To keep '71 alive

In memory of many of his slain relatives during the War of Liberation in 1971, Nandalal Roy took an initiative to arrange a permanent exhibition of clay made sculptures to uphold the spirit of the war.

Hundreds of enthusiastic people, especially the youths, have been thronging the remote Chaora Balapara village in Saidpur upazila to witness the sculptures for the last couple of months.

Herbal medicine seller Nandalal, who came from a middle income family, bears the entire cost with all his savings as the horrifying memory of genocides and gang rapes by the Pakistani occupation forces still haunts him.

A number of close relatives of Nandalal were killed and violated by the Pakistani army during the war.

Visiting the site on Sunday, this correspondent found several statues on display, highlighting the War of Liberation.

At the entrance, a statue of Bangabandhu is seen as he delivered his historic speech of March 7, followed by the surrender of General Niazi to General Jagjit Singh Aurora, chief of the Allied Force, at the then Racecourse Ground in Dhaka.

Nandalal's family members said a group of local sculptors led by Sanatan Chandra Paul, 38, made the statues in four months at a cost of Tk 4 lakh.

Ekramul Huque, commander of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad's Saidpur unit, said through such exhibition younger generation can get answers of their many questions.