Rising from the ashes

The building burned in the 2010 Nimtoli blaze comes back to life after being renovated and filled by people. The fire, one of the worst disasters in the capital, killed at least 44 residents of the building alone and many others in the old town neighbourhood. Photo: STAR

The family that saw its 11 members perish in the deadliest inferno in Old Dhaka two years ago has been trying to move back to life as it was before the tragedy.
Didar Hossain, a businessman in his forties, wonders whether he and his two brothers Gulzar Elahi and Mohammad Faruk were lucky to survive the fire as they were not at their residence when the fire broke out on the ground floor of their building.
In response to repeated requests from relatives, Didar, Gulzar and Faruk remarried a few months after the tragedy. They have been doing everything to shake off the memories of the horrifying incident. They have even gone to the extent of naming their newborn babies after the ones they lost in 2010.
At least 123 people, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 200 others were injured in the Nimtoli inferno on the night of June 3, 2010. In Didar's building, 44 people were burnt alive.
Fire fighters had said the blaze originated from a stove in the building that housed a combustible chemical warehouse on its ground floor. Coming in contact with the chemicals, the fire got deadlier, engulfing eight residential buildings and some 20 shops within a few minutes.
Asked how it hurt two years after the incident, Didar told The Daily Star yesterday, "It is as if we have gone 20 years back in our life after losing our beloved family members. There are some memories that you can never forget.
"Still we have been trying to start afresh."
Didar and Gulzar were blessed with sons some five months ago. Didar named his newborn baby Emran Didar while Gulzar named his son Sabab Gulzar.
"We have named them after the ones we lost because we want to find them in the babies," said Didar, choking back tears.
From painting the walls in their flats to arranging furniture, their efforts seem to give back the house its previous look, as it was before the fire.
"It is difficult to undo the damage but we have been trying to do this for the last two years," said Didar, pointing out the little differences in the tiles of the floor before and after the incident.
It appears that all they want is to feel that the fire never happened in their life.
Talking about their marriages, Didar said, "We just maintained the formality. We did not arrange any programme.
"We [family members] have also decided not to celebrate any programme on Thursday [the Nimtoli tragedy occurred on a Thursday]."
He expressed his gratitude to his relatives and neighbours, saying they had been the ones who had come forward with consolation and encouraged them to begin a new life.
"It is not possible to describe the pain of such loss in words. I pray to God so that such incidents do not occur in anyone's life," said a grieving Didar.