Page 56 - MASALA Vol 8 Issue 6 June-July 2017

People

Holey

Moley

Driven by passion, and tinged
with tragedy and loss, the
Holey Artisan Bakery story

is as unique as its owner
Nasirul Alam Porag.

By Krishna Mawani

One sunny Thursday afternoon, I met a man with a passion
to learn how to bake bread – a passion so erce that he
would nd himself learning his trade under the maestro
British baker Maurice Chaplais for ve weeks. That same
passion would see him rise at ve in the morning, every
morning, to make his loaves of fresh, fragrant bread.
And bravely deal with the 12-hour terrorist attack that
overpowered his bakery on the night of July 1st, 2016
in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His name is Nasirul Alam Porag,
better known as Porag. Today, Porag is the owner of
Holey Artisan Bakery, located on Sukhumvit Soi 31.

The story behind the opening of Holey Artisan Bakery
is just as unique as Porag’s own. Porag and his wife,
Lillian, who is a Brazilian American from New York, had
moved back to his hometown, Dhaka after living in the
United States for over a decade. In 2004, Porag joined
his family business of pharmaceutical manufacturing
and distribution, after being involved in the retail and

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