Better than Begging

While on the way we come across a lot of things all around us happening every moment.
Like many of you I am fortunate enough to tour to many a places-villages, towns, semi-towns, hills, rivers, country sides etc.
And in all of those places I saw many things expected and unexpected.
It will take a long time and may be a cause of much annoyance if I tell about all in serial what I have seen.
So let me tell only this that many things that I have seen so far made me glad and optimistic and contrary to this the number of things I was ashamed of and felt sorry is not less.
The other day I was going to a new market. I was going there on foot as it is near to my house. Within this short walk I encountered a number of people asking money. We all know these are the men or women called beggars.
I the number of beggars in our country, Bangladesh, is higher than the number of beggars in any other countries of the world. The most painful thing is many of the beggars are physically fit enough to do some kind of works for survival and they are one of the big factors for our image to be tarnished all over the world.
This is really a blur picture of our country. But there are pictures quite opposite to it.
To bring such a picture in a few words let me tell this that a few days ago I was walking by the side of river Turag.
I supposed to walk up to rail line without stoppage then I wanted to Boubazar in Tongi area taking turn to the left.

But I had to stop somewhere seeing a group of women working in the dirty water of river.
As work they were washing away dirt from gunny bags.
In consideration of their clothes, in sense of work or any other respects they are the people belonged to such a class does not deserve honor and always ignored.
But think for a while what I did to have a clear picture. Hope it will also be clear to you that they deserve honor at least for what they are doing, you will find that they are the real people who survive along with their families with their own hard earn money. They prefer to work in river water to make clean what is dirty. They can imbued the beggars with this spirit that working is better than begging and thus become example and inspiration for many of them to avoid begging and work according to their caliber.

Truth of life

It had been raining since morning with multiple short breaks might be to give the general people a chance to go out for doing whatever necessary.
Like other people I had no any urgent demand for going out. But I was getting bored inside room. My mind was desperate and restless to go out. The fact is outgoing is something I always like.
In an interval that the rain took I came out of my mess house and walked along the way to the bank river Turag.
Probably my eyes were strewn to a number of local boats floating away to other side.
The boats coming from other part are more in number and full of passengers. No doubt most of the passengers were from Hindu community. They were coming from different places to attend a Hindu temple there. that was a temporary temple and Durga puja was going on.
I was thinking to move towards that temple. But before taking even a single step rain started.
I changed my mind and started moving to a different direction and took shelter under roof of a tiny tea shop.
The shop was almost open and near to a Bridge over the river.

The bridge is not so attractive in its design but it carries an immense importance as a hundreds and thousands of vehicles especially passenger buses run over it everyday.

I was there sitting for about fifteen minutes. It is not so long in a sense. But within this time I saw a hundreds of vehicles running from both sides. 

What I observed all throughout this time was of no occurrence of any accident. But accident could have happened if the drivers drove wrongly or turned the steering wheel to left or right. The truth is drivers drove the way they should and accident did not occur. 

There is another truth that lies in our lives. Life is also like the running vehicles. It is running for a destination, it is moving forward for a goal.

And it can reach its destination, it can achieve its goal if it is driven rightly and right way or it can not reach its destination, can not achieve its goal if it gets accident by being driven wrongly. 

We are the drivers of our own life and this is our responsibility to take our lives ahead by the right track.

Attitude that takes ahead

An opportunity that I took being separated myself from the team on tour to Madhobpur lake, Lawyachhara and BDR Camp for having seven layer tea.
All these places are considered as tourist spots and located in Srimangal upazila of Moulavibazar district.
BDR Camp was our last spot to visit for having seven layer tea.

On the way or before getting into there I received a phone call from an unsaved number.
The caller of that unsaved number was Probhat Roy.
Probhat Roy is one of my close friends. We brought up in the same locality, studied in the same school. If I make a very short list of my close friends Probhat Roy must be there enlisted.
After being separated for sake of job we regularly kept our contact by writing letter or over phone.
From only about five years ago we have no contact or communication. A probable reason might be his transferable government job.
However, first I was surprised to hear that he was in Srimangal and secondly he was also surprised to hear almost the same thing.
The only a thin difference is he has been staying in Srimangal for past several months and as he does job he is going to stay for next several years.

To its contrary, I came here for the second time from my organization as teacher and trainer and I should leave if count in 17 hours.
When he heard about my short stay he told me to meet him and informed that he would wait in front of Pansi Hotel and Restaurant which is so popular that every rickshaw puller knows and can bring me there in few minutes.
Once I drunk seven layer tea in my last trip and since then I decided not to drink anymore as it gave me no taste at all. This is the reason I told my team members about my apathy to drinking seven layer tea and also expressed my willingness to meet my friend.
They bad me adieu for sometimes.

