These are two of our guards who take wonderful care of us. Mustafa (in the hat) is 58 and Mohammed (in the lungi) is 26. They have played a large role in teaching me Bangla, providing me with daily conversation that has had a marked effect on my speech. My teachers don't entirely approve of the accent I'm developing (a shade too low-brow for their taste), but I love sitting and chatting with them as I wait for the school bus.
Mohammed is an example of a fairly typical family situation. His bari (home) is quite far away - "in the village" they say here. There he has a wife and a 5 month old daughter. However, there's little or no work there, so he works in Dhaka, earning about $78 a month to support the family. He gets 4-6 days off every 2 months or so to go visit his family. The rest of the time he works here.
Nice to see such big smiles.
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