Elska #23 Dhaka (Bangladesh)

Dhaka is an enormous metropolis, teeming with many more people than it can handle. This makes it at once an exhausting and sometimes unpleasant place, but also a vibrant and exciting one and some of the kindest people you can meet. Beauty, especially in its colourful culture is not too difficult to find, but unfortunately some ugliness can be uncovered as well, particularly with regard to queer life here. While at Elska we value positivity, we also (and perhaps moreso) value truth. As always we let the men tell their own stories without us trying to prod certain stories out of them; nevertheless many chose to write stories for us that aren't especially cheerful. This makes Elska Dhaka perhaps our most heart-wrenching and vulnerable issue ever. Even if you're the sort of Elska reader who focuses more on the pictures, this is one where the stories should get your fullest attention.