Poet Saifullah Mahmud Dulal’s daughter Anadi Nimgan’s auspicious post-wedding reception party at Toronto’s Scarbrough Convention Center Hall. A lavishly decorated Vanu is a wonderful Mughlai dinner. However, these people rarely go to public weddings, birthdays or wedding anniversaries. I get bored when I go. Even my own daughter’s reception party at the Dhaka Officers Club looked helpless. The first time I saw the dirty jeans jacket, my daughter’s mother-in-law, who is also my dear sister-in-law, asked the driver to bring a silk ochre-colored panjabi to the washroom to change. Poet Saifullah Dulal has been my friend for ages.
This time at a dinner with few guests at their Dhanmundi house in Dhaka, Honorable Ittefaq editor Tasmima Hossain – Dear Tiptip Bhabhi, called a long-time Ittefak activist gentleman and said – You are going to Toronto soon, look a little.
It seemed that the gentleman seemed to be a little older than everyone else who is immigrating like a stream now. The next moment he clarified and said – I am going to my son’s wedding.
After that I left Dhaka and returned as usual I forgot. Yesterday I saw that gentleman in a black suit walking around wearing a bow tie at the wedding reception of poet Saifullah Mahmud Dulal’s daughter. Seeing me, he came forward and held my hand, I happily asked him to hold my hand – Toronto has been drowned. Even in today’s drama movies, characters can’t be drowned in London, America. Instead, they go to Toronto, Canada. There was a time when Amjad Hossain used to make Tele Samad a character in Eid’s comedy drama, who used to say to his father in the whole drama -Taka dene dubai jamu! Now, if Amjad Hossain was there, he might have written – Toronto Jamu paid. Indeed, like the dialogues of Abdullah Al Mamun’s stage play, Manush Astache Baner Lahan. People are really flocking to Toronto. The higher the Bengali number, the better. The fair will gather. Bengali shops will open after shops. The small Bengali town of Danforth will eventually become a big Bengali town like New York Jackson Heights.
The gentleman pressed his hand again and said – My name is Khalil, you have come for my son’s wedding. Madam said about you so I reminded my new bei repeatedly about you. Kavi Bayi Sahib said every time – Iqbal Bhai is my close friend for a long time. Rest assured, he will come. Thank you Khalil Sahib and Kavi Saifullah Mahmud Dulal for the invitation.
Scarborough, Canada
