Fuska in Bangladesh

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

fare	go back	pretty (2)
world	hollow	country (2)
guess	cuisine	little while
wish	estimate	on the go
way	aroma	in front of
offer	residents	thousand
fill	UNICEF	food stall
earn	gather	to take in
air	creation	all the best
diner	portion	sell/sold/sold
cent	afford	buy/bought/bought
fit	any kind	eating out
poor	dough	filled with
lentil	onion	equivalent
spice	meet up	square (2)
dine

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

 Transcript

We’re in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The history of this city goes back more than a thousand years. Today with thirteen million residents, it’s one of the largest cities in the world.

Bangladesh is a very poor country — but you’d never guess from its cuisine. As in India or Pakistan, people here cook with lots of spices whose aroma fill the streets.

At Niked Square, in front of Dhaka University, people of all ages gather in the evening to enjoy a snack.

This food stall offers “fuska”, traditional fare for people on the go. Mohammad Alman is only fourteen, but he has been manning this stand for a year now — and taking in ten euros a day.

“My family is pretty poor so I had to start earning early on. There’s no other way.”

UNICEF estimates that around five million children work in Bangladesh, many of them much younger than Mohammad.

“I went to school for a little while, but my parents couldn’t afford it. A portion of fuska sells for the equivalent of thirty cents.”

“Sitting at any kind of fuska shop, eating out always fuska.”

The little hollow dough balls are supposed to be just big enough to fit into your mouth.

“My fuska are filled with chili, onions, coriander, lentils, salt, masala, potatoes, and tomatoes.”

And what do the diners say about his creations?

“When we meet up, this is where we like to come for a snack.”

We wish Mohammad and his family all the best for his business.

 

 

Questions

1. What can you say about Dhaka? Describe Dhaka.

2. What do they say about Bangladesh and its cuisine.

3. Where is Mohammad’s fuska stall?

4. Only students buy and eat fuska. True or false?

5. Who is Mohammad? How old is he?

6. Did he go to school? Why is he working and not going to school?

7. How big are fuskas? What do they contain? What are they filled with?

8. Name some things and activities from the video.
 
 

A. Are there fuska-like food in your country? Is there a food similar to fuska in your country?

B. There are Indian or Bangladeshi restaurants in my city. Yes or no?

C. What are some popular street foods, fast foods, or snacks in your city?

D. Are food stalls (street food vending) good business?

E. I would like to own and run a food stall. Yes or no?