A feast on the footpath
Leftover food from the events organised in various community centres and clubs of Dhaka is sold at a low price in front of Hazrat Shah Ali Women's College at Mirpur 1
It was four o'clock in the afternoon and busy, as usual, in front of Hazrat Shah Ali Mahila College at Mirpur 1. Some people were seen gathering around two rickshaw vans.
On the vans were large pots, full with banquet meals. Some of the pots had beef, some had roasted chicken, and others mutton rezala. The aroma of the food started spreading around. The crowd started growing.
This happens daily in front of the college gate. It starts at 4 o'clock and lasts till 12 in the night. But the foods that are supposed to be in the restaurants or buffets, how did they end up on this van on the sidewalk?
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This is actually leftover food from the events organised in various clubs and community centres of Dhaka. The food is brought here and is sold at a low price.
There are basically two shops here. The current owner of one of these is Jibon Ahmed. His mother started this business thirty years ago. Although it was not so crowded in the beginning, now the business is going quite well. Jibon's parents still come here sometimes, but he has to shoulder the main responsibilities now.
Food is an essential part of a wedding or any social event. Often, extra food remains at the end of these events. Jibon Ahmed said, food from such events arrive here. But who provides this food?
"The catering people give it to us. We buy the food from them and then sell them here in retail amounts," Jibon said.
There is another van full of food bowls next to Jibon's, which is run by Farida Begum. On that afternoon, her van seemed to have more bowls of rich, meaty foods than Jibon's. Naturally, buyers were also gathering there, so much so that she could no longer talk about her business. But her grandson Mohammad Rahat, who was there to help her, spoke. He said that his family has been doing this business since before his birth.
Shah Ali Women's College is just next to the shrine of Hazrat Shah Ali in Mirpur. You will find these two vans right in front of the college gate. The shops remain closed on Wednesdays.
The price
The foods available on the vans include biriyani, polao, chicken roast, beef or mutton rezala, fish fries, etc. However, the same type of food is not available every day. One day a particular food item is abundant, another day it may be hard to come by.
On the day of our visit, there was a bowl of fried Rupchanda on Jibon Ahmed's van. He said that this item is not very common. In fact the most available dish here is beef and mutton.
One kilogram of beef curry is sold at Tk500. The same amount of mutton has to be bought at the rate of Tk700. Chicken biryani is also available here, which is packed in polythene bags and sold for Tk150 to 200 taka.
The chicken roast is priced at Tk500 to Tk1000 depending on the size of the bowl. Chicken jhal fries (spicy chicken fries) are also available for about the same amount. Fish is sometimes available in these shops. In that case, the shopkeepers determine the price based on the market price.
That's not all. Once in a while a whole roasted goat or goat head finds its way to these makeshift food shops. The price of a goat head starts from Tk600. On the other hand, whole khasi is sold above Tk3,000. Foods like jorda or polao are also priced according to the quantity. The price of two litre bottles of Borhani fluctuates between Tk200 to 150.
The demand is high
"To buy a kilogram of beef in the market, it costs Tk800, along with Tk200 spices. And here you can get a kilogram of cooked beef for only Tk500. Why wouldn't people buy it?" Jibon asked.
Mohammad Farhad came to the shrine of Shah Ali along with his wife and two little children. On their way back, they came to Farida's stall to buy the cooked food. The family bought a bowl of beef.
"I saw a video of this shop on Facebook before. But back then the price was very low. Now it is increasing. But it is not bad, you can't find meat at such a low price anywhere," Farhad said.
A middle-aged woman was also there, who would cook Polao at home for dinner that night. She came from Kafrul to buy meat curry from here.
Knowing that these foods are 'leftover', why is there a huge demand? According to Hasibul, a rickshaw puller, in this volatile market, meat is available at such a low price- that is the main reason.
The customers
It might seem like the lower middle income people are the only customers of these foods. But that is not entirely true, according to Jibon Ahmed.
"I don't see many poor people here, most of the customers are local people. In fact sometimes one person buys food worth Tk3-4 thousand. Do you think the poor can buy food of such a large amount? A poor person will stall before buying even a bowl. A rickshaw puller counts every penny," Jibon said.
Is it healthy?
For any daytime event, food is prepared in the morning. By the time the food reaches this footpath market in the afternoon, how much of the food prepared in the morning is still edible- that is one question people may ask. Also, the food on the van is never covered.
Shopkeepers say that they do this mainly to attract the attention of customers. But the environment in front of the college is not very healthy.
Jibon Ahmed said they eat these foods in their own homes. Buyers also don't mind the dust. He was saying, "The food will get rotten if I keep it covered. It has to be displayed. Before, I used to sell foods on a sheet on the floor, now I have a van at least".
