[Mahmood]

> Many many galaxies away, in a planet very much like
> our own.........
>
> SCENE: TWO AMERICANS AT IBM, USA.
>
> Alex : Hi John, you didn't come to work yesterday?
>
> John :Yeah, I was at the Bangladesh Embassy trying
> to get a visa.
>
> Alex : Oh really! What happened? I've heard that
> these days they have
> become very strict?
>
> John : Yeah, but I managed to get it.
>
> Alex : How long did it take to get it stamped?
>
> John : Oh! It was a long queue. Bill Gates was
> standing in front of me and
> they really gave him a hard time the poor guy had
> even brought the property
> papers for his house in Seattle to show them that
> he will come back. I went
> there at 4 am to get in the queue and there were
> tons of people ahead of me!
>
> Alex : Really? In Bangladesh, at the US Embassy it
> only takes an hour to
> get a visa. John : Yeah! But that's because who in
> Bangladesh would want to
> come to the US except Americans who have now taken
> Bangladeshi nationality
> and want to bring their kids here.
>
> Alex : So, when are you leaving?
>
> John : As soon as I get my tickets from the company
> in Bangladesh. I am so
> excited, I will be getting a chance to fly on Biman
> Bangladesh Airlines.
> Sort of a dream come true.
>
> Alex : How long are you planning to stay in
> Bangladesh?
>
> John : What do you mean by how long? I will try to
> settle in Bangladesh. My
> company has promised me that they will process my
> Green Book (Bangladeshi
> Passport)
>
> Alex : Really! You lucky person, man, it is very
> difficult to get a Green
> Book in Bangladesh. Last year my cousin and his
> family went there on a
> tourist visa and they are now not coming back.
>
> John : Yeah, that's why, I am planning to marry a
> Bangladeshi girl there
> and then sponsor my parents and my brother and
> sister.
>
> Alex : But you can find lot of American girls in
> Chittagong & Dhaka.
>
> John : Yeah! but I prefer Bangladeshi girls they are
> so much superior to
> ours and what a great tan!
>
> Alex : What city are you going to?
>
> John : Comilla, the company has it's office
> downtown, yeah, the salary is
> good but the cost of living is quite high because of
> all the people flocking
> to this high tech mecca.
>
> Alex : I hear the exchange rate is now $100 for a
> Taka! That's just too
> much! What about Rajshahi, Khulna & Bagura?
>
> John : No idea, but cheaper than Noakhali. Noakhali
> is like the world
> headquarters of technology.
>
> Alex : I hear that the quality of life there is
> incredible?
>
> John : Yes, you can get a BMW car for Tk.30,000, and
> a Mercedes for less
> than Tk.45,000, but my dream is to purchase
> RoadMaster FX-800 (the smallest
> car in Bangladesh), which costs Tk.90,000 but what
> a sexy design, great
> curves and it purrs to the touch!
>
> Alex : Boy, sound like you would want to get it and
> take it to Hotel
> Al-Helal (Residential)!
>
> Alex : By the way, which company are you going with?
>
> John : Mama-bhaigna Technologies, a pure Bangladesh
> company, specialized in
> embedded software.
>
> Alex : Oh really! You are lucky to be able to work
> in a pure Bangladesh
> company, they are really intelligent and unlike
> American body shops who have
> opened their fly by night outfits in Bangladesh.
> Bangladeshi companies pay
> you even when you are on the bench. My friend Paul
> Allen used his bench
> time to visit the Cox's Bazar coast, the most
> gorgeous place in Bangladesh.
>
> John : Yeah man, you are right. I hope the US learns
> something from them
> and follows in their footsteps. My future plan is to
> enroll my children to
> Abu Zar Gifaree College, recently ranked among the
> top undergraduate schools
> by the Daily Jugantor newspaper.
>
> Alex : How are you going to cope with their
> language?
>
> John : From my school days I've been learning
> Bangla. I always dreamed that
> one day I will go to Bangladesh ever since my uncle
> brought me that T-shirt
> from Chittagong College. At the consulate they
> tested my proficiency in
> Bangla and were quite impressed by my score in
> TOBAFL (Test of Bangla as
> foreign language)
>
> Alex : Boy! You are so lucky!
>
> John : Yeah, I will be traveling in the world's
> fastest train,
> Subarno(Dhaka-Chittagong), world's largest theme
> park, Sitakunda theme Park,
> and visit the famous Dallywood where you can see
> actors like, Rahman, Ajeem,
> Rajjak, Alamgir, Anwar Hossain, Sujata,Suchanda,
> Shabana, Babita, Kabari and
> many many more.
>
> Alex : You know, Khaleda Zia is scheduled to visit
> us next year and I hear
> that She may increase the number of visas.
>
> John : That's true. Last month, Infosys - Dr.
> Jamilur Reza visited White
> House and donated Tk.20,000 for Infrastructure
> development at Silicon valley
> and has promised more if we follow the model of high
> tech city of Noakhali
> and Bill Gates also got a chance of meeting him.
> Very lucky person.
>
> Alex : Will you be visiting Dave? I hear that he has
> made it big there and
> now has a beautiful house on the bank of karnafuly
> river in Chittagong. Good
> luck John.
>
> John : Same to you Alex, and don't go to the
> Bangladesh consulate wearing
> Punjabi because they will think you are too
> Bangladeshaized and may doubt
> that will ever comeback and your application may be
> rejected. And, yes,
> don't forget to say Assalamualikum, to the visa
> officer it will show them
> that you are a cultured person.
>