4 years of my childhood and adolescence, from 7th standard to SSC, I grew up in Gopalganj’s Kashiani Upazila, Nivrita Palli Goalgram, in my various homes. At the behest of his elder brother, a bright boy was separated from his parents to study in a good school (Bathandanga High School). I was almost imprisoned in my uncle’s house 9/10 km away.
So, even if it goes to heaven, it makes rice.
Almost everyone in the entire village of Mama Bari was their close or blood relatives. Therefore, within a few days, a lot of friends, neighbors and relatives joined the fate of this evil Shiromani. With the genuine support, affection and love of everyone including relatives, the pain or loneliness of this boy leaving his own family gradually disappeared.
My mother (Rizia Begum aka Rezi) was a person of great love and respect for everyone in that village. So there Reji’s son (me) was valued a bit more. There is no house where I have not visited more than once or eaten repeatedly.
If I had not spent 4 years of my life in that village, maybe my current position today would have been different.
The distance from the school in my own village is only half a km, but at my uncle’s house, I had to walk or travel by boat every day to the school which is 2.5 km away.
At one time even this distance of school became a kind of friendship. I never knew when I would get to school, gossiping, laughing, or joking with my uncles/cousins or uncles and aunts.
Why do I want to express some more things that are faded in memory today? To tell the truth, I was very popular among all the girls in the school. They all trusted me very much, easily adopted me. Once I realized that they felt comfortable or safe to walk with me.
But one girl among them was a complete exception, whose house was next to the road. But he was pitch black, though he had true black doe eyes. Her kajal thick hair, crimson lips, and magical eye patches made my heart bleed with love as a class eight/nine student. That permanent place of my sitting in the class also started to change slowly, as if I could talk to her eye to eye every moment, as if I could be next to her without being next to her. This crazy incident of our factory students and teachers did not remain to be noticed by all. Once I surrendered to that Black Diamond at a ripe old age.
Every day Black Diamond would wait for my arrival. He used to come out of the house to see me. Being able to walk the rest of the way to school side by side or ahead of us was the fulfillment of our unspoken love! I used to think that this black diamond is all over my being. Once I surrendered to him.
I sang the song of Shiva to make Dhur Dhan
However, in those 4 years of life, the river canals, roads, haat bazaar, schools, and every person of Gwalgram gave me a lot. With their motivation, love and supervision I was able to score very well in SSC. After passing SC, I left my maternal home and faced one challenge after another in the race of life and there was no time to look back. Besides, being out of the country for 30 years, I never went back to my uncle’s house and the land and people there. Today it seems that I didn’t give them anything, I just remained empty. There is absolutely no way to repay the debt.
For which today’s writing or ignorance in the sea of memories come to the real word…
Cousin Hussain M Kabir from that dear Goal village came to Toronto for a visit and reminisced thousands of memories with his fingers in his eyes. Kabir was very young then, but today he is working as an international consultant in the position of Finance and Investment Director. I often went to school together with Kabir’s elder brother and 3 sisters. Her mother (Mami) and her grandmother (Nanabuji) loved, adored, and fed me a lot. Just trying to capture some intimate moments with Kabir in the sea of memories with Kabir.
It was too late to realize that the love of countless people and relatives of that village was the path of my journey. But I couldn’t give anything to those people, I didn’t even have time to meet them.
After passing this long way of life, today it seems that I really missed Gwalgram and all the relatives there. But my own argument is that being out of the country for 30 years, the chain of relationship with many people has rusted.
Many relatives have already passed away in this village of Nanabari, I pray for the forgiveness of their souls, including my uncles, and I pray to all the relatives who are alive, including uncles, that I can meet each of you this year.
This personal reminiscence of mine may not be of much importance to many of you, but thank you very much for patiently reading this long article.
