This piece is written in levity and, therefore, to be taken as a sort of weekend mood lightening piece.
Argentine supporters will certainly need one as they are still reeling from the loss at the final.
Social media and online platforms were abuzz with a video clip which appeared to show a veteran public servant in a room with a young girl in what is believed to be one of the many ‘Abashik’ (residential) hotels in the city.
Reminds one of a recent Dhaka phenomenon, which comes in the form of small colourful calling cards strewn on the roads with ‘Abashik Hotel’ written boldly on them.
They also contain the name of the contact person: Bablu Bhai, Hablu Bhai or Dablu Bhai!
These cards, although smaller in size, are similar to the phone booth cards which were once common in London.
Establishments offering ‘unforgettable’ moments where all desires, legitimate and illegitimate, are catered to hired people to surreptitiously put these cards in phone booths with attractive pics.
Their idea was to lure customers, naturally!
The word ‘discreet’ used to be written at least three times in one card, lest you got cold feet.
Did people go to such places?
Of course they did, otherwise this practice would have stopped.
Sadly, that was the age before CCTV camera obsession and hidden in room recording devices.
People, looking for something a little spicy, finished office, and under the pretext of spending an hour talking to buddies about stocks and shares, popped in.
You could of course, shorten gym time and then, make a visit.
Out of cash? No problem, credit cards were always accepted, and, on the bill, the payment came beside something totally anodyne: Smith and Wallace Services, Westland Advisory or Universal Data Analysis.
However, the ‘Abashik’ hotel culture in Dhaka is something different.
It’s not always walk in, relax and then go out feeling exuberant.
Sometimes it’s walk in, sit down to relax and then, experience all hell breaking lose.
The law may decide to carry out a sudden raid, triggering a sudden rush to flee, often by climbing down from behind the building, wearing only undergarments.
If caught, one can always say, with a sheepish smile: trying to see if I can emulate Superman!
While social puritans will always harp about clamping down on such establishments, the reality is different.
When brothels and red-light areas were dismantled, the seedy hotel culture developed almost right before our eyes.
These places had and still have really suggestive names: Hotel Paradise, Hotel Sweet Desire, Hotel Super Relax etc.
In the last decade, with the rising usage of CCTV cameras plus other recording devices that are not easily visible, a very sinister dimension has developed in the residential hotel culture.
Someone I know went to such a place for a very short time but the period he spent inside the hotel was recorded using a hidden camera which was later used to extort money.
From time to time, spa/massage centres advertise on social media, using intelligently crafted lines: “come to purge yourself of tensions building up inside; our experts will whisk you away to a land of ultimate bliss!
Someone I know showed me a line for advertising his massage parlour on social media which went like this: “out of this world experience, where the lines between the conventional and the forbidden are blurred – that’s what we offer, the memory will leave you shaken and stirred!”
How’s the line, the man asked, expecting a vociferous approval.
Priceless, I replied, adding: “that line will even get James Bond taking a flight to Dhaka!”
The much advertised ‘bliss’ often becomes a blunder once the cat is out of the bag.
That’s what happened recently for a public servant.
He was caught in a hotel with a minor, someone aged below 18, which is a crime in the country and many places around the world.
While the person in question faces social scrutiny for moral transgression, the hotel should also be brought under inspection as to why it had rented a room to someone accompanying a teenage girl.
Moral transgressions in public servants are rarely accepted, whatever the country.
Therein lies the contradiction: in the West, any Tom, Dick, Harry can walk into a red-light zone but the moment someone in public office is seen around such an area, there is public outrage.
It’s the norm everywhere: those who are in responsible positions, should be cautious about their actions.
With responsibility comes restrictions and, therefore, any public figure, either from politics, sport or entertainment, must live within a very well-defined set of moral guidelines.
As for the hoi polloi, well, when you are just another person, you can actually enjoy more freedom that those who are in the public eye.
So, there’s an advantage of being a nobody too, right?
Yes and no because in an age of hidden cameras and recording devices, it’s always wiser to return to your Abash (home) than going to an Abashik Hotel.
I hope you got the point!
