17.6.04
Three Days at Dhaka University
I stayed in Dhaka University (DU) hostel with one of my friend for couple days about a week ago. And now I’m going to write my experience staying there event by event.
I went to meet my friend, Rafi at his room at 7:30am.
Hostel life in Dhaka University(DU).
My friend Rafi got a seat at room number 310 at Rafique Bhaban in Amar Akushe Hall. There are 4 beds and 4 tables. And the room size is suitable for four students to stay there with ease. But surprisingly 15 students were allotted for that room.
Teachers can’t help the students in getting a seat in a hostel. It is the big brothers (political leaders) who manage seats for the students. To have the facilities of the university, Rafi went to a big brother and got this seat. He says he is lucky cause there are 20 boys in his friend’s room (room# 312). And his roommates are very good. No addicts, no politicians, no terrorists. Besides, his roommates even help him with his studies. He doesn’t have any problem there. Just a week ago there was a fight between the president group and the secretary group of this hall. 2 boys were sent to hospital after that fight and national newspapers made good coverage of that event. As he got the seat taking help of a big brother of President Group Rafi is a member of this group. Luckily he escaped being beaten by the rival group. Rafi says he doesn’t have any other problem. Just sometimes police come to check rooms, sometimes politicians come to keep their weapons in insides hostel rooms, sometimes they make students go to different meetings and nothing else much annoying.
“Last week couple of students were taken to prison from this hostel” Rafi said. “Hey, what will happen if police takes me to prison?” I asked joking. Rafi laughed out loud and said, “Don’t worry our police only takes the innocent.” I stared at his face with eyes wide open and said, “What do you mean?” Rafi kept smiling.
I went to a chemistry class at Dhaka University to have a look at the condition of education there.
A Chemistry Class at Dhaka University
The class was scheduled to start at 8am. But the teacher came five minutes late. He then started calling names of the 90 chemistry students of that class.
“Anwar Parvez, Saiful Islam, Tarequl Hasan, Farhana Zamil, Abdul Matin, Tabassum Huda………Ayesha
Siddiki.
Ayesha Siddiki… where are you from?”
Ayesha: “Dinajpur”.
Teacher: “Oh, you are from the land of paddy. How was the paddy cultivation this year?………
………
Ok… Shafiul Haque, Abdul Halim…..Salman Azad.
“hey, where are you from Salman?
Salman: Jassore.
Teacher: How was the mango production this year?
Salman: Not good, Sir.
Teacher: Even if it were good you won’t say the actual thing lest we might want to have some mangoes.
………
Ok …. Abdul Kadi, Munni Shaha….”
There are 90 students in the class. The teacher finished calling every one by name (not by roll number) in just 10 minutes and began his lecture.
“The attendance is very low. Maybe the absent students are enjoying mangoes at home. In our country there are many vacations. Because of the strikes, different religious festivals, independence day, language day, this day that day… almost half the year you enjoy vacation, so you get only one month summer vacation. And you students pass that time doing nothing some even do things that are not suitable for Muslims. Don’t tell me that there are some guys who don’t know how to differ good from bad. Because that is not true at all as Allah has given all of us the power to distinguish good from bad. Anyway, in the western countries the students get 2 and a half months’ summer vacation when the students work, learn something new and try to utilize the time.
In my student life I did every kind of job. I taught 2 students when I was at High School. I used to fish. I used to cultivate…. I did every thing. In my time…..”
Now he began to talk about his school life. Then he talked about his College life, then the university life. He didn’t stop until he has finished informing students about his present activities (But he didn’t say in which private universities he takes classes escaping classes at DU.). For forty minutes his looking back continued.
Finally he said, “This is my final class with you. I will be in USA for the whole July. I think after vacation you will not find me. A female teacher will take your class (Yeah, he is sincere in getting degrees). Ok, let me show what she will teach you. She will discuss about polymers”. He said, “I thought I wouldn’t have to go to the board. But …it seems I won’t be able to escape it today”. Many students began to say, “oh Sir, don’t bother so much, please.” ( But I heard someone murmured “give your lazy body some rest so that you may work extra hours in USA).
To come to the subject he took 50 minutes. I couldn’t understand what important chemistry he taught for the last five minutes. He taught about Religion, he taught about History, Culture, Human natures but he didn’t get the time to teach Chemistry. I think the university authority has put him in the wrong place by mistake. We would have done a great job taking History classes.
My friend’s next class was 4 hours later. So he introduced me to his friends. And after that we had a little chat. Quite like this….
Conversation with the DU Students after the Class
I: Hey, is that teacher always like this?
Rafi: He at least went to the board today. The other days he doesn’t bother to do that either. He was in good mood today so he taught for long five minutes. Hahaha….
I: How can you stand a trickster like him?
Moni: We don’t’ have any choice. The practical marks, the writing marks, the viva… everything depends on him. Even if he gives you fail mark you can do nothing. And teachers do such things regularly.
Rafi: It’s not that he can’t teach better but he won’t do that. He takes all the time to get prepared to take classes at different private universities. He is a human being after all. He comes to DU to have some rest and get proper entertainment by gossiping with us.
I: Hmm…
Moni: He got luxurious government house in the university campus. He got beautiful car, his daughter Samia Zaman, the famous newsreader of ETV, his wife is Dilara Zaman, a prominent actress, and his other children are established in USA. He doesn’t need any more money. But still he hankers after money…
Zia’s Soldiers
I was with Rafi in his room at 7 o’clock and suddenly an elderly boy came to call Rafi and he immediately went with him. After 15 minutes, I heard hundreds of boys chanting a slogan, “ke bolere Zia nai, Zia ache banglay, Ak Ziar lokantore lokkho Zia ghore ghore ….Zia, Zia, Zia… toder moddhe Zia ache? “ache” ke Zia? “Ame, ame….””
(who says there is no Zia, Zia is in Bangla. One Zia is in the heaven, million Zias are in house to house. Is there any Zia among you? “Yeah…” who? “Me, me….””)
“Those stupid can’t even come-up with a new slogan. They always use the same age-old slogan. These (unprintable slang...) are ruining the country.” Said Anwar Bhai, a fourth year student of Biochemistry with much grief.
The slogan continued and I became a little tired waiting for Rafi. At 9 o’clock he came.
“Where have you been for so long?” I inquired.
Rafi: didn’t you hear a slogan minutes ago?
I: yeah.
Rafi: I was there.
I: Why on earth did you go to join them?
Rafi: I don’t have any choice. You know I got this room taking political help. Now, if I don’t go to these slogans they will kick me out of the hostel room.
I: Why don’t you stay in a mess instead.
Rafi: Do you know how tough it is to stay in a mess in Dhaka? Who will cook for me? What about laundry? Where will I get access to so many newspapers, TV, library and other facilities? Who will give me the extra money to meet the expenses in the mess? My father is not rich like yours…
Rafi became emotional so I stopped the conversation for then.
2nd day….
Rafi was sleeping even at 9 o’clock in the morning. I waited for hours so that he wakes up himself. Finally finding no other way I woke him up. “You have become very lazy. Look at me for how few hours I sleep…” I said.
“Don’t give me knowledge. You didn’t walk three miles yesterday. You didn’t have to shout at the top of your voice like me…” Rafi retorted.
His reply silenced me.
Good sides of DU
At 9:30am we took our breakfast at the Amar Akushe Hall canteen. Prices of different foodstuffs are very low. I’ve listed them for you.
Vegetable: 2TK/small plate.
Egg: 5TK/piece.
Parata (bread): 2TK/piece.
Egg (with onion): 5TK.
The quality is acceptable and pricing is lot better than outside the campus but unfortunately the canteen is not so clean. The plates are made of thin steel and make a lot of sound.
After breakfast we went to TSC (Teacher Student Centre) and my friend described different monuments and statues to me.
DU is simply huge, in fact mammoth. I heard that over 40,000 students study here. No bus, mini bus, tampoo or truck can enter the varsity area. Only rickshaws and cars are allowed. So there is no sound pollution or air pollution at DU and hence it is the healthiest place of Dhaka.
At 10am we were at TSC. What a lovely place TSC is! My favourite place in DU. There is a huge auditorium, where you will find functions going everyday, Table Tennis Room, where you will see many players playing all the time, Internet Room, where you will find about 50 students browsing the net in a beautifully decorated AC room and there is a Chess Room which you will find always CLOSED. Then there is Rehearsal Room for performers. I saw many groups of boy and girl; most of them are couples, of course of opposite sex, not caring a bit of what other people may think of them. I couldn’t look at them. It was embarrassing. (Don’t make the mistake by taking all those couples as students of DU). You can do anything that you like to do at TSC. You can practice singing, reciting, giving speech… for the whole day. You can play TT for hours all for free. I saw some players playing from 9am to 6pm. You can ahhh…. Gossip with your sweetheart as long as you please (don’t worry... Nobody will notice you except those who go there on a visit.)
I had a conversation at 5pm with a boy at TT room.
I: I found those boys playing from 9 o’clock here. Do they always play like this?
Boy: They are students of 2nd year. I also used to play like them when I was in 2nd year. For the first 2 years, I think very few students care about study.
I: Ok… will you suggest anyone to study at DU instead of private universities?
Boy: Yeah, you will get every kind of students here. Drug addicts, extraordinary players, good singers, politicians, lovers… every kind. There are lots of things to learn from them that you can’t learn studying in a private university where there are only 15 students in a class like a kindergarten.
Did you notice that player over there? He is one of the best TT players in DU; the best 2 players play in the national TT team.
I: Yeah, he is an awesome player.
Boy: Did you hear the boy singing with a guitar at the entrance of TSC?
I: No, but I saw a boy singing without any instrument that made me stand beside him for five minutes to listen to his song. I’ve hardly listened anyone sing better than him.
Boy: There are many talented singers here who can easily make huge amount of money if they produce an album or sing as a band.
I: What about the curricular activities?
Boy: It is very tough to get a 1st class and a 3rd class here. But it’s very easy to get a 2nd class. So very few students go for the 1st class. Others remain consent with 2nd class and don’t bother to study much and engage themselves in extracurricular activities.
I: Why it’s hard to get a 3rd class?
Boy: Even if you write very little you will get enough marks to get 2nd class. Teachers won’t let you get 3rd class. But those who want to study can shine from here.
I: Hmm….
At 7pm Rafi and I went to the canteen again to have something to eat. The price list of different snacks is like this:
Dal Puri: 1taka/piece
Kima Puri: 3taka/piece
Shingara: 1 taka/piece
Jelapi: 1taka/piece.
Boot: 2 taka/plate.
Alur chop: 1 taka/piece.
The taste is really great. Don’t miss it.
Then there are many graves of prominent politicians, poets like Kazi Nazrul Islam, Doctor Mohammad Shahidullah etc. (I can’t recall all the names. You will have to be content with etc.). Every brick of DU is a part of history. Every moment just by passing through the university road you will learn history.
3rd Day
Attending a Political Meeting
At noon an elderly boy named Kamal came to Rafi to take him to a meeting (election campaign). I also went with him to the meeting just for to know what my friend in going through everyday. Moni (Rafi’s friend) tried to escape from going there by hiding in a bathroom but unfortunately couldn’t escape the eyes of another big brother. I expected Kamal Bhai to be bad looking, hot-tempered, furious by nature (as he is a political leader), but I found his totally opposite both by look and behaviour. He is a student of one of the best subjects of DU: Biochemistry.
From Akushe Hall about 10 students went with us.
After changing rickshaws twice and due to traffic restrictions on rickshaws we had to walk half a mile to the meeting place (Karwan Bazar). Kamal Bhai paid the14(8+6)taka rickshaw fare. At 3:30 we reached the meeting place. It was a huge gathering of people, no less than of 30,000 people. Many groups of people came to the meeting after our group. This meeting was specially organized for people of Barisal. Before this meeting there were other meetings for the election campaign, like for day labourers, for people of Noakhali, people of Cumilla, for businessmen, for native Dhakaits. My friend Rafi, had to attend al of them. That made him a labourer businessman Noakhalian Cumillean Dhakait Chittagonean (by birth he is Chittagonean). Rafi jokingly told Moni (who is from Barisal) to look for his district people there. Moni said, “Like you district people?”
Actually no matter what the politicians give names to the meetings for their election campaign the people are the same. 99% of the people are forced to go there and of that 1% there are curious people like me who have never been to a political meeting before and the politicians and their stupid supporters. If the people weren’t forced to go there, I believe there would have no listeners at all.
After an hour at 4:30pm Kamal Bhai told us that our job is done and gave a 50taka note for 4 of us as rickshaw fare. Once the meeting was over, thousands of people were looking for bus, rickshaw or taxi. So even after managing to get in a tightly packed shabby old bus, we considered ourselves very lucky.
When I reached Rafi’s hostel room I had a terrible headache and I was lost sleeping. At 9 o’clock at night Rafi woke me up and said, “You have become very lazy. Look at me for I didn’t even sleep.”
Things I Regretted for Going to the Meeting:
1. I had a terrible headache so I couldn’t go to anywhere else that night.
2. My nice shiny shoes lost their polish, a loss of 10taka.
3. I couldn’t hear what the politicians were saying although I desperately tried to hear so that I may write them for you. But the excessive sound of the microphone prevented my all attempts.
Some Tips to Stay Safe in a Political Meeting:
1. Keep some cotton in your pocket to put it in your ears when you are in the meeting to avoid sound pollution.
2. Wear old shoes. You won’t have to regret even if they are regularly overstepped.
3. Don’t wear sandal cause is some cases you may have to run like an Olympic 100 meter sprint runner, you may lose your sandal.
4. Keep medicines to avoid headache, foot ache, eye itching.
5. Avoid the cameras. If your picture unluckily gets published in any daily newspaper you will permanently be labelled as a supporter of that party. You may find yourself beaten up by supporters of other parties.
Some questions
1. If a student loses 5 hours of his day for the political meetings then when will he study?
2. For four of us Kamal Bhai spent 62taka just for our attendance at the meeting. Hundreds of Kamal Bhais are assigned for every meeting. Where do the politicians get the money to give those Kamal Bhais?
3. Why these meetings if nobody can hear what the politicians are saying?
No Exam on 3rd July:
At 9:30pm, when I finished my dinner with my friend and came to his room I heard about fifty boys carrying out a slogan just beside our building. The slogan went like this…
“Ak tarekhe porikkha hole jolbe agun halle halle. Ak tarekhe porikkha cholbe na cholbe na….(the halls will be set in flames if the exam is held on 1st July. The exam can’t be held on the 1st July no, no, never.)”.
Then we heard someone out of the crowd say, “Hey, the exam is not scheduled on 1st July it is on 3rd July.”
“Did you see that Zahir? Those stupid don’t even know when the exam is!” Rafi told me laughing. “I think those students get more time than it is actually necessary to get well prepared for the exam thanks to session jam. Why do they still need more time?” I asked. “Well, these boys never study. Maybe for excessive involvement into politics or for other activities they didn’t get the time to study. And I bet even if you give them 5 years extra time, they will not be able to pass because now they don’t have the mentality to study. But for these spoiled guys we, students are suffering.
|
I went to meet my friend, Rafi at his room at 7:30am.
Hostel life in Dhaka University(DU).
My friend Rafi got a seat at room number 310 at Rafique Bhaban in Amar Akushe Hall. There are 4 beds and 4 tables. And the room size is suitable for four students to stay there with ease. But surprisingly 15 students were allotted for that room.
Teachers can’t help the students in getting a seat in a hostel. It is the big brothers (political leaders) who manage seats for the students. To have the facilities of the university, Rafi went to a big brother and got this seat. He says he is lucky cause there are 20 boys in his friend’s room (room# 312). And his roommates are very good. No addicts, no politicians, no terrorists. Besides, his roommates even help him with his studies. He doesn’t have any problem there. Just a week ago there was a fight between the president group and the secretary group of this hall. 2 boys were sent to hospital after that fight and national newspapers made good coverage of that event. As he got the seat taking help of a big brother of President Group Rafi is a member of this group. Luckily he escaped being beaten by the rival group. Rafi says he doesn’t have any other problem. Just sometimes police come to check rooms, sometimes politicians come to keep their weapons in insides hostel rooms, sometimes they make students go to different meetings and nothing else much annoying.
“Last week couple of students were taken to prison from this hostel” Rafi said. “Hey, what will happen if police takes me to prison?” I asked joking. Rafi laughed out loud and said, “Don’t worry our police only takes the innocent.” I stared at his face with eyes wide open and said, “What do you mean?” Rafi kept smiling.
I went to a chemistry class at Dhaka University to have a look at the condition of education there.
A Chemistry Class at Dhaka University
The class was scheduled to start at 8am. But the teacher came five minutes late. He then started calling names of the 90 chemistry students of that class.
“Anwar Parvez, Saiful Islam, Tarequl Hasan, Farhana Zamil, Abdul Matin, Tabassum Huda………Ayesha
Siddiki.
Ayesha Siddiki… where are you from?”
Ayesha: “Dinