The Banga Bazar interpreters who speak half a dozen languages 

Photo caption: Banga Bazar interpreters assist foreign buyers who visit the market and help them bargain with shop owners. TBS illustration 

While working at a bakery in Old Dhaka, Md Arman once came across a customer who ordered some food in English. He had an air of superiority, which irked Arman.  

"When he asked for a coke, I said we did not have any, in English. You should have seen his face at the time!" Arman recalled, with pride in his voice. 

Arman speaks English with a fluidity that almost seems natural. In fact, he narrated the story about the customer who was 'showing off' in English. 

It is remarkable how someone who did not even graduate primary school learned to speak half a dozen languages, including English, Arabic, Persian and French. "I never went to school for a day. I learned on the job, from practical experience," said Arman, an experienced interpreter at the market.  

It is not just Arman; there are around 18 others like him in Banga Bazar in Gulistan who can speak several foreign languages. They cannot, however, read or write it and have learned simply by being around foreigners for a long time. 

Banga Bazar or the Banga Market is a popular wholesale market for ready-made garment products. These interpreters assist foreign buyers who visit the market and help them bargain with shop owners. 

We met Rabiya and Arman on the stairs of another building near Banga Bazar. This is where the interpreters usually sit patiently, waiting for customers.  

After a bit of persuasion from our side, they agreed to talk under the condition that we do not take their pictures. "What is the use of taking our pictures? Our family members will see us in the newspapers!" 

A thin woman in her 40s, Rabiya looked worried as she sat on the white tiled stairs, clutching her tiny mobile in her hand. "Not a single customer since morning," she said, with a sigh.  

Her husband is also an interpreter but he was sick and did not come that day. We asked Rabiya about her family members and whether her language skills intrigue them. 

"Sometimes when I am speaking to a foreigner over the phone, my children ask me the meaning of the sentences, that is all," she replied.

Unlike Arman, Rabiya is more fluent in Arabic than English. Like most curious Bangalees, we requested her to utter a few phrases in Arabic, but she felt too shy. "It is just like you hear on television, it sounds the same, nothing different," she said.     

Being a small scale interpreter is an uncertain profession with no fixed working hours or earnings; Arman had to work in a bakery for a few months. 

Customers pay anything between Tk200 and Tk2,000, depending on how satisfied they are with the service. Sometimes shop owners give commission based on sales, but the percentage is unclear.   

Unless it is an old customer who calls, or messages on WhatsApp before coming, foreign buyers no longer flock to Banga Bazar. So, Arman, Rabiya, Sumi, Koli and their colleagues do not come to the market regularly.   

But there was a time when they had fixed work days based on flight schedules of particular airlines. The airline crews were the top foreign buyers at Banga Bazar. 

Arman explained, "On Fridays and Saturdays we used to have a lot of buyers who worked in Saudi, Qatar and [United Arab] Emirates. Some flights were on Tuesdays so we had quite a crowd on Tuesdays and so on." 

According to him, previously, customers who stayed at Sheraton Hotel (now InterContinental Dhaka) and Pan Pacific Sonargaon found it easier to visit Banga Bazar. 

But due to traffic congestion and new hotels located near the airport, foreign buyers prefer going to shopping malls nearer to them. "There are other shops in areas like Bashundhara that sell garment products. Buyers do not mind paying a bit of extra for air-conditioning and cleanliness," said Arman.

The shops sometimes give the customers discounts and transport service, he informed us.  

Although we could not meet all the interpreters as business is poor and some of them have resorted to other professions (such as helping customers with packing and boxing clothes), Arman and Rabiya shared with us why new interpreters cannot come and join their group. 

"A new person cannot be trusted immediately. Suppose a customer buys goods worth lakhs and the new interpreter runs away with them?" they said, adding, "we cannot let our years of goodwill be spoiled." 

Arman lives in old Dhaka with his wife, parents and siblings. He had a small shop, which he lost during the Covid-19 lockdown. After working as an interpreter for 15 years, he is confident he can teach conversational English to others. "If I now enrol in language classes, I will finish all the courses within 10 minutes!" he jokingly added. 

After the interviews were over, we waited around, hoping to meet a few other interpreters but Sumi – who spoke the least among the three – told us there was no hope. "You would not find them, they are always on the run, looking for customers," she said with a smirk. 

As soon as she finished the sentence, a silver Land Rover stopped nearby and Sumi almost ran towards it while one of her slippers came off. 

With bated breath, Arman said, "Maybe it is a customer!"