Jamuna shows us the future on Bashundhara's land

I really didn’t know how to react to this. Whether I should be proud of it, should boast about it, or should lament over it. This claims to re-introduce Bangladesh to the global map. This stands tall and big on 41 Lac sq. feet floor space, international food court accommodating 3000 food-lovers, all local and foreign famous brands, 22 line bowling center, 7 halls in the movie multiplexes, health club for 2000 people, 5 big autrium (wonder what this is) and 7 voids, different swimming pools for men and women, own electricity producing plant of 45 MW, car parking facility for 5000 cars, theme park for 2500 children and many more.

Perhaps even a blind man would even read what I am talking about here, similarly even a blind man cannot afford to miss the gigantic presence of the so claimed ‘biggest shopping mall of South Asia’, like the Taj Mahal is to India, the Great Wall to China, the Pyramids to Egypt, the TVCs were comparing it to a man made wonder for Bangladesh…lets give it up for..The Jamuna Future Park…no where else in the world…but in our very own Dhaka…the city of the 21st century, the megapolis of Asia…well…a bit of exaggerating in the last part, got understandably carried away. But Jamuna Group claims that the Jamuna Future Park (JFP) would be our ‘shob ghotonar thikana’…so who knows if it could be also claimed that that day is not far away when Dhaka would become ‘shob ghotonar thikana’ for the residents of Asia…like Singapore, Hong Kong, KL etc. The group claims in its website that “Jamuna Future Park will stand as a symbol of national pride, prestige, progress and economic development of our country as like as the Twin Tower in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia.” Well, enough of blabbering…the harsh truth is, Dhaka is not anything closer to that yet, nor there seems any correlation between the setting up of the mammoth shopping mall and Dhaka’s becoming an iconic city in the region.

Remember the time when they used to call Dhaka the city of mosques, then they called it the city of rickshaws. Has the time now arrived to call Dhaka the city of shopping malls? Shopping malls which are stuffed with pretty much same products and bored vendors? Shopping malls which are crammed with not so many buyers but more happy wanderers? If we all are happy with it, or even some are happy with it, perhaps its worth it huh? But I doubt how many of the shops in the Bashundhara City are seeing profit and are very happy with the proceedings. Nevertheless, perhaps from the entertainment point of view, the city dwellers might get the chance to experiment with something new at JFP.

However, what aches me is the fact that a city which lacks even the basic infrastructures in terms of traffic management, sewerage, urbanization, green space, even parking lots, has started boasting itself to be hosting the largest shopping mall of the continent. Is it ironic, sarcastic, funny or is it natural? I know very little, and understand even less, so you tell me. I know this much when two big corporates like Bashundhara group and Jamuna group lock horns, they need to outplay each other by establishing flashy shopping malls in a crammed city such as Dhaka. Good for them.

Sometimes I hear people blaming the UK based Sylhetis, that even though they have so much money, they end up spending it in building lavish bungalows, mosques, community centers in the Sylhet region back in Bangladesh. They lament why they don’t invest their pound power in establishing schools, hospitals, roads and culverts. But in the same note, you could also argue why such big corporates of Bangladesh are investing crores and crores of taka in setting up dazzling shopping malls and why not in establishing business incubators, an IT park for the IT industry of Bangladesh or something which might look a bit more responsible? Well, probably the increased number of shopping malls indicates increased demand in middle class consumer power huh? Sometimes theories of economics are really tested in Bangladesh.

Show me what to show off, where to show off

Of the many things I lack knowledge, cars are one of them. I drive because I need mobility and protection from rain, sun, wind, dust when I travel. My interest and knowledge do not go beyond the steering wheel or beneath the seats. I know the names of a few popular car brands and I can choose a car based on its shape and color, I am too ignorant to know more about its configuration. However when I saw a red colored, two-doored sports car at Gulshan-2 this evening, I knew for sure that that was a wonder on the roads...or was it really? I kept on thinking about it while I rickshawed towards Banani.


Exhibitionism is human nature...or is it really? If you do know please shed some light on it. But I think some of us (or all?) like to show off....starting from good-looking spouse/partners, toned biceps, deep cleavages and curves, face and fashionable expensive clothes, watches, cell phones, houses and ofcourse cars for that matter. Our spoilticians (Politicians in Bangladesh context, new word in Benglish, will apply to add it in Wiki...lol) and misleaders didn't demonstrate us well enough on how to show off something which is our public pride and property...like country, cricket team, culture, heritage etc. So the thirst to show off is quenched by showing off private parts, properties, Pajeros, Prados, Porches...belonging to (mostly) dads and self.


