In spite of starting a few hours late due to tardy actors (who knew actors could be primadonnas – that came as a complete shock to me!), we actually finished an hour ahead of schedule (putting us at merely a 13-hour day!), thanks to some creative shot re-planning and a few blessed daylight exterior shots. For the most part, our actors were pretty good, although one was a bit of the classically overzealous Bengali ilk, flailing his arms and contorting his face like a clown. But it was all for the better, as our parable slowly transformed from a simple morality tale to a tongue-in-cheek rendering of a thought-provoking story, complete with a comedic, almost Spaced-like style. When you consider the carefully-conceived melodrama of Bengali movie posters, often with blood and guts, guns and babes, the simplicity and boredom of the movies is somewhat disappointing; but I think we’ll deliver on that same high bar of cheesiness, contributing the added bonus of a good story. More than anything I’ve ever done, I think it will inspire both thought and laughter.

Well, if you were tempted to think any of those things about Bangladesh, let me be the first of many to inform you that you’re wrong. Bangladesh is as close to the Somalias and Zimbabwes of the world in terms of poverty as you can get in Asia, and is trailing just behind the likes of Chad, Iraq, and Sudan on the list of world’s most corrupt countries. The highly Muslim society is a less extreme and dangerous place than some of its Middle Eastern counterparts, but the appalling lack of respect for women is still at work in the shame-and-respect tone of society. Dowrys are expected for a successful marriage in most parts of the country, and women are commonly raped by family members. And, with half the population of the United States in a country roughly the size of Ireland, there’s certainly no manifest destiny going on over here either.

In a nutshell, it’s no picnic.

With that said, it might surprise you to learn that Dhaka, the nation’s capital, is also the NGO capital of the world. And, with at least 13 million people in this capital city, including a whole host of foreigners (B’deshis, in local slang) all trying to make a difference, you might still want to think that things are getting better. And maybe they are. But it sure is hard to tell.

I first came here 4 years ago with a development organization, Bengal Creative Media, that functions as a business. The idea behind it is to create a business mostly staffed by Bengalis that offers creative services, and functions morally and ethically (as opposed to by bribery and cheating, which is common here) . BCM does graphic design work for NGOs and other groups that want to create branding for their company. They also facilitate theatre in villages that addresses local problems, like health, education, and sanitation. This “theatre for development” strategy takes a team of artists into a village and discusses with some local, artistically-minded people the strategy for telling the story. The team then produces and acts in a drama for their peers – the entire village – complete with song and dance, that presents creative solutions to some of the village’s development problems. Back in Dhaka City, BCM also produces similar productions for television, which address local and national issues. And all the while, the ethics and integrity with which the business is run stands like a light upon a hill against the corruption of some of the other industries the company works with. BCM is staffed mostly with national employees, but when I first came, they wanted to start a division to do video work for other development agencies that would have a western audience. So, when you see those videos on websites profiling Habitat for Humanity or Save the Children or CARE disaster relief and development projects in Bangladesh, they’re probably made by us. I am one of about 4 revolving B’deshis who create Western media that shows a Bangladeshi perspective.

I’ve written extensively about the obvious – and not so obvious – colors of culture shock one is likely to find here and, as a returning foreigner, I have been able to come back with a refreshed – if not slightly jaded – perspective. I call it Advanced ‘Deshing. I’m sure what will follow in my next few weeks of blogging will catalog some of my highs and lows here, which I hope you will read on to discover.

Oh – and I plan to make some of my previous writing on the Desh available on my Writing page. Stay tuned for details on that.