::<>Love on the Roof<>::
After my SSC examination I had lots of time to spare. I lived with my parents in a fifth floor of a flat building in Dhaka. Being on the top floor of the flat, we always had a very good access to the roof. Most of the afternoon me, my mother and my younger sister used to go to the roof to get the fresh wind. It was very pleasant up there, we talked, laughed and had fun.
A new five story building just finished and rented out the new families. That building was very close to ours building, you could almost jump one roof to other. As usual, one day I went up on the roof in the evening, I saw the most beautiful girl in my whole 16 years life. She was just walking on the next building roof from one end to other. To make my story short, my first teenage love affair begin from here. Really.
From that day I went up on the roof everyday. She was also a regular on up there too. I waitrf all day just for the evening. After few days we started talking, just hello and how are you kind of talk. I got to know her a little bit. She also finished SSC exam as well. Most of the time my mother used to comes up with me along with my other neighbors, that became a problem for us. I had to make many excuses for my mother not to go up. It was really a very exciting time. We never could have a 2 minutes conversation alone.
After a month or so, she started not coming to the roof. I went up on the roof everyday and waited for her. But she was nowhere to be found. She never came back again. It was so sad for me. I waited and waited day after day. For some reason, I still believe that she will come back and I will see her again on the roof top.
Even today, I continue to go up on the roof. Miracle do happen. If you read this story, you know who you are. Please come and see me on the roof again. I am still waiting for you.
::<>My Dream Came True<>::
Nazma Sultana
Dear readers it’s a story of love. Every person has different feelings about love. There is always explanation about the feelings of love. My love is always getting me mental peace, sound mental image. Some times it gets the pain. Some times I feel disappointed for my love. My love is life. I have lots of remembrance about my love. The memory of love is very much valuable to me, because all the feeling which is related to the love is my personal thing. I don't want to kill my love, though I have already lost it.
The voice of Rabindranath always console to me. He told in his book that “Tomai noton korea paboo bolea, harii barae barea.”(Very frequently I lost you for getting you newly)
He comes in my life with a new dream. With the turbulence of storm, with pinching of every surroundings, with the loud voice, for sharing every thing. I wanted to spend my entire life with him. But he left me quietly for someone else.
He left me without making any sound. Will he ever come back to my life? No, I don't think so. He is not mine anymore. I don't know who's fault it is! I don’t want to say that it is his fault, or maybe its mine. When he used to keep in touch with me or spent time with me, love was there. It was wonderful to be in love. Some times I wonder what have I done. Why me? Why did he left me? Some other times I wondered may be I should have never fall in love. But now its too late. He is not with me anymore, so there is no love.Should I keep in touch with him? Should I call him or try to make contact. Just to hear his voice. May be we can work it out. Is it right to keep in touch with EX. Should I still be his friend - just friend. How do I deal with that. After all he was my love. I had lots of dream surrounding him. How can I forget those wonderful moment of my life. My beautiful memories.I know I don’t forget him or I don’t want to destroy my love, because I am too much honest about my love. By being consideration of every thing I want to sustain my love within myself. I don't care at all that he don’t recognize my love anymore. However, I love him still now, I believe my love is true and someday he will come back in my life. I know that might never happen. But what can I do. Every moment his face is floating in my eyes. Every moment I feel him, think of him and I dream him.
::<>The Watch<>::
Keya
I don’t know how was father. I have not any remembrance of my father. Because my father was died before my born. I have never seen his picture. When my father died my mother concealed everything of my father because this thing creates pain.
But, my mother use a watch, which is my mother marriage, gifted by my father. This watch is too little but very beautiful. I have very fascination about this watch. When mother return from her job, she just keep the watch on the table, I run-up & wear the watch. I am looking this watch & feeling so strangeness. I seem that & feel that, touches of my father. I very much addicted by using that watch, Though I had done this in hide, In absence of my mother, because my mother don’t like on personal things to use of others. And she was too strict. When I wear that watch I feel so amusing feeling which I cannot explain.I have passed my time using my mothers watch in hidey. No body doesn’t know my inner feelings.In that time every “Eid” occasion we visit my grandmother house. Our grandmother village is very nearest in the town. Every of my cousin are waiting only for the Eid occasion because we are enjoying very much in my grandmother houses. Usually once we visit my groundmather house & making so fun. Suddenly my mother lost her watch. My mother was tremendously shocked by lost her watch. We are founding this watch everywhere; every place but watch is not found. I am too much crying. Everybody’s strange to see my crying & they couldn’t find any explanation why I am crying. But I know what do I have lost. I am not enjoying that much in that Eidday because my mind does not play with me. We completed the Eidday & come back in our house.By this time we have passed few month & my grandfather come in my house. And he calls me, “you have a surprise. Bring your hand?” he told me. He gives me a watch. When I looking that watch, I saw that my mother’s losted watch & he (grand father) told me that, the side of the pond, under the stairs, finds it. I was so strange that many days it in the pond side, but its work properly. I was so pleased to see the watch & I don’t understand what I will do. I think my mother understand my inner feelings my mother told me that, you are too young, when you complete your s.s.c examination you can use this watch forever.But now you can use it very often. The incident is happen when I was in class six. I told my mother that if it is not work properly? My mother told me that it comes from Belgium & it is costly too, so you need not to worry about that watch will be workless watch. I was so happy & pleased. Now I am not using this watch in absence of my mother & hidden anybody. Out eventually my mother don’t sustain her voice. Because we have lost this watch by robber. Robbery had happen in my ground father house.It is a little bit possible to find the losing thing but to the terrorism can consume any thing that cannot come back. That I was not crying but I feel so pain.13/14 yrs later I feel so regret in that watch. I am looking that type of watch very frequently, but when once it lost does it return?
