LIFE AS IT IS

I heard that I would hear people speak Bengali in its shops, restaurants, roads and alleys. I was told that I would see women shopping in sari and shalwar kameez, and men discussing international politics over shingara and steaming cups of tea. How many Bangladeshi expats would let go of a chance to experience Bangladesh away from it? I would never!  The Daily Star link  Feb 21, 2017 It was the summer of 2013, it was my first time in Jamaica, a neighbourhood in Queens, one of the five boroughs of New York City. I had heard so much about it from friends and relatives that I was convinced a summer vacation in NYC was incomplete without one trip to this diverse neighbourhood.  So on one scorching afternoon of May 2013, my family and I embarked on our exploration of Jamaica. As we left the subway station and began walking along its Hillside Avenue with our then nine-month-old daughter, I turned my head to see anyone who spoke Bengali. No language ever sounded sweeter ...

Do not confuse the title with Jamaica, the island country in the Caribbean. This Jamaica is a neighbourhood in Queens, the New York City borough, which often claims to be one of the most ethnically diverse places on earth.  Jamaica is a neighbourhood where you spot 'deshi' men and women speaking Bangla on the streets, women wearing shalwar kameez buying grocery from Bangladeshi-owned stores, and where Bangladeshi restaurants sell everything from shingara-samosa to  naan-paratha, halua, kebab, and biryani. Also available are traditional sweets, 'bhorta-bhaji' and an incredibly wide variety of spicy and aromatic fish and meat preparations that are bound to satisfy the taste buds of any Bengali.  I first explored Jamaica in 2013 on a New York City trip with my husband and then nine-month old daughter. As I strolled along Jamaica's Hillside Avenue, I turned my head to see anyone who spoke my mother tongue. It felt like I was at home except that in Dhaka you do not...