Modeling for the Aporajeyo Bangla

Among all the sculptures paying tribute to our glorious Liberation War, the Aporajeyo Bangla, standing tall in front of the Faculty of Arts of the Dhaka University, is arguably the most iconic. Eminent artist and sculptor, the late Syed Abdullah Khalid worked for six years to create it – a 12-foot tall sculpture of three youths representing people from all walks of life who stood shoulder to shoulder to defeat the occupationist Pakistan army in 1971 and give rise to an independent country on the world map.

Hasina Ahmed, the model for the female figure in the sculpture, recently reminisced about the first days of the sculpture's development in a conversation with The Daily Star. Excerpts:

“Khalid, who is my cousin, wanted to do something for everyone to remember the struggle the entire nation's people had gone through to bring us Liberation, and that is where the idea for the sculpture came about. He asked me if I wanted to model for it, and I agreed.”

“In the early part of the year in 1973, he booked me for three months, every day from 9am to 12 noon. I would go to his studio in Kalabagan, where he was making the initial clay models. The other two models, Benu and Fazle, would also come every day at their designated time slots every day. I wore the same saree, the same hairstyle and everything, and stood still as he made the model. Like any artist, he was not easily satisfied with his work and put in a lot of hard work. He would tell me sometimes, 'I am still working on your fingers, they are not done perfectly yet.'  A few months later, I left for Canada to settle there, but Khalid continued on with his work. I did not see it being made myself, but he sent me pictures. Much later, there was a documentary made on the sculpture, and when it was screened in Montreal I was invited there, and there I saw that he worked there tirelessly, rain or shine, to complete it.”

“The first aid kit in my hand signifies the contribution of women in the Liberation War. At the time, many women worked to nurse and treat injured Freedom Fighters at the camps, and it was symbolized this way. Of the other two models, one represents the urban youth, wearing trousers, and the other is wearing a lungi to symbolize the people of the rural parts, all of whom came together to fight for the country.”

“I saw the sculpture for the first time when I visited Dhaka a few years later. I was so excited to see it because for me, it was like my contribution to the history of the War. During the war itself, we were just hiding and running around trying to stay alive. The army had burnt my father's house in Sylhet. We were in Dhaka, living in constant fear and moving from one house to another. It was a very difficult time.”

Hasina Ahmed, who has been living in Canada for 44 years now and works there at a journal publication for the dental industry, says the thought of the sculpture makes her nostalgic. “I never thought that I would leave this country and live abroad, but it happened. Memories of that time make me really nostalgic, and I just hope that all that this country's men and women fought for, it was worth it. The whole reason we fought and struggled is for Bangladesh to do well, and I hope it is doing well. I don't live here anymore, I am not a part of it -- I wish I was -- so all I can hope is that the country does well.”