Probably I took only ten minutes to meet my friend standing in front of Pansi Hotel and Restaurant.

We took not more than five minutes in hotel as I expressed my inability to have anything else except tea only.
We took a rickshaw and started roaming about Srimangal.
Its a small town and rickshaw puller took 30-40 minutes to take us all around it. I discovered Srimangal as a piece of beauty having a different type of attraction for domestic and international tourists.
Finally Provat took me to Railway station the platform for hundreds and thousands of people to go to different destinations but the place for his work as assistant station master.
He took me to his office room but to get there we had to suffer a lot.
What do I mean by suffer is the station was full of hundreds and thousands of people. Making way to his office room pushing all these people aside was really hard.
Finally we made our way to his office and soon he was being visited by a large number of people asking tickets with seats. But Probhat was such a helpless situation without any option but expressing his inability and sending them back empty handed.
At a certain point of time a group of three young women came with the same plea and my friend told them the same way expressing his inability. But they were insisting on getting tickets.

Probhat might be without finding any alternative told them that he could give tickets but no seats.
One of those women replied right away saying, "No problem, we can travel standing."
I lift my eyes a bit high and cast towards them. They were young, beautiful and educated. But all these things do not carry any meaning always. The meaningful thing here was their attitude-'We can travel standing.'
People can think different ways, consider a single thing in different perspectives. But in this case everyone must say the attitude was really attractive and positive.
My friend issued tickets for them and they went back.
Making roaring sound the train arrived in about 10 minutes and left the station after a brief halt for about 5 minutes.
I checked my watch and told probhat to let me leave.
considering my urgency he bad me bad me adieu.
I came out of his office but before leaving the station I roamed abut it looking for those three young ladies.
Still there was a large number of people in the station but among them I did not find those three ladies. It means they left.
In practical situation it was harder even for male. But they did it though they were women. Reason was nothing but the attitude.
Their attitude took them ahead.

Duti is a Daughter of Rickshaw Puller

I forgot the exact date or day but remember in the morning of that particular day I came out of my house and stood by the roadside to catch a rickshaw.  Rickshaw is a kind of vehicle of three wheels, pulled by a human being, available almost all cities even in countryside of Bangladesh. My home town Bogra is one of these cities, a District town. Rickshaw is cheap and comfortable for short distant travel. Most of the people who are in need of going to nearby places choose this vehicle. Rickshaw is always available in this road. But on that day especially at that very moment rickshaw was not available, even I could not see any rickshaw as far as my eyes could go. I was waiting and waited 30 minutes long. That was disgusting and annoying. Being annoyed at a certain point of time I was thinking for an alternative. But before coming to a final decision a rickshaw appeared at a little distance going on a different way. I called him and got on it. Rickshaw puller was pulling his rickshaw towards New Market. Actually my destination was some shops or showrooms of smart mobile phones located there. In a Showroom: It was a large showroom. A good number of phones of different models and designs were displayed. I saw a considerable number of customers were busy with making their choice. I too was looking and checking phones to select one after my choice. At the time I was about to select a phone I noticed a middle aged man looked a sales girl closely and then started talking. The sales girl was really cute, sweet and young. Probably she was the younger one of all other sales girls there. The man started talking to her saying, “Hey girl, I think I may know you..? “I’ve been here for last six month. You might have come here previously”. The girl replied. “No, I came for the first time”. The man assured her and continued saying, “Still I think I may know you. What’s your name and where are you from?” “Duti Ghose, from Palpara, Sobujbag” “That’s what I say I think I may know you, I am from there too. Who’s your father?” “Bikash Ghose”. “I know him. What’s he doing now?” “He pulls rickshaw here” “Oh I see! But why are you here? You supposed to be in university.” “I’m studying Honours in English, 3rd year. This is part time job. I’m doing this job to earn some money that I can continue my study and bring laughter over my parents’ face. I want to see the smiling”.

The man listened to her attentively and finally said nodding his head, ‘Yes, I believe, you can”.  On the way back home: I bought Symphony Studio 50. It’s a low range smart phone. But I was glad and gladly I was coming back. Probably I forgot everything except new phone. But in midway I remembered talking between that sales girl and man. Words exchanged between them started coming in my mind. I agreed with that man specially to his last word, ‘You can”. Yes, Duti can do, can do more than that. Not only Duti but all , all the girls like her can do more than that we ever imagine. They can be prime minister, speaker of parliament, writer, artist, thinker, researcher, pilot, police officer, judge, barrister, doctor, engineer, teacher, architect etc. This is not something out of imagination but true and practical.    

