of "why are you wearing all black to brunch?" to "are you okay? You've been reposting a lot of pentagrams on your Tumblr account recently" to "okay but why though?" While there is no right answer to any of these (especially the last one), it becomes evident that your jolly friends and family just cannot comprehend your lifestyle and aesthetic of looking and acting like a cute omen of death. But one can only hope that someday they will stop questioning your dreadful quest to be like the one true goth lord, a South Asian Edgar Allan Poe.