Nevertheless this neverending desire to grab limelight by means of four wheels is getting squeezed by the day. Firstly thanks to the mindless, haphazard urban expansion of the capital, the traffic congestion these days do not allow anymore sports cars to even reach an optimum speed to create some noise and draw some attention. Secondly thanks to the folks at ACC, many four-wheel magics are magically vanished from the roads and kept in garages, under cover or left abandoned in city streets. The fact still remains that the we are young and restless. I need to show that I have a Ferrari or a BMW or a Jag in town, so you better ponder with wonder and watch me whoosh away in the split of an eye and....holy s**t! These stupid rickshaws and traffic jams...They bloody don't let me even move an inch these days in Dhaka...this city is horrible! Even the merrier days of driving fast cars in the airport road or at Ashulia are coming to an end because...we have too many cars now. Not that the middleclass can afford to buy luxury cars, but thanks to an increased credit offerings, car loans from banks, we are only years away from choking to traffic death. Amidst this alarming chaos, it has become nearly impossible and insulting to drive a Jag or a BMW or a Hammer which is able to drive only a few hundred meters from home and then get stuck in traffic jams. Worse still, its even more insulting to climb the speed the car deserves and is designed for, when I am overtaken by cheeky rickshaws plying all around my road queen! So it goes without saying that showing off a car in Dhaka has become very difficult.


Thanks to Bashundhara Group for building Bashundara City, one of the very few shopping malls in South Asia to have facilitated P2P (peer to peer) show off, scanning and staring, scaring, a rare place where people show things, and where people stand and see things. Some ofcourse do shop, eat and watch movies, but most of them ogle, check, scrutinize and when own turn comes, let others do the experiment on themselves. Since we have a real scarcity of places to unwind our assets (physical, material) we are behaving sometimes over the board. This is not healthy in the long run I believe. Couple of months ago I met a senior sales person from Volvo Motors who was lamenting the decreasing sales trend of luxury cars. He was saying that "even if people do buy the cars they import, there is hardly any place left where they can drive it, God knows what lies ahead for the automobile industry". Given these circumstances, I wonder how our car dealers, importers, traders are spinning their strategy web. Its very unlikely that Navana Motors or Ryan Motors will help ease traffic congestions, will help government buddies and bodies do realistic urban planning (no more magnetic trains to Chittagong please) and/or build roads and flyovers in and around Dhaka. So what will they do? How can they facilitate, like Bashundhara Group, creating places like Bashundhara City, where our young and restless can strike a race...between 'my friend's dad's car and my dad's car...which is mine now'. Go-carting at Ashulia is too small and too artificial...we need some real adrenaline action to show off in the streets of Dhaka....to woo the bemused ones outside the car...until ofcourse any tragic road accident or ACC do us apart (from the road). I have shown off enough, I sign off now.

Close up tomakei khujche Bangladesh!

The world is on the lookout for a 'famous' Bangladeshi female business official. The number of daily searches in Google and other blogs who mention her name that led users to Bangladesh Corporate Blogs never seem to decline. Some of the keywords even asked for her 'gallery', 'album', 'pics' and other keywords not worthy of mention here. Some are also discussing raunchy speculations on how her employers, sensing trouble ahead, conducted a successful 'hoodiny act' and moved her 'behind the curtains', some even guessed that she might be out of the country too.

All this curiosity about this particular person, her whereabouts, links to other corporates in recent headlines etc. make me wonder, 'why do we bother?'. One thing is for certain that as more and more women would be inducted in our corporates, male counterparts will have to readjust how they perceive their female colleagues, their capacities, their expertise etc. It seems as if if a female colleague, executive happens to be externally attractive too, it fuels, to some extent, typical male fantasies. I don't intend to embark on a debate over women's rights and gender disputes. Office spouses, office fantasies and 'all other non-official' male-female activities etc. are normal and are bound to happen everywhere in the world, in any workplace. I just think that we should be prepared for this upcoming trend in Bangladeshi companies. As there might be many more good looking female colleagues, bosses and sub-ordinates. We might need to work with them, order them and on top of all, might have to 'follow orders from them'. So two proposals in the end, for those who want to embrace happily female workforce into their midst---lets put their expertise primary, their external beauty, personal lives secondary. For those who still can't get over the sex appeal, make a website like Dhaka hotties, propose a few more names, so that we can have a competition at hand and give that 'person in question' some rest from repetitive woman-hunt done in Google.

Bangladeshi Corporate Idols

Just a passing thought in my mind that many of our big corporate brands had their roots stuck deep in massive endless mindless corruption. Companies like Partex, Bashundhara Group, Rangs etc. have started to appear in front of our eyes for the wrong doings of their founders. Somebody was arguing the other day that Bangladesh's internal industrial base has been set up by these people who are in the 'favorites list' of Anti Corruption Commission now. The gentleman was arguing that even though these people are being brought to justice for their limitless greed now, it goes without saying that they remain (atleast till the time they got arrested) to be the biggest investors, movers and shakers of the country's business domain. With them being befriended by interrogators from Joint Forces, it is to be seen now how the businesses in Bangladesh react to it. It is also to be seen how many more businessmen join the 'guest list' prepared by ACC. So I just wonder and ponder and wipe away my sweat using a Bashundhara tissue looking at the massive Bashundhara Shopping Mall, Rangs Bhaban etc. while sipping water from a Mum bottled by Partex Beverages...that all these that I, as a consumer, am seeing now and using now, are made by people who are, in simple words, criminals. True that they must have employed thousands of people, but their wrongdoings probably outweigh their 'eye wash' tactics of employment creation, CSR etc. But I ask, is it the way it is supposed to be? Is it elsewhere too or just in Bangladesh? Who do we have as our Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or as Azim Premji or Ratan Tata? I am sure we have corporate champions who keep low profile and we have those who made loud noises, got corrupted and are behind bars now. I only hope that we can find some role models in our business world who can set true examples of hardwork, honesty, leadership and all that we aspire in a true corporate idol.

ACC reacts as Crowley pulls for Sobhan of Bashundhara

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has strongly reacted to a letter by US Congressman Joseph Crowley, also founder co-chairman of Congressional Bangladeshi Caucus, who advocated for special treatment of a controversial businessman Ahmed Akhtar Sobhan of Bashundhara Group. Crowley in a surprising letter to ACC Chief Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury in March said he has been informed by 'concerned stakeholders' that harassment and intimidation of Sobhan has taken place during search of his home.

Crowley is known to be a lobbyist in the US for important individuals and business groups. Sobhan, an alleged close associate of the Hawa Bhaban and Tarique Rahman, is a controversial figure for his group's land development deals. The anti-graft body is now scrutinising his sources of money.The congressman said he is concerned that 'any disruption of this large employer has the potential to create economic instability within a nation' and added that he 'plans on closely following the developments of this case as it progresses."He also sought flexible dealing with Sobhan who is recovering from a recent heart surgery in London.

In his reply, the ACC chief said Crowley's contention of people being harassed or intimidated is absolutely unfounded and misleading."Your protégé, Mr Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, was required to submit a statement of his assets and satisfy the authorities as regards the means through which he has accumulated wealth worth millions of dollars," Hasan Mashhud wrote to the congressman. "Till now he has failed to do so which reinforces the allegation against him. As such further legal actions are being contemplated to proceed with the case." He disagreed that 'concern for potential disruption in business should override the moral obligation of the government to deal ruthlessly with any corrupt practices indulged in by the nouveau riche in a country like Bangladesh'.

As Crowley insisted that 'intimidation of anyone whether they are head of a company or a rickshaw driver does not benefit anyone during this time of difficulty for Bangladesh', Mashhud said Sobhan or his associates will be provided with the opportunity to clear themselves of any wrongdoing and the 'due process' will be adhered to at all times. "I would expect you to measure things up in their correct perspective and base your judgment on facts. I can assure you there will be no farce, no charade and no kangaroo courts," the ACC boss asserted.

So Bashundhara group has 'mama chachas' in America, they are pulling strings for them. No wonder without 'American Blessings', it would have been impossible to grab land and make a tiny city named 'Bashundhara Residential Area' in Dhaka. It would have been impossible to build sub-continent's largest shopping mall called 'Bashundhara City', it would have really been impossible to do business in Bangladesh actually. So Bashundhara should say, 'Thank you Markin Mama".

City of Bashundhara

The other day I was having a look at the map of dhaka city just for the heck of it. The sheer size of Bashundhara residential area in the east of the city left me astonished. Such a huge chunk of land, it seems it comprises atleast 10% of the capital's land. I have no idea how such a big portion of land went under one company's possession, may be everything is right, I am just overwhelmed by the size of it. Do have a look at the map after you read this.