I have born in the Bhuiya family
of Bikrompur. They were the Nobab in past. My mom came from Munsi family. They
were very well educated. I was the second child of my family. My sister came
first in this world.
When my mom got pregnant for the
second time, she was doing a full-time job and was working overtime. Because
she needed money to support her in-law's big family. My father was doing a government job, he wasn’t earning enough to support his family. But mom couldn’t
continue working too much in her pregnancy. The doctor told her to take a leave and
stay at home. She did. But in Bangladesh, a woman can’t take rest when her
mother in law is working. So, she continued to work at home. The result was obvious.
She lost her second child.
Now you know, technically I wasn’t
the second child of my family. I came on this earth when she became pregnant
for the third time. This time doctor said to my mom, “If you lost this child,
you can’t be a mom ever.” My mom took the challenge to keep me.
Our traditional in-law family
didn’t like this attitude. Why a bride will lay on the bed and take rest? But this
time my mom stood against all of them. My dad was the youngest son of the
family. He generally didn’t say much in front of all family members. But silently
he agrees with his mom and my mom became the worst person in the family. They
give her punishment for this, but that is another story. Because of my mom’s
strong decision, I survived. And they had got their second child, me.
Now a day, I think, maybe that’s
why I became like this. I listen to all, try to adjust as much as possible. I
tolerate a lot. But when I made any decision, that’s final. Now nothing can
change it.
As a young father, my dad wasn’t
good at the newborn child. He didn’t hold my elder sister much. But from my very
childhood, I started smiling. No one could resist that, neither my father. He used
to take me in his lap and travel in the neighbourhood. I keep laughing with my
toothless face and everybody adores it. Yes, I use to gain people’s hearts.
Because of me, my father started enjoying his fatherhood.
I didn’t take much time to learn
to speak. After learning to speak, I didn’t like to keep my mouth shut. I was
surrounded by Dhaka’s original people. So, I learned the local Dhakaiya language.
When my mom took me to my grand parent’s house (Faridpur) all local area people
came to visit me. To listen to my speaking. I keep speaking, telling stories to my
grandfather. All the village people enjoyed and laugh with my grandfather. Here
I can inform you that my grandfather was my first lover. He used to sing this
song “Pakhir basar moto duti chokh tomar, thik jeno natorer bonolota shen (Your
eyes are like the bird nest…)”. I thought bird nest is an ugly thing, why my
eyes will be like that? I told him not to sing this for me, but he always sang
it and made me angry.
When I learned some poems. My mom recorded a few of them in a cassette. She knew, with time I will change, and she was
right. Now a day, I speak too little. From everywhere I have got complaints, that I
don’t speak.