Inside

The other day I had been given a gift covered with color paper. One of my characteristics is I'm always indifferent to gifts or anything else covered.
I kept it as it was for past few days.
One day while I was talking to my daughter over phone I remember the gift. My daughter is different from me. She is always curious especially about gifts or anything else covered. I like this type of curiosity of her.
I told her about the gift.
She asked without saying any other words “What’s that?”
“I don’t know. It’s covered.” I replied.
“Tear it off and tell me what it is.” She insisted on.
I assured her telling, “I’ll do it. But I need sometimes.”
“Take. But don’t take much time.” She told showing her impatience.
Still I kept the gift pack aside as I was tired and wanted to sleep for the night. The next day probably was weekend and I was taking more time to wake up.
I would have taken more time but my daughter phoned me asking “Have you already opened up the gift pack?”
“No” I told first. Then I told again “Ok I’m opening, wait a minute”.
I extended my hand and brought the pack nearer. I assured my daughter that I’m going to tear the cover and tore it.
I found a bottle of scent which was giving a kind of fragrance coming out as if of rose.
“It’s a bottle of scent” I informed my daughter.
“Ok keep it and bring for me when you come if it’s better than that I’ve.” My daughter told me and cut off call.
Still then I could not come out of my sleeping mood. I placed myself on bed again but could not close my eyes.
With my two open eyes I saw a number of things all around the room. All were old but appeared seemingly new. Most of those things were put inside or covered with something else.
I tried to guess what the things would come out if covers open. First my eyes were drawn to a computer bag. I knew a laptop, charger, pen drive, money bag and my specs were the things supposed be inside. Then I cast my eyes to another bag and remembered clearly a Punjabi (A type of traditional dress in Bangladesh) I bought only two days ago for a special occasion. I saw a few more bags or packs but could not remember exactly what the things would be which are inside.
I left that task of remembering for another time and moved to the window.
I saw outside a hundreds and thousands of houses vividly visible as far as my eyes went. All these houses made a society as it is consisted of houses.
Society is important for human beings to lead a civic and civilized life. No one can imagine of having school, college or university, club, office, community, hospital or clinic without society. Where there is society there is all for people to lead a decent life. Standing beside the window I was looking outside and thinking all these aspects of society and here I found even the society is also covered with an invisible cover. As this is invisible cover it cannot be tore off or opened by outer force. But sometimes it becomes flexible or unable to keep everything hidden inside. What comes out when it is flexible or unable?
Both sweet smell or fragrance and bad odor or malodor may come out.
What is the sweet smell or fragrance here that comes out of a society?
In my opinion these are some of the things can be called sweet smell or fragrance.

• Task that is done by society for society
• Unity that the people make in society to protect it
• Unity that the people make in society to remove evil things from it
• Conducive situation and environment society creates where people love one another and consider them as one flesh.
• People are aware of not creating pressure or repression on women.

And now it is easily understood that the bad odor or malodor would be quite opposite that we see most of the time.  
However,  my thought came back to myself and went straight to people on the street, shops or in the markets. Then my thought went a step farther to the people at homes.
Here in case of human beings I found two sides-‘Inner and Outer.’
Inner side is covered with outer side which can be called physical structure. Physical structure visibly consists of some limbs but contrary to this inner side is invisible and filled with both sweet smell or fragrance and bad odor or malodor.

Love, compassion, patience, tolerance, long suffering etc., are the sweet smell or fragrance and opposite to all these such as hatred, envy, impatience, conflict, etc., can be called bad odor or malodor.
Apparently people seem more active to use their bad odor or malodor which is the main factor for this world to be notorious and hostile. It also seems the people do not know that the sweet smell or fragrance is a kind of power and proper use of it can make the world a beautiful and safer place especially for children and women.

Born to Save

It was beyond my imagination that I would ever meet Shima.
Shima, I am talking about, was  my class-mate about twenty five year ago. I forgot her and it is hard for me now to remember any memory ever created stored.
What I can remember now is her cute face, sweet words she spoke, friendly attitude and humble behavior.
These are the characteristics she was blessed with from heaven above.
Shima was loved not only by all other students but teachers also.
Her birth was also a blessing as both of her father and mother were literate at the time when 95% of total population was illiterate. They were neither rich nor poor. They had a house of their own, some land for cultivation and money enough to lead a decent life.
There is no such a record that Shima's father had ever asked anyone for any amount of money as loan. But many people would still be found alive to proof his benevolent mind of helping others. In exchange he had never been financially helped but blessed with tremendous popularity. He was becoming so popular that the mass people began to consider him as more than a political leader.
This was the reason behind him and his family to fall into the grudge  of an influential and powerful local leader of a political party in power. He took him as thorn on the way and was desperate to eliminate anyway. He did everything to this end but before being eliminated Shima's father understood the situation and decided to flee the village along with family.
He did not take much time. It was like all of a sudden he fled the area behind for an unknown destination presumably a town.
Since the day they fled I had never seen her in the area.
I too left the area in my early life and have been living in different towns but did not see her anywhere.
The other day I could not understand what to do or what to say to my friend's wife when she first informed me that her husband I mean my friend was in hospital after being seriously wounded from a motor cycle accident.

