Romiz Mia, comes out of the train with an oblivious pair of eyes and a great pot wrapped in a piece of red rag hanging from his shoulder. He has landed on a station which seems full to its brim with urban unfamiliar faces rushing to their destination while he has nowhere or no one to go to. His overwhelmed mind and heated body are now being pushed by the traffic of urban mass distancing him from the body of the train which can only lead him to his home. Romiz Mia, though having a strong desire to return, succumbs to the mass and is pushed away from the train to the way out the station and into the heart of the city. Thus, reaching the doorway of the railway station, the sweltering and dusty breeze, the cacophony of noise, the wave of fleeting images of people and the overwhelming concrete structures welcome Romiz Mia to his dream city, Dhaka.

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At home

Now that a few months have passed, Romiz Mia believes he has learned to survive the routine challenges this city throws at him. He wakes up early in the morning and prepares for his kulfis. He makes a creamy mixture rich with milk, nuts, and sugar and pours it into the mold to settle down. Then, with his only associate from home, the great pot wrapped with red rugged cloth full of ice cubes and kulfis, he roams around the belly of the city—where he is known as "Kulfi Mama"—on his bicycle. He then settles down in front of a park. The park gate, under the krishnachura tree, has become a fixed place to sell kulfi. His love for this city grows as the krishnachura blossoms. The smoke of uncertainty and agony starts to recede and the sense of certitude paves its way in. 

On one of these regular days, when the krishnachura tree bears golden brown leaves, Kulfi Mama discovers an ice cream parlour in the area which is heavily decorated with warm lights, freshly painted vibrant walls, and comfortable, inviting seating arrangements. Standing in front of the see-through glass door, Kulfi Mama sees people gather to grab the inauguration sale opportunity. That familiar sense of agony he felt on the first day he came to this capitalist city resurfaces. The isolation from the people in these mere moments abandons him from the city.

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Kissing strangers

He roams and finds a new place to settle down with a new recipe of kulfi. This time, Kulfi Mama prepares a creamy mixture of milk, nuts, and sugar with a tinge of an extract which will craft addiction. Those who want to try them become devoted to the kulfis. With this revitalised approach, Kulfi Mama regains hold over his kulfi business, which had originally been an artistic expedition. The love of the city prevails over the love of kulfi.

Raida Rahman Naomi is a student of English at North South University.