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Dhaka Day by Day

It's All in a Name

by Lavina Ambreen Ahmed
What s In a name? Apparently a lot. At least that's the impression one receives at the Ekushey Boi Mela. By intentionally choosing catchy names, the stall owners de mand the visitors' attention. People grumble that the annual book fair is quite disappointing — I he same set of books is available at every book stall and other booths selling terracotta and cane trinkets, posters and tapes are also pretty run-of-the-mill. One could hardly be blamed for coming to the conclusion that stall-wallahs show ingenuity' , only when it comes to naming the stalls. This year, it seems that they let their imagination run wild, competed with one another and have come up with some really bizarre, wacky and hilarious names.
Let s begin with lood stalls "pan thhun khai zan' might sound like a Chinese restaurant. but it actually means come and eat here in Noakhaii dialect. Then take for instance the ojif calleci Fu dig khai the. man riehnid the counter o'Pflie ' food joint, justifies the name with this remark: Our food is always fresh and hot. People Wave to wait a while before taking a bite." Now that makes sense, doesn't it? The most-of-the-time-empty stall 'Riichi Nai' perhaps discourages many visitors with the name. Cholo Jai. chame khai' is a bit confusing. Cholo Jai. where? Hmm. makes the skeptic wonder whether one has to rush elsewhere alter trying food there! 'Khabo. khabo. dtiniya khabo' alas, has very little to offer.
On the other hand, names like 'Bipode achhi' 'Kamon ko rey bolbo'. 'Ki kore boll' and 'Dukkho' try to arouse public sympathy-apparently without much success. 'Shesh cheshth-ha' and koshttha — amader shesh nibedon' are probably the stall owners last attempt at making a few bucks at the Ekushey Mela. By the way. don't be surprised to discover a stall
called Country Music' at the boi mela premises. What does it sell? Not Shania Twain or Vince Gill tapes. Just plain and. simple deShi stuff. Nearby 'De-' sign Chharo' is decorated with a splash of colours as if to defend the name.
Contrary to the name 'Kana macchi bhho bhho. Jake pao. take chho' doesn't seem to take an extra effort to win buyers. The name O chand mama, aekta cassette hobe mama?" Taken from the well-known band-LRB's song: "O chand mama aekta chakri hobe mama' is a stall selling what else? Tapes obviously. But then, don't be disconcerted to discover a good number of Hindi cassettes at the Ekushey mela." "We simply cater to popular taste", the unconcerned sales people merely shrug.
Rudra Sangshad’s booth greets customers with the well-known lyrics "Bhalo achhi. bhalo theko. akasher...."
Interested ones can get the late poet Rudra Md Shahidul-lah's books and tapes.
The Shine Pukur commercials have tempted some people io name their stalls Bechhe .nao and 'Chok bondho bechhe nao.' Becche nao? Fine. Unfortunately. like its seen in the ads. the choices at the mela stalls too, are quite limited.
One also gets to read cryptic names such as Ting Dhing Dis Tik, Laihum Vik Vik. 0=?. Bou kotha kou. And that's not all. There are plenty more — Bekarder atthash din. Ai adda marl. Change Uttha. Bhalobasha Jeo na hariye. Bhoyoukon Nishedagga. Bhabchai ki debo etc. etc.
So. is the use of weird offbeat names an effective publicity stunt? Do they really attract more customers? Here’s what an ardent boi-mela fan has to say: The enthusiasts will visit the mela every year, no matter what. 'Catchy names' are just one of the interesting features of our popular boi-mela.