Diarist 62 was 32 when we met him, an energetic man from a Hindu family who had many Muslim friends and had converted to Islam in 2014. By that time he was married and his Hindu wife (24 years old) was obliged to convert as well: she didn't like it and her family hated it. Indeed her family almost disowned her. At the time they had a son of 4, and were about to have another child.
They were living in a one-room brick-walled tin-roofed structure, for a rent of 1,000 taka a month. Because of the religious conversion, both have given up any hope of inheriting land or other assets from their families, but Diarist 62 is resourceful and ambitious, and one of the attractions of converting had been better access to influential people around town (his Imam is our Diarist 43). This paid off in that he has had cash gifts from quite senior Muslims (see below) and, more importantly, in early 2021 he was nominated for a subsidised home, which they moved into later that year.
Diarist 62 is a trained self-employed mason but is happy to try other trades if they look favourable. He took howlats (interest-free loans) to buy an auto-rickshaw which was his main source of income when we started with him. They have also raised cows for milk production, and his wife sews kantha - rag-work blankets - at home. Over the years he has had to buy new batteries for this vehicle, and trade in his vehicles for better ones, and he periodically goes back to masonry because it provides a more stable income. At such times he rents out his vehicle to other drivers. In 2018 he got an order to construct a complete house and was on his way to becoming a contractor. It was at that time that he went back on an earlier resolution to be a strict conservative Muslim who avoids borrowing on interest, and sent his wife to get loans from an MFI, on which they had to pay interest. 2019 however was a bad year: he borrowed from MFIs to settle debts, had to sell his phone, and quarreled badly with his wife, even to the extent, as he admits, of beating her. The Covid outbreak was in one way a relief, since the MFIs closed down and, by and large, didn't collect repayments. On the other hand he was scared of being picked on by the police when he went out during the lockdowns to drive his rickshaw.
After Covid they pulled in their horns. They considered leaving the MFIs and he went back to masonry as his main trade. Then they turned lucky with the subsidised house allocation. There were costs to this, as he had to install a water pump and other necessities, but it was a good move. A third child was born in April 2022. They still struggled with money: the electricity company disconnected them for failure to pay bills, and his wife sought a job again, this time cooking in a madrassa, starting April 2025.
Chart 01 shows the big transactions involved in their adventures, and also makes clear how they have settled to a quieter life, money-wise, since Covid. They are struggling, but they are remaining just above water.