::<>Is it a Dream or a Message?"<>::
Tapan
Last semester (Fall 2000) I was working on a project for Digital Electronics Class. Stan and I were building 4X1 SRAM (Static Random Access Memory, “Memory circuit”). We spend a lot of time to design and build the circuit. We build three memory cell using logic gates and one using n-MOS transistors. Everything was performing properly except the memory cell build with n-MOS. I have spend 15-18 hours to solve the problem, but it was a total failure. I have a habit of thinking of my current problems for 15 - 20 minutes before I go to sleep. One night I was dreaming that I am solving the problem. This dream was much different than my usual dreams. The dream felt like, it was a real life incident. After the dream, if I may call it a dream, I mysteriously woke up. Immediately I wrote down the steps I took in the dream to solve the problem. After an analysis over the steps, I reached to a conclusion that it was the solution that I have been searching for.
The next day, I went to the Electronics lab and build the circuit according to the dream. As I expected, the circuitry was working perfectly. In fact we scored perfect on the project. It is still a mystery to me whether " it was a Dream or a Message".
::<>A Trip To Shunderban<>::
Sami
It was my winter vacation 1999. My family decided to have a trip to Shunderban. I was so delighted hearing about the idea to have a visit to a forest, as for the first time. I felt that I am going to be very close to the nature.
We decided to start for Shunderban on the 18th of January. On the very day, we woke up at 6.00 am to start for Khulna. We reached there in the evening. There we stayed in a hotel for one night.The very next morning, we started again for Mongla. It didn’t take long to reach to Mongla - it took about 3-4 hours. Mongla seemed to me a nice city. The density of inhabitants seemed to be very low – they were friendly as well. Previously, my father had hired a fiber boat called ‘Fariha’. In the afternoon, we boarded and started our journey to Shunderban.The boat seemed to be very nice. About 7 people could easily sleep in the cabin. It had a very clean toilet and a very nice kitchen. We had a cook as well in the boat. There were also 3 helpers to serve us and to show us around the forest. It became dark around after 3 hours and I could not see anything through the window of the cabin. But I was feeling a kind of excitement inside – I just couldn’t wait to see how the forest would look like. As there was nothing to see at night, I went to sleep.In the morning, I heard my sister jumping and shouting on the deck. I opened my sleepy eyes and tried to look through the window. What I saw was a scene that I’ll never forget in my whole life - a scene like this is usually seen in English movies! Our boat was steady on the water and many beautiful trees were surrounding us and there were fogs all around! I quickly had a change and went up on the deck. I heard the bird creeping, saw monkeys on the trees and deer hiding themselves into the small trees. Suddenly I noticed that we were the only human being in the forest as far as I can see .
