From our magical city, Dhaka has become a city of survival. The city has mere space for entertainment. Even if you go to a cafe or restaurant, it can be challenging to find a peaceful spot to sit and rest since the waiters often rush you to leave the place within 45 minutes. It is quite unimaginable to have a cafe in Old Dhaka, which is known for the tea-drinking habits of its citizens.However, a new initiative in a cafe called “Chaalchitra” is now providing a cozy coffee shop environment where people can relax, work, study, read, listen to music, and play board games without feeling rushed to leave.
“Chaalchitra” is a coffee shop at Lalbagh which It provides an alternative to the hectic atmosphere of the city, where people can enjoy a cup of coffee and spend some time with their loved ones. The cozy ambiance, decorated with posters and themes, will make you feel right at home. With this initiative, Dhaka’s coffee lovers can now take a break from the chaos and enjoy a peaceful and relaxing time with a good cup of coffee. The initiative of opening a cafe like this started in 2021 and was backed by four entrepreneurs.
“Chaalchitra” the name was given from the thought of capturing the moment with a good sip of coffee. One side of the cafe is painted with the powerful scenes of different movies which will give you the sense of the owner’s fascination with movies.
I ordered a latte and chocolate fudge brownie. With one bite of brownie I understood why the brownie is their best seller. Besides the latte and brownie, what really amazed me was their facility for sanitary napkins. If you are a woman, you must have faced this problem often of having periods in unexpected places. But, if you are at “Chaalchitra” and having periods you have nothing to worried about. Because they have the facility for pads!!!
Besides the facilities for female customers, this cafe provides an amazing environment for the female workers. They are one of the very first workplace which gives menstruation leave without cutting the salary. “We feel proud to be the first to provide paid menstrual leave for women workers in Bangladesh. Starting from ethical work practices, we strive to ensure that our workers are treated as human beings everywhere, just as they deserve a work environment that is safe and healthy. We do not think we are doing anything special. First and foremost, if the workers are happy with their workplace, it will definitely help in the growth of the business. In addition, by providing what they deserve, we want to create a beautiful culture” said one of the owners Md. Reyad Hossain about menstruation leave.
Other than that, “Chaalchitra” provides an eco-friendly environment. They serve steel straws instead of plastics, filtered water instead of plastic water bottles. They not only serve , but also refill bottles brought by customers, thus saving a lot of plastic waste. They serve cupcakes in glasses instead of plastic. Regarding this Reyad said, “becoming 100% eco-friendly may not be possible for us right now, but we are making every effort from our side. It is possible to become eco-friendly only if we sincerely want to do so in certain places, while it is becoming difficult in many places. For example, we are unable to find a replacement for plastic in some places, such as takeaways but if we find it, we will definitely use it. Our target is to become 100% eco-friendly and encourage others to do the same.”
So, overall, Chaalchitra will give you an overwhelming experience which you should not miss.