আড্ডা With Ahmed: An Expanded Online Exchange & Misconnection

Abstract

‘আড্ডা with Ahmed: an expanded online exchange & misconnection’ is a reflexive interpretation of a DM conversation between the author and Ahmed, their Bangladesh-based friend, presented as both text and imagetext video (Mitchell, 1994). The article examines the meaning and practice of the Bangladeshi pastime of adda/chatting in a digital context, while exploring the complexities of cultural, interpersonal and technological hybridity. Through excerpts from their adda, the author and Ahmed touch upon various themes, including cultural identity, politics, gender, and the challenges of cross-cultural communication. Their conversations reveal a dynamic interplay between agreement and disagreement, offering glimpses into their subjective experiences and perspectives. While adda contains the potential to transcend cultural boundaries and foster new forms of connection and understanding, the asynchronous nature of the exchange, coupled with linguistic limitations and enculturated modes of expression, troubles the interpretation of meaning and growth of understanding between the correspondents. While the article acknowledges the unresolvable nature of certain misconnections, online ‘adda’ is portrayed as space for curiosity, exploration, remembrance, and the coexistence of diverse perspectives and interpretations.