I rushed to the hospital.
My friend has been taken to Operation Theater (OT) a few minutes before I reached there.
I wanted to know his present condition through talking to his wife. In 2 or 3 minutes I saw a nurse coming and after getting nearer she asked, "Hey, can't you recognize me?"
"No, not at all, sorry!" I replied.
"I'm Shima, same Shima you once studied with. Now I’m a nurse of tis hospital." Shima told.
I recognized her and started chatting.
After sometime Shima checked her wrist watch and told me to wait or follow her as she wanted to go to attend a young mother who fell serous sick after giving birth to a male child.
She informed me with much curiosity that the mother was from the same village as she and me.
“Who is she?” I asked being much curious and desperate to know.
“Telling, come with me.”
I was following her.
A special cabin to the south. Only 3 minutes walk.
Her senseless condition, pile of medicines gave me a clear understanding that she was serious but couldn’t recognize her. “Who’s she?” I asked again.
Shima started telling about her but before finished I got to know that she was daughter-in-law of that leader who once compelled Shima and her family to flee from village.
“Do you know, shima?” I asked which was responded with her prompt answer.
“Yes, I know, still everything is alive in memory. Our agony is still burning, our feeling of retaliation follows us everywhere day and night and anger is still alive. Good time is in favor of me. I can take revenge, I can kill both of mother and her new born child. But I’m a woman and a nurse. Like all other women of the world, like all other nurses of all countries I too believe I’ve born not to kill anyone but to save all”.

Bicycle

All are Bangladeshi School Girls riding on bicycles for school 

Who can say that I've never seen a bicycle?

Bicycle is very popular bike and available all over the world. No one, I think, would be found anywhere all throughout the globe who is not familiar with bicycle.

It benefits three ways.

1. Almost all even village people of low income can buy as it is cheap 2. It offers comparatively easier and safer travel saving a good junk of time 3. Riding bicycle is a good exercise. Therefore, it offers those who ride it a good heath

Bicycle is available everywhere in Bangladesh. It is popular here to the same extent as it is in other countries of the world.

In Bangladesh bicycle is used or can be used by people of all age groups. Recently many girls and women will be found using this vehicle for easy communication every day.

But only 10 or 12 year ago riding bicycle was something shameful and disgraceful to girls or women of Bangladesh. The thing was more complicated in rural areas.

Rubina was 13 year old at that time. She was a girl of a remote village and a daughter of a poor farmer.

Rubina born to a poor parents, lived in a poor family, led a low standard life but cherished a sky like high and broad ambition.

Though the village was remote but luckily there were a primary school and a high school.

She was always a good student both in primary and high school level.

She passed SSC one day with a brilliant result. Heavenly happiness came over her parents from above. But that happiness was only for few days. Only in few days happiness flew away like vapor.

Her father had no ability to send her to town for higher study. But he wanted it and tried his best to find any means.

Without finding any means or alternative he with heavy heart decided to stop her study and give her to a marriage.

Rubina was disappointed. But her high ambition and indomitable interest in study made her thinking different.

She got to know from one of her school friends about a college. The college was not in town but at such a distance not possible to go and return by walk in a day. That was really another problem.

But she saw in her visionary eyes that a bicycle, only a bicycle can be right solution to this problem.

She requested her father to buy a bicycle anyway for her.

Her father thought twice. But one day like a good father bought a bicycle for her daughter.

Rubina started going to college by riding bicycle everyday. The villagers saw her, spoke ill of her terming her a slur to society, disgrace to her family. But Rubina never minded, never took their ill speaking as stumbling block to her way.

I am from the same remote village Rubina lives. But I have left that village and been away since my early life. Now the whole area not alone the village has become much developed.

The other day after several years I went to that village for a brief visit. Luckily I met some of my old friends. We gathered in a tea stall, talking, order for tea has already been placed and served.

I lift my cup up to the lips and about to have the first sip but before that a sound of motor cycle came to my ear. I turned to  a wayside and saw a lady on a motor cycle riding on her way.

“Who’s she?” I asked my friends.

One of them told, “She is  Rubina Madam.”

“A high government official, still lives here but only for her parents’ sake,” Informed another friend.

The other one sitting to my left said, “Now she is quite able to lead a decent life along with parents even in town. She may leave any time”.

I listened carefully.

I have never seen her face. But in my inner sight I saw a picture of present Rubina, a young, vibrant, educated, bold, ambitious and visionary lady. She is such a lady everything awaits for.

Now she is riding motor cycle but someday will drive motor car and some other day will fly from country to countries, I thought to myself.