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     Volume 7 Issue 4 | January 25, 2008 |


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Dhaka Diary





I
was waiting near the Mohammadpur Bus Stand for the bus. Here and there, around me, passengers of different ages were also waiting for the buses, heaving bags and luggage of all sorts. Just then, a man in a smart attire advanced towards me from the crowd. Politely, he asked for a favour from me. His face looked worried and tired. He told me that he was a college student and had just got down from the bus from Narayanganj. Some relatives of his were supposed to pick him up from there and take him to their house. However, he was unable to find them and was lost. Pitying his horrendous condition, I told him that I would be willing to help him. He then dug out a hundred taka note from his wallet and asked me to give him some change, as he wanted to eat something from the teashop nearby. I took out ten taka notes for the change and gave them to him. He then thanked me profusely and left. I was feeling happy for when suddenly something caught my eye. The note that he had given to me had no serial number or the governor's signature! I closely inspected and I discovered that the hundred taka note was a fake! Enraged at this, I went to the teashop that he had pointed out. As he was nowhere in sight, I described him to the owner of the teashop and asked him if he had seen him. He refused and said that he had heard of this person before who went around claiming to be in need, managing to exchange notes of money for fake notes. Smiling, he said I must have been another victim of his. This was yet another lesson in life, where the lesson I learned unfortunately, was not to trust strangers in the street.

Wahid Tamzid Khan
Dahnmondi Tutorial


It was an interesting day. I was stationed at the company stall at the DIT fair for a day. After the day was over, I came out of the fair and thought to get a bite to eat. I went up to one of the street vendors, when I saw a mentally ill person sitting on the footpath. He was lost in his own thought, with his eyes closed. It seemed like he was meditating. His mouth was slightly open. Besides him a couple was standing with their child. They were looking for transport, which was very difficult to find since everyone was heading back home from the fair. The little boy was happily enjoying some chewing gum when he saw deranged person next to him. The child took out some gum, unwrapped it and put it inside the deranged person's mouth. The boy's parents did not notice anything since they were still busy searching for transport. They finally got a taxi and sped away. I was standing and watching all this with great interest. The man started to chew, with his eyes still closed, once he realised that something was in his mouth. This innocent act on the child's part was so natural and refreshing that it kept me amused for the rest of the evening.

Mohammed Sohel Hara
WESTECS
Dhanmondi


Diary from Chittagong



Last Monday, I was teaching my second grade student of a renowned English medium school of Chittagong. For his art homework, my student asked me if I could teach him to draw a strawberry. He also asked me about five characteristics of the strawberry. I was stuck, since I had never really seen a strawberry before, which is not a local fruit, let alone know five characteristics of the fruit. Moreover, I was astonished that my student had no idea about the jackfruit or sharifa or any of our other local fruits either. Being all worldly is a good thing but we should also teach our young generation about Bangali culture, heritage, history and lifestyle.

Piash
Dept. of Law
Chittagong University

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