Dhaka’s art of waiting

With its never-ending traffic and overflowing population, Dhaka has certain unique characteristics. From calling everyone "mama", to shouting "Oi Khali, Jaba?", there is something very "Dhakaesque" about these traits, and the art of waiting is definitely one of them.

Just wait for it

Everywhere you go in Dhaka, you have to wait. Whether it is standing at a bus stop or at the metro, the food court or even the hospital; if you are in Dhaka, you just have to wait for it, regardless of whatever "it" is. Your turn will come… eventually. It maybe five minutes or five hours, that we cannot say with certainty, but "eventually" you will get your turn.

Keep waiting

The average Dhaka resident has long ago realised that waiting is just another regular part of their day and they have slowly become masters of the art.

Most people resort to sticking their earbuds in and playing some sort of song or audiobook. Take me for example: I find that the wait for a bus becomes a little less tedious if I play 90s grunge music. Once inside, it is another round of waiting for the traffic signal to pass or the congestion to clear out before I can reach my destination. So once again, I turn to music.

Sometimes, people are seen reading books, which is a good habit, but quite a rare sight in Dhaka.

Most turn to their phones. A card game, some arcade or puzzle, maybe a turn-based strategy game or even a football simulator will do the trick. Some people even refuse to do anything else and pull out some good old YouTube shorts.

Then there are some people who truly belong to this city, and you can just tell by how casually they wait. They do not seem to care much that the bus is late, or that the line is long at the counter. These people have mastered the art of waiting so much that they can get many of their chores done remotely over the phone.

Not only that, they even get the munchies. From Jhalmuri or Halim to peanuts (which takes a lot of effort to eat and I still cannot comprehend why anyone chooses that for a snack), these people will basically have afternoon-tea while standing in the queue. And some of the peanut popping ones will blow the peanut skins everywhere.

Wait your turn (please!)

Dull as it is, sometimes the waiting will become even more annoying because of certain entitled people. You wait in line at the metro or at a counter for a long period of time, and when it's your turn, some people decide that they cannot wait any longer and try to cut in line.

It's an interesting sight to see so many people so worked up over something so silly. People will wait for hours because of traffic jam, but it's the queuing that really bothers them. Perhaps it is one of the defining characteristics of a city that there will be some rude people who just cannot wait their turn.

Don't be one of those people. Wait your turn. After all, this is Dhaka. All you can do here is wait.