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Postcard from Bangla Town

1/ 6/2002

IT'S not everyday you get to party on the hard shoulder on the M40 - but that's exactly what 74 Oldhamers (plus me, Shelina Begum, from Rochdale) did when their coach to London broke down.

It was heading to Bangla Town in Brick Lane for the biggest gathering of Bangladeshis in the UK - the Boyshaki Mela, which celebrates the Bangla new year. The excited youngsters were due to attend a parade through Brick Lane at midday but the coach broke down at the M40 near Warwick at 10.30am. It turned out the clutch needed replacing and the only substitute transport available had to make its way south from Stockport.

Said trip organiser Mujahid Khan: "Everybody decided since they were going to miss the first half of the mela they might as well make up for it by having their own mela on the hard shoulder. Drivers whizzing down the motorway were stunned at the sight of us all dancing and playing music. Some had to slow down to look twice."

Two coaches finally arrived at the scene but we arrived at Brick Lane at four in the afternoon. The streets were still packed with thousands of Bangladeshis, many dressed in green and red bandannas representing the Bangladeshi flag. They had travelled to the mela from all over the UK and some had even come from Holland.

The neighbourhood looked like a Bangladeshi bazaar with stalls everywhere selling traditional Bangla food, CD and tapes and Bangladeshi ornaments. Many customers, like true Bangladeshis, were trying out their bargaining skills.

Nearby Allen Park, where the concert was being held, was full with people, dancing and singing along to the live entertainment provided by Bangladesh's top singers Ayub Bachu and Mamum who were belting out rock and roll tunes.

Despite the travel nightmares the trip was well worth it - so, see you there next year,