A survivor's tale

"I was unconscious for a moment," said Monis Rafique.
"I woke up and tried to remember what actually happened," he added.
Monis survived completely unharmed the Manikganj road tragedy that killed journalist Mishuk Munier and film maker Tareque Masud.
He is the assistant director of Tareque's next film "Kagojer phool" and also a documentary film maker.
He described to The Daily Star, what happened right before and after the fatal road accident.
"It was raining while we were coming back from Salzana village after spending three hours on the first working day with Tareque Masud."
"Sitting in the front passenger seat, I was watching raindrops rolling down the windshield and the window glass."
"Suddenly I saw a bus rushing towards us. It was the end of everything, I thought," said Monis, still traumatised.
"I closed my eyes. Instantly my mother's face came to my mind," he said.
"Where was I, what happened, everything was lost. There was something on my right arm."
"I found, it was the smashed body of Mustafiz, the microbus driver."
"I heard a woman's voice wailing from far away, Tareque! Tareque!!"
It was Katherine, trying to wake Tareque Masud up.
Five of them were sitting in the back seats of the microbus, facing each other. Tareque Masud and Katherine just behind the front seats; Dilara Zaman Jolly, Dhali Al Mamun, and Mishuk were sitting just opposite Tareque and Katherine.
"They were talking about the colourful days of their university life."
"Tareque Masud was my teacher. So, I did not join their conversation."
Asked, does he remember anything about their last conversation, Monis said, "I remember, somebody called Tareque sir on his cellphone and informed him that Nishad was unwilling to drink milk."
"Don't worry, we are coming back," Monis quoted Tareque as saying to the caller.
At one stage, Dhali Al Mamun asked Mishuk, "What about your son, is he like you? Wandering around Old Dhaka and tasting foods of different restaurants?" Monis tried to recall the conversation.
"My son is very adorable," Mishuk smiled and said his son did not need to go to Old Dhaka for food. "I cook all those foods for him," he said.
"Rain started before we reached Dhaka-Aricha highway," Monis went on.
There was a discussion about rainfall, and the knowledge of farmers about weather forecast. Mishuk said many village people can exactly forecast rain. They just wet the tip of a finger with saliva, feel the wind with that and can forecast rain, Mishuk told his friends.
Both the friends, Tareque and Mishuk did not like the latest position of the government regarding the indigenous ethnic minorities of the country, Monis said.
"Tareque sir was caring about me. He reminded me to fasten my seat belts," said Monis in a choked voice, "First I fastened the waist belt and then the cross belt, without thinking anything."
Just a few minutes after that the accident happened, Monis recalled.
"The car was twisted," he said adding, "I found a lot of blood around me, and my head was blank."
"I took off my seat belts and found myself completely unharmed. I jumped off the seat and ran to Tareque sir. He and Mishuk sir were lying on the street."
"I checked Tareque sir's heart beat. His face was deformed. He was no more."
"Then I ran to Mishuk sir, he was face down on the street. I turned him to see his face."
"I should not have seen it," said Monis.
He said he liked Mishuk since the first meeting due to his charming personality.
Katherine was still wailing, "Tareque, Tareque."
"I heard, another woman's voice calling Mamun! Mamun!"
"All of these happened in just a few seconds," Monis said.
"It was Jolly apa calling Dhali Al Mamun, the art director of Kagojer Phool."
"Just few minutes back, I told these two friends Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier that I wanted to make a documentary on them as they worked together on Adam Surat, the documentary on artist SM Sultan."
"I tried and was able to stop a car passing by and sent Katherine, Dhali Al Mamun, and Dilara Zaman Jolly, to a hospital."
Then he called Morshedul Islam, another film director and a friend of Tareque and Mishuk. He informed Morshedul about his friends' death.
"He could not believe, so I had to describe twice or thrice that Tareque Masud and Mishuk Munier died in the road accident."
"A few minutes later Tanvir Mokammel called, and asked if sending of a helicopter would save them."
"I said, no, they are already dead."
"The man went away without making his dream film, Kagojer Phool, he was working to build a set for the movie at Salzana village for the last two years," Monis said about Tareque.
"Tareque Masud offered me a job to do some research work and to assist him in direction."
"The film was supposed to be a prequel to his earlier film Matir Myna."
Monis said Tareque Masud created a character, Mazhar, in light of two characters in his own life. One of those two characters was his guru artist SM Sultan, and the other was his father Moshiur Rahman Masud who had been a student of Kolkata Presidency College before India-Pakistan partition.
The famine of 1944, India-Pakistan partition, Hindu-Muslim riots, cultural movement of the Bangalee people in Kolkata, and many other aspects of history were the subject of Tareque's planned movie "Kagojer Phool".
Artist Zainul Abedin is a character of the film as well.
"After some time police came and I got a call from Morshedul Islam. He said 'Monish wait, we are coming'."
When The Daily Star asked Monis if he had gone to see Katherine in the hospital, he said, "No. What will I say to her when I meet her."