21st February and More Musical Moments

Bengalis love their language and are proud of the fact that some of their own died to defend it.

Ekushey February,   February 21st, a national holiday in Bangladesh also called Shaheed Dibas (Martyrs' Day), marks a day in 1952 when several students were killed by police firing on them for campaigning for the recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan. Back when Bangladesh was 'East Pakisan, the Urdu speaking West Pakistanis tried to impose Urdu as the official language of the people. Millions of Bengalis would have had to deal with their government in a foreign language. 


 So this year, on Feb. 1st Bangla Academy in Dhaka kicked off a month long Bengali book fair.  The opening ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and  the special guest speaker was William Radice, a poet and translator of Bengali from London University.  The ceremony ended with John singing a Tagore song in both Bengali and English.

There was of course a lot of security as we entered the Bangla Academy.     Throngs of students were there in support of Sheikh Hasina.

John sang:
"Like sorrow and laughter, May comes after March and April's waiting'
So comes this sacrifice of songs I spend my days creating. 

Meeting a director at the Academy

How come the foreign guy's dressed like a Bengali and the Bengali guys like foreigners?

Where Will They Go?

A couple months back when I took this picture they were all smiling.  They are from the 'bosti, or 'slum',  just a couple blocks from our apartment.  They have no land so they consruct small dome-shaped dwellings on the side of the road out of whatever they can manage to collect:  sticks, plastic, cardboard, discarded tin,  grass thatching.   These dwellings are perched on the side of the road, in the 20 feet  between the pavement and the rice paddy.  

Most of the people who live here are from very poor, illiterate, landless families-
rickshaw pullers, beggars,  garbage-pickers.

Some of the children go to a nearby school,  but many drop out at a young age to help earn money.

It doesn't look like much but this is home to a family of six.  Our househelper gave birth to her three children here.  It's the only home these her children have ever known.

Today the families of this bosti were given orders by the city officials to take their 'houses' and move somewhere else.  They're being evicted from the roadside.   Today they've been desperately searching for a merciful landowner who will allow them to pitch their home on the edge of their plot.   The distressed mothers wonder where their babies will sleep tomorrow night.

I get into my soft bed in my comfortable apartment and wonder...I wonder...what would it feel like to be them? 


                                                        May they find mercy.

Forest Feast

The literal translation for the word 'picnic' in Bengali is 'forest feast.' Our feast wasn't in the forest but we did gather on one of the lawns at the University for a feast given by and for the members of the singing group that John is part of there.

 Bengalis are able to cook the most amazing meal out on the lawn with a few sticks providing a fire for the pots.

The ingredients had been prepared ahead of time; lots of garlic, onions, chilies, tumeric and spices.




Meanwhile, because this was a singing group's forest feast, the singers sang...

on the ground,

and in the trees.

Finally, the great moment arrived: our meal of rice, lentils, fried eggplant, egg curry, goat curry, salad and topped of with sweet yogurt and a mishti. (There's no way to translate that one except to say that they're really sweet!)

A beggar lady and her child who had waited patiently was also fed lunch.

After the meal, there were some fairly non athletic games except for a running race in which Jan was, of course, selected to represent us. She came in third thanks to a a couple false starters who had headed that pack but got themselves disqualified.

 

Through the years in Bangladesh

It's been nearly 30 years since I joined John in Bangladesh for the adventure of a lifetime.  For those or you who only know us as the older graying couple with no children,  here's a glimpse of our earlier years here:

With Benjamin, born 1985

Blessing #2, Christa,  arrived 1986

And last but not least,  David, born in 1988.

We sure had our hands full----of bundles of joy, that is.              

 

Here we are in the winter of 1995 while living in Dhaka.  We left Bangladesh in July of that year.

But, we just couldn't stay away so here we are---back again!   taken during our kids' visit here over Christmas.

Romantic River Rides

Thirty years ago we took a ride on an old Bangladesh sailboat when I came to visit this country for the first time.

This week we took boat ride to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary.

 The river has shrunk in size during these winter months but is still a peaceful place to get away to, avoiding the crowds of curious on-lookers on the shore.

Our boatman let John take the oar for a while.  It wasn't as easy as it looked to keep the boat moving forward in a straight line! (Sometimes marriage is that way too,  isn't it?)

We finished up just as the sun set over the Padma River banks.

After a pleasant dinner out at "The Aristocrat", one of the nicest restaurants that Rajshahi has to offer (at which our grand total came to $10),  we went home to enjoy a rich chocolate torte that I made to celebrate the occasion--a sweet end to a sweet day!