Then we decided to get off the boat and go into the forest. At first we found sticky mud all around us. But when we walked more into the forest, it was very dry and we could see a lot of deer around us. I saw a wield pig which had a skin like black leather and monkeys here and there. The forest seemed to me a natural zoo where the animals don’t cry to get out of the cage. We walked through the forest for about an hour but without one or two wield cats we couldn’t see more.We then came back to the boat at around 12.00 PM and had our lunch which of course includes tasty sea fishes. Then our boat again started to go to another side of the forest. I went up the deck to see the beauty of the forest. Suddenly I noticed some crocodiles lying on the edge of the water. I shouted in joy and called my sister to share this unique scene. When we got to the other side of the forest, I saw a boat there. I also saw some tourists catching fishes – the idea seemed to be very interesting. I also decided to catch fishes and the give those to the cook to cook for our supper. At 6.00PM I sat on the edge of the boat to catch fish. It was very cold around. Though I sat there for about 3 hours but unfortunately I couldn’t catch a single fish. Finally I gave up and went down to the cabin and asked the cook to cook whatever he likes for the supper.One of the helpers of the boat informed me that, the next morning we will be going to a sea beach called ‘Kochikhali’. I was so surprised to know that there could be a sea beach in a forest. The next morning we started to see the beach. I just couldn’t imagine that how it would look like. We had to reach there by crossing the middle of the Bay of Bengal. When to reached in the middle of the sea, I could see only water and water around us – there was no sign of a piece of land anywhere. It seemed to me a great adventure.After few hours, we get to see the beach. It was very unusual but it was really a sea beach like Cox’s Bazar but have deep forests around it. I took off my shoes and got off the boat. I felt the damp sand – It was real sand! I picked up some seashells and saw some scorpions here and there. I was so delighted that it can’t be expressed in words. I swimed in the sea for sometimes and went back to the boat.On the very day we started to come back to Mongla – it was the end of our forest trip. When we were coming back, we chose another way to reach Mongla. We came back through a very narrow way like the canal, which was extremely beautiful to me. The branches of the big trees seemed to cover the sky and made the whole way dark. Sitting on the deck, I felt like I am going through a cave and for about 2 hours, I enjoyed what the nature had to show me. In the evening, I went back to the cabin and packed my belongings preparing myself to get back to the busy city full of black smokes, Dhaka.The next morning we reached to Mongla and then Mongla to Khulna. We stayed in Khulna for one night and on the next day we came back to my city, Dhaka. I came back baring some beautiful moments in my heart. For the very first time in my life, I learn that the nature is a beauty that I never knew and still I wonder, how many people in this city know what natural beauty is! I think people should know what is the real picture of nature made by God as a blissful gift to them.
::<>Funny<>::
Ripon, Florida
Flying to Los Angeles to visit my cousin whom I haven't seen for over last 18 years. My wife and I suppose to arrive around 9.45pm at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). But one of our connecting flight got canceled. Anyways, finally we arrived at 1.00am.Getting off the plane, we started walking towards the baggage claim area. From distance, in arriving terminal we saw a gentlemen waiving at us. I waived back with excitement. Not having any idea how my cousin look like, I was certain that my cousin is waving at us since he has seen us. We were very happy to know that he is waiting for us. We came close to the gentlemen. I stepped up and began to approach him with greeting. To my surprise, he ignored us completely and pass by us to greet a young lady just behind us.Obviously, by that time I knew that he was not my cousin. It was embarrassing but funny.
::<>Hello Monir<>::
Ronnie
I was reading your text published in WebBangladesh, and I found it interesting about the way you mentioned the life style of poor Bangla Boys in America. I cannot agree more than you that most of the Bangladeshi students studying in abroad fail to cope up with white folks as well with their own motives, I suppose. I guess I am lucky in many extent.
First of all I am not in USA. Secondly, I am not surrounded with Asian people at all hence I left no choice than mingling with white people. Thirdly, I have no financial problem as I hold a good paid job here. I guess most of these white people (at least here in Britain) are awfully witty and their degree of humors is utterly different than others. They are extremely politicized, and broad minded. I think most of them are alright though they have a tendency to undermine the capacity of Asian people till they show up.............if you would know what I mean. So, I am learning European way of life and that is my ultimate fair. As I will be finished my degree next year, I may go back to Dhaka as I don't have any plan to be an illegal immigrant here in UK. I am sure I will be in reverse culture shock as I think I am pretty much well adapted with their way of life regardless of my liking or not. Who knows I might never go back to Dhaka (The Hell Hole) at all.
::<>The Old Man<>::
This story is when I was age of 12, class in seven. My home city is Barisal, in Parara Road. We have a small cricket ground around by some buildings. Our young boys, since many years, playing cricket in that ground. That day was just before evening. Darkness should be with in 15 minutes. Just on the playing ground's line, in front of an office building, we found a man is knocking and knocking the door about more than half an hours, but no body respond from inside.
An old man, Peon of that office was living in that building since last five years. The old man is comer's father. After many try, we decided to entire by climbing the back side of that building. We knew, there was a way in back side of those premises. After got on the first floor, we saw by an opened window, old man was Sleeping. We thought, might be he was in faint. We the four boys and the comer got decision to break the door and we did it. After break the door; first I went to the old man to awake up him. When I touched him; it seems cold like ice. A cold fear blooded inside myself. Actually the old man died before 4-5 hours in sleeping. When we found him, his dead body was like strong stone. For long day I didn't pass road alone besides that building
