Dhaka
Diary
Isn't
it Ironic?
The
other day, I was waiting for a bus at the Kalabagan Bus Stand
and was looking for a place to sit. Two men were sitting there
as well, peeling peanuts away to glory, making the area around
them absolutely filthy. So I decided against sitting and stood
a little away from the men. Some of the people, who were also
waiting for their ride, were getting annoyed at their behaviour,
but didn't bother saying anything. The two men seemed oblivious
to everything around them, other than peeling peanuts and
eating them. After a while, the men got up to leave the bus
stand. Before leaving, however, both of them wore their aprons,
which seemed to be some kind of a uniform belonging to some
kind of an establishment. To my horror, the aprons clearly
stated the men's profession! They said, 'CLEANER, DHAKA CITY
CORPORATION'.
Nabila,
JU
Bites
of conscience
I
am sure everyone knows about bus conductors who have a habit
of playing with the naiveté of simple people, if they
can get hold of one. I was coming back to my hall on a bus
one day, where two passengers who seemed new in the city were
also travelling. They were headed for Sayedabad, but our bus
was bound for Gulistan. Sayebabad was not on the way and was
also far away from its final destination, that is, Gulistan.
But, even then, the conductor picked them up on the bus and
charged them a fare up to Gulistan. Everything was happening
right in front of my eyes, but I couldn't open my mouth to
protest. Apathy runs so deeply in our system that all of the
passengers on the stuffy bus (including myself) remained tight-lipped
throughout. One has to be concerned with oneself at times
and speaking up for a man in distress is an absolute waste
of valuable 'energy', that one can spend on something else
more useful. Even then, someday, a loved one or I myself,
might get into trouble and I would naturally seek help. I
just pray that we can whip up enough courage to actually stand
up to such deeds which are weakening our country and its system
and also simple faith in humanity, day by day.
Mohiuddin.
Shahidullah Hall, University of Dhaka
The
other side of reality
Our
chuta (part time) helper is the sole earner in her
family. Her husband is a vegetable vendor and remains ill
most of the time. On the 7th or 8th day of Ramadan, someone
from her neighbourhood came to her place and left his mobile
there for safekeeping while he went for his tarabi
prayers at a nearby mosque. The vendor, on the other hand,
left the phone with his two sons, aged nine and eleven, to
have dinner. As the children were playing about, a stranger
came up all of a sudden and took the mobile away. A few minutes
later the vendor returned to find the mobile missing. When
the owner of the mobile phone returned, he couldn't believe
what happened and charged the full cost of the phone. Without
any choice, the poor bua had to take a loan along
with her full month's salary and Eid bonus to pay the man
back and unfortunately could not enjoy the sacred festival
of Eid. I guess, along with all the Eid festivities going
on in the city, there were some who had to go through the
hard reality of life itself.
Rehana
Ahmed, Uttara
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