For couples in Dhaka, finding a non-eating dating spot is like finding a needle in a haystack. The comparison may sound very clichéd but the truth cannot be denied. Restaurants and cafés have, over the past ten years, become the most popular dating places for couples in this metropolis.
Today, the city food outlets target the younger generation- the décor and the menu of these restaurants clearly reflect the choice of young people. Soft music, exclusive interiors, modern furnishings and good food have converted countless restaurants into great meeting places. The restaurants now regularly refurbish their exteriors as well as interiors to attract more crowds. They now experiment with their menu and come up with new meal deals. The reason? To attract younger crowds.
The idea of buffet lunch and dinner wasn't there even five years ago. People would go to a restaurant and order from the à la carte. Today, a couple would rather go for a set or buffet meal than order from the bill of fare. It not only lessens the chance of a bicker between the couple (as most couples can't decide on the right dish to order), but also gives them an opportunity to enjoy a wide assortment of food. Nevertheless, it's difficult to chitchat when such a wide array of food awaits you. However, with no one to bug and beg you to buy a packet of peanuts, your time in a restaurant is indeed more pleasurable than in a public park. Students prefer fast food outlets to public parks for reasons such as, security and unwanted trouble. Yes, sauntering in a park doesn't cost money but one has to be watchful, for goons and drug abusers now frequent public parks more than anyone else. The time when a couple would sit together on a park bench and plan their future is long gone. Young people coming from well-bred families do not dare hang around Botanical Garden, Ramna Park or Suhrawardy Udyan for the fear of being mugged and teased by hoodlums.
The trend of dating in a restaurant has made couples more materialistic than their past generation. Fast food is unhealthy. Deep-fried chicken, pizza and burgers have little food value. Trans-fats, which are commonly found in fast foods, have been shown in many tests to have a negative health effect on the body.
A junior friend of mine was complaining the other day that she gained almost 8 kilos since she started dating a year ago. Why? They go to fast food restaurants to meet each other. She was lamenting over the fact that Dhaka doesn't have a safe and clean public park. Many like Sayma are worried about the extra weight that they are gaining from eating outside. But they do not have a better option.
We not only have good non-eating places to go on dates, but also to spend time with our friends and family. Try remembering the last time you met your best friend alone outside your home. Where did you meet him/her? We assume, in a restaurant. Eating-out has become almost a ritual among young people. Consumption of food with little nutrition value is having a detrimental effect on our young people. Farah, who works for a private organisation, became over-dependent on fast food after she started a full-time career more than a year ago. She had neither the drive nor the time to prepare her lunch before rushing to office. As a result, she used to go to one of the numerous restaurants adjacent to her office for a quick lunch. After a year of regular intake of fast food, she not only became an overweight young woman, but also a victim of malnutrition and low appetite. A thorough check-up revealed that Farah had an alarmingly low level of haemoglobin in her blood.
Although the fast food outlets, cafés and restaurants selling oriental food are mushrooming in the capital, there is nobody to ratify the standard of the food served. The drive of the Mobile Court against restaurants using harmful ingredients in food was effective to a great extent. However, news on this drive is no more seen in newspapers and on TV. Has this noteworthy campaign come to a standstill? When it comes to non-eating dating spots, Dhaka is a barren place to live. Although many young people want to be free from the grip of burgeoning city fast food outlets, they cannot see the alternative. Fairs, such as the DITF and Ekushey Boi Mela give some respite to the young couples. But then too many visitors sometimes ruin the appeal of these fairs. Another flaw of these mega fairs is that they are normally held only in winter.
The absence of a safe public park or a recreation centre is not only drawing the young people to restaurants and cafés often selling unhealthy food, but is also at the same time making them more materialistic than before. The rise of retail food business is certainly creating new employment opportunities, but this increase in the number of food outlets is also having a damaging effect on the health, lifestyle and eating habit of young people. It's time we checked the scale and see which one is more beneficial for the society at large. Safe and healthy public recreation spots or fast food outlets?
By Wara Karim
Date of publication: June 24, 2008
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