Dhaka
Diary
The
Kindness of Strangers
Trapped
in one of Dhaka's traffic jams at New Airport Road and Kemal
Ataturk Avenue, my companions and I spotted a man with a stick,
weaving precariously from the traffic island into onrushing
traffic and back again. After expressing bewilderment at his
behaviour, we realised that he was blind, and was attempting
to cross the road. However, the traffic was especially bad
that night and there was absolutely no break in its onslaught.
We were shocked at the man's act of mad desperation when suddenly
out of a nearby taxi jumped a lone young woman, well-dressed
in a beautiful sari, obviously going to a party. It at first
seemed that she was abandoning her taxi in frustration at
the traffic situation. However, we watched her go to the island
and began asking people there to help the blind man across
the street. Unperturbed even as her taxi began to move away,
she finally convinced one man to take the task. Satisfied,
she ran back to her taxi. We were in traffic just long enough
to see the blind man led safely across the street and to wonder
at the inspired moment of generosity this young woman had
shown.
Juditha
Ohlmacher Dhanmondi, Dhaka
The
Generation Before
Sometimes,
the generation gap can get extremely hilarious at certain
points of life, especially while keeping up with the everyday
developments happening so fast. After a busy working day of
running errands and doing assignments, I reached home and
came face to face with my mother. She wanted to speak to my
sister and wanted to use my cell. I got her to give me some
money to buy a Tk50 pre-paid Grameen card, as I had to recharge
my phone. I scratched the card to reveal the hidden number
and insert the numbers. Suddenly, "What are you doing,
boy?!?" my mother screamed out. "You just damaged
the card you were supposed to insert into your mobile! Why
in the world are you scratching everything off ? I paid a
good 50 Taka for that card!'
It took me some time to explain the whole process to my mother,
especially since I was trying my best to keep a straight face
all throughout.
Sumon,
29 Kathalbagan, Dhaka
Chittagong
Diary
Military
Maniac !
A
couple of Fridays ago, on our way back to Chittagong from
an excursion to Bandarban organised by our department, one
of our buses were stopped for a routine check at the entry
point of Bandarban. A military personnel, wearing a long,
brown overcoat, got into the bus and stood on the stairs at
the door. Some of the junior boys and girls of our department
were singing at the backseats of the bus and didn't notice
him. As they continued with their merrymaking, the man suddenly
burst out in a rage and roared, "Who is singing? This
is not a place to sing"! He got excited, went towards
the backseats and screamed further, "Which one of you
were singing, you bastards?" Another uniformed person,
probably of a lower rank, followed him and raised his voice
as well. Finally, the senior students got up from their seats
and explained that as he was standing on the doorsteps, wearing
an overcoat, the students were unable to see him from the
backseats. The two were still grumbling and mumbling away
but finally got down from the bus, without apologising.
These people like to exert their power on civilians. However,
neither the PM nor the President has the right to call someone
a 'bastard' and abuse civilians. On behalf of the students
of my department, I demand a note of apology from the highest
authority possible for this kind of behaviour towards a group
of students who were merely having fun.
Md.
Jalal Uddin Fahim Dept of CSE, CUET
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