The Baul tradition frames love as a union of the internal East and West—the soul (east) and the world (west). Romantic love between a man and a woman is often allegorized as the meeting of two rivers: the Padma (west) and the Meghna (east).
Given Bangladesh’s geopolitical history and religious demographic, romances involving a Western non-Muslim partner or a partner from a neighboring country met in a Western setting offer high-stakes drama.