Last year, I visited Rarikhal in Bikrampur, the home of scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose. I noticed some improvements had been made to the house. Surrounding walls had been erected, beautiful benches were installed for visitors, and the pond's edge had been reinforced. The reason for this is that the house is rented out as a picnic spot. Nearby, there is the 'Jagadish Chandra Bose Complex' along with schools and colleges.
Bangladesh is a riverine country, once home to over 1,000 rivers. Today, approximately 700 rivers remain, along with numerous tributaries. Of these, about 230 rivers flow year-round, while the rest dry up in the winter and summer, losing their navigability. Some rivers are seasonal, coming back to life during the rainy season.
Let's start with Voltaire's famous quote: "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." It was Voltaire who ignited the flames of the French Revolution, and the French Revolution itself introduced the world to the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The journey of modern democratic values began with the French Revolution. Democracy, by definition, entails tolerance for differing opinions. A democratic society will have a variety of thoughts, beliefs, and ideologies; however, democratic politics means reaching a specific goal and achieving a peaceful resolution through non-violent dialogue, discussion, and debate.
I was engaging in gossip with some writers and thinkers at Batighar bookstore in Dhaka, yesterday evening. A professor-writer, who has returned from abroad, said that for going forward in the literature-culture-intellectual arena of Bangladesh a large number of world literature ought to translate into Bengali. Not only literature, books on science, economics, research, technology all need a lot of translation. Then another writer made a funny comment, a thousand crore rupees should be allocated in the budget for translation. Another writer frowned and said, a thousand crores indeed is not a very big deal right now!
The above stanza is taken from the poem "Ami Aaj Karo Rokto Chaite Ashini" by poet Nirmalendu Goon. Nirmalendu Goon has written the most poems about the greatest Bengali of the millennium, the father of the Bengali nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Not only has he achieved the title of writing the most poems, but Nirmalendu Gun also holds the honor of composing the first poem about Bangabandhu. He has written a comprehensive poetry book dedicated entirely to Bangabandhu.
Once upon a time, we'd gather at the market. Just like a flock of pigeons sat on tin rooftops and listened to 'bak-bak-kum' songs during all noon, people used to immerse themselves in gossip during leisure. Our minds soared during these chats. Buddhadeb Bose said in his famous essay 'Adda', 'Does the exact synonym of Adda exist in any other language of the world? Not being a linguist, I can say no. Because there is no mood for chat in any other country, or even if there is a mood, there is no suitable atmosphere. The people of other countries lecture, joke, argue, and pass the night away, but do not hang out.'