A little behind stands Zaman Sarkar who is travelling from Finland with the same purpose -- to get back self belief and a sense of pride in being a Bangladeshi.

Inside the huge hall, the mood was festive. Women in saris and kamiz busily walk around with broad smiles on their faces. Men in panjabi and prayer topis bought right from Baitul Mukarram Mosque footpath hug each other and shake hands.

Today Bangladesh and its people were going to get the biggest prize in its history. And the microcredit guru, 'modern time Gandhi' Prof Muhammad Yunus has brought them the gift.

"When I first heard that Yunus had got the prize, I could not hold my tears," Mehrunnesa said. "For the first time in my life abroad, I could walk with my head high. It has changed our lives forever."

"We are no more the most corrupt country, no more a place of famine and floods. We are now a hope for the world too," Anis says. "Nobody can even guess how Yunus has made us proud."

Down there in the hall compound, Bangladeshis in typical 'Yunus attire' of 'Grameen Check Fatua' and vest mill around. Two of them are holding a Bangladesh flag high, waving it constantly to the press gallery above. Hundreds of photographers and journalists are busy noting every details of it.

Julia, a Bangladeshi art student at Oslo University, shows up with a broad smile. "Are you from the Bangladesh Press?” she asks. "Please, write well about how proud we are today."

Slowly, the hall was filled up and the musicians blew into their bugles. The humming guests fell into a silence. And then the man who made Bangladesh proud slowly walked into the hall in a grey panjabi and beige vest. Beside him walked Mosammat Taslima Begum, a Grameen Bank borrower to receive the prize for Grameen.

Yunus was not exactly smiling -- the usual smile he always has. Rather a mixed feeling played on his face -- he was happy and yet he seemed to be weeping. May be that was the expression of overwhelming joy. As he took seat, he kept repeatedly bowing his head in small nods, as if to show his gratitude to this huge crowd.

Then the piano in the corner rang out as the Norwegian pianist Christian Ihle Hadland played Bach.

Eight minutes later, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Ole Danbolt Mjos went to the dais to deliver his lecture. As he finished, the hall room was suddenly flooded with another serenity as speakers blared a Tagore song to the footsteps of the Nrittanchal dancers. The audience sat spellbound.

Then came the golden moment. Yunus stepped out to receive the Peace Prize. A pin drop silence fell in the hall. He reached out and touched the recognition, unknown emotions playing on his face. And then the silence shattered as claps after claps drowned any other noise. The audience rose in a standing ovation.

The woman in the red sari was clapping with all her might, her cheeks glistened as tears rolled down. Her four-year old daughter clapped, knowingly or unknowingly. The young Bangladeshi girl in jeans and blouse clapped. The man in flowing beard clapped. The young girl, Zaman, Anisur Rahman. Everybody.

For the first time in Oslo, they held their heads high.