Feature

Md. Rahber-E-Alam

FOR several days there was a growing excitement about a function among my family members. Although, I did not give any importance to this matter, the excitement reached such a level that the news about it soon reached my ear, and I found out that I would be hired (unofficially) as one of the photographers in the show.

I was speechless!! How much more boring can you expect a job to be?

We were about to attend the Reunion function of the ex-students of the famous Carmichael College. It was obviously a show that the previous students were dying to attend. Suddenly, it seemed that my father, Rakibus Sultan Manik (Study duration 1979-1989) was back to his college life. He was laughing, joking around with us and was busy preparing himself for the show.

Finally, we hopped on our bus and started our journey bound for the North. In the morning of 1st May, we stepped on the soil of Rangpur and went to our Grandfather's house. My mother, Rehena Khatun Lity , an Ex-student of Carmichael College (1981-1989), had reached Rangpur the previous night.

At noon, I went for a round of the College campus, along with my father. I have been at the college campus before, but this time I found the campus decorated and nicely maintained. On the vast playfield of the college a huge stage was being constructed,along with sittting arrangement for the audience. The senior teachers and officials of the college were supervising the construction work. After being introduced to them, my father continued the exploration of the college premises. I was enjpoying the rickshaw journey very comfortable. On the way, my father was telling me the rich history of this college.

The college was built in 1916 by Lord Thomas David Baron Carmichael, Governor of Bengal at that time, when the British were ruling this part of the continent. Carmichael College is said to be the Taj Mahal of North Bengal.

On 2nd May we found the college campus alive with the
arrival of thousands of students from all over the world. They were back to their second home. Many were greeting their teachers; many were having a great time with their dear college friends whom they were seeing after many years. Surely, no one was thinking about the materialistic life of the city, no one was worried about office work, business and earning, and no one was worried about debts. All they wanted was to have a glance at the college, where they have spent an unforgettable part of their life, and shake hands with the ones with whom they have shared innumerable feelings.

The ex-students were ready for a huge rally to celebrate the reunion both inside and outside the college. Decorated carts were brought in, behind of which the rally was ready to get started. The whole stage of the show, the T-shirts and caps for the ex-students of the college, have been financed and supplied by Rangs Electronics Limited.

In the evening, the real show began with the speech of several senior professors, important individuals and invited guests. Several hundred people already occupied the campus ground and more were entering the field to watch the show. Every speaker showed their respect and love towards the college and thanked Allah for making them a part of this college.

(Student of Sunny Dale School, Class-IX)

I went in to the green room only to find that everyone else had taken their serials, so I'd be going as the 5th participant in both the disciplines I was competing in. It disturbed me a little, knowing that being the last participant could be a lot of pressure, especially if the previous participants did well. My disciplines, “Impromptu Speaking” and “Manuscript Reading” were scheduled later, so I sat down, and waited.

I knew I would do good the moment Faheem sir told us about it. This was my kind of a competition. I've always been known for talking a lot, and here was my chance to make it look like a good thing. I wanted to do it for myself. It had been quite a while since I had attended a competition of this sort (my institutional education had been about 4 years until I joined university, but that's another story!) and I wanted to assure myself that I still had what it takes.

Besides, I wanted to do it for Faheem sir. He'd worked so hard for this competition, and yet there were no one else from his section who made it to the finals, and he's such an amazing teacher that since I had the chance to get him something (The competition rules were that the champions' class teacher also gets a crest), I told myself I'd do it. And lastly, I wanted to win it for the three friends of mine, Turag, Kashfi and Rumel, who were there to support me, didn't go home although they all lived quite far away, and sat in the audience, empty-stomach, hoping I'd put up something good. Sitting in the green room, I decided I'd give it my best shot and try and win in at least one of the two categories I was a finalist of.

First up was “Impromptu Speaking”. The first two participants got topics related to love and relationships, so I started preparing a little. The third and the fourth went, and when it was finally my turn, I don't know why, but I had a feeling I could do better than my predecessors. I went on, and halfway through my speech, I realized that I was probably going too fast, so I decided to take a chance. I made up an emotional kind of a story, and when my bell rang, I knew from the applause it had worked. After that was manuscript reading, which went all right. I knew it would be. What I was actually counting upon was my Impromptu Speech.

When it was time for the results, I was a little nervous. I had put so much on stake for myself; it would be crushing to know that I did not make it. But when Faheem sir, who was also the presenter for the whole program, announced my name as the Champion in “Impromptu Speaking” category, I felt that familiar jolt inside me. When I was walking up the stage to receive my medal, I heard palm-numbing applauses from the three friends of mine, and saw a smile on sir's face as he received the crest, and that was worth to me a hundred times more than the shining silver disc hanging around my neck. I'd done my job, and done it well. I patted myself on the back, and said “Let's go, Fahmim. Mission Accomplished.”