Ramadan, Opa-Bangladeshi style

This is my very first Ramadan spent in a Muslim country. Hard not to get excited. I did spend time alongside with some Muslim coworkers, but my "experience" has been limited to inquiring about customs and rituals. I have never lived the experience.

This time is different. The capital seems to get a different feel as Ramadan rolls around. First anomaly, Bangladeshi style? Big businesses create an artificial crisis and prices rise before the arrival of Ramadan every single year. Forget about being pious, this is the time to make money! In other parts of the Muslim world, prices drop on this occasion. Not in the Desh. Sugar, cooking oil, even vegetables prices are hitting all times high. Food adulteration is also reaching its peak during this season. I am also being told that incidents of criminal nature will increase, because the bad guys need to profiteer as well.

And there is the iftar! Oh, the iftar, the meal that breaks the fast. The prophet used to do it with a glass of water and two dates. But here this is taken to a different level. Let me just say that I never heard of a meal that consists of a pre-plated iftar (meal) followed by a full course buffet. Anywhere you turn these days it is about iftar. Ramadan in Bangladesh should be rephrased as the month of free-style eating. But, I will have to come back to the subject, because I will plenty of opportunities to be part of it.

Just a quick observation though:

A month dedicated to fasting and abstinence is being turned into a month of food festival here. To me, this goes against the very purpose of fasting, which  is to remind you of the sufferings of the poor and to practice self control  

Anyway, I guess is easier to observe from the outside, so this year I decide to give it a shot and try to observe the Holy month of Ramadan. Will see how it goes!