Hey Boss!

Rickshawallahs waiting for the Boss

One of many things that are hard to get used to here in Dhaka is the way the natives call all the white guys "Boss". The restaurant staff at the hotel, the hotel security guys, the driver who takes us to work, the elevatorwallah who welcomes us into the building lobby, and the security guards outside our office: they all greet us with "Good morning, boss" when we're arriving, and "Good night, Boss" when we're leaving.

Out on the street the rickshawallahs try to get our attention by waving and saying "Boss! Rickshaw!", the little kids try to cadge small change out of us by running up alongside and saying "Boss! Baksheesh!", ... and then there are the beggars, walking down the middle of the paralyzed traffic, usually cradling a naked infant, tapping on the car windows and croaking out "Boss! Boss!".

It's all very sad, even not considering the beggars, that 65 years after independence they still see white people as "Boss". I suppose that at least to some of them the word doesn't necessarily have exactly the same meaning as it would to us; but it certainly must have a pretty close meaning to the ones who can speak English! So it's all a little embarrassing, to be addressed like that.