Last weekend was a welcoming change for me, as the weather cooled down and I finally made myself leave the shade of my home and attend a festival of some sort. It was mostly oriented around better living with organic foods and had some cultural wings attached to it, like an exhibition and French dishes, which were cooked on the premises. Met some friends and people I know from before. It was a good day, especially if I put it against last week’s nightmarish experiences.
The last week has been hellish, and that’s quite literally if I take the liberty to say. It was so damn hot! The temperature was around 37-38 Celsius (98-100 F) but with a high humidity level at about 50-60%, so the real feel was about 45-47 C (113-116.6 F)! It was hard to breathe, hard to go out, hard to do anything! The last recorded event of such persisting heat waves occurred over 4 decades ago (with lower temp) and this goes to show how drastically my country’s climate in South Asia has changed in the past few decades. The funny thing is that the heat would be bearable with cooling appliances. But how do you use them with constant power cuts? Generators can’t keep up, and IPS won’t charge as electricity isn’t around long enough for it to draw some juices.
The whole situation was so bad that I couldn’t even get a good night’s sleep during the whole week and were mostly acting like zombies on a programmed schedule! Thankfully, on Friday, a thunderstorm with plenty of downpours cooled down the weather and electricity has been stable ever since. To celebrate the ending of that nightmare (fingers crossed, I hope it doesn't happen again) and the beginning of a new week, I attended the festival that was taking place at Alliance française De Dhaka. If you don’t know what Alliance française is, they are an international organization, originated from France to promote French language and culture in other countries.
I’m a student at Alliance française, by the way, and this is where I take French language lessons. Apart from teaching language, they regularly host film showings, festivals, exhibitions, cultural exchange programs, teach other artistic skills such as piano, violins, etc. I’m mostly fond of the library they have though. Lots of books in French to help me learn the language. I wish they had more titles targeted toward young audiences though.
On Saturday, the festival was mostly an open-door invitation to take part in activities. There were games for children, a translation tournament (one of my friends won a prize), organic food promotion.
Another part of the AF was busy cooking French dishes. It's actually the first time I've had Gratin and Crêpes(which is very similar to a local cuisine we have here called Patishapta).
There's a niche community within AF called ‘Association de la belle tomate’ which literally translate as Association of the pretty tomato! Lol! I’m actually part of that and we grow veggies on rooftop beds on the roof of AF. We were showcasing our works and focuses.
Loved the solo exhibition by artist Sarker Nahid Niazi, his focus on this one was primarily utilizing discarded, rotten wooden planks, and making art out of it. I love that he did a range of things, from abstract ones to nostalgic settings my people can relate to. Very thoughtful.
I suppose art is subjective but the first artwork reminds me of the old doors of big launches (longboats) we used to ride in my childhood. The second one reminds me of a village somehow, even though the resemblances go away if you look closely enough.
I hear there's a music festival next weekend, I'd love to attend that as well. Until then, stay happy and 'cool', mes amis!
All the photos were taken by me.
