Victory Day
Still waiting for death-defying Rumi…
Still waiting for death-defying Rumi…
August 29, 1971. It was around midnight. There was a terrified silence in the city of Dhaka under the tight security of the Pakistani occupation forces. On that day, Shafi Imam Rumi returned home just after evening. He told his mother that his friend, guerrilla fighter Hafiz, would be staying the night. The darkness of night was deepening. In his younger brother Jami’s room, the radio was on. Suddenly the airwaves rang out with the song “Ekbar bidaay de ma ghure asi…”. Rumi was startled. He thought—why has this song been played several times today? Surely some accident has happened somewhere. With heavy hearts, everyone went to sleep—father Sharif Imam, mother Jahanara Imam, younger brother Jami, Rumi and a few others.