RUBAIYAT KABIRAll we do is wait and waitAs I sit down to write this, I can’t help but dread my commute today. It’s not because the traffic is especially bad on this particular day of the week or anything, but because of one recurring road that I find myself plying on my way to and from work every day:Bijoy Sarani. But what else can you expect from a people who have no choice but to engage in an endless wait as the nation finally goes from red to green? “Bijoy Sarani,” the name roughly translates to “road to victory” -- but there is very little victory to be found in the waiting line with millions of others as you watch a wide swath of the road adjacent (or opposite) get cleared by chumps in uniform for some “gobment shaheb” in a decked-out, all-black SUV, waving the red and green of the traffic lights in the form of a little flag affixed to their imposing vehicle of choice. All we can do is wait, wait for a day when “bijoy” will actually mean something for the average Bangladeshi, and not just the ones who have the power to define what it means.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 10, 2020 12:00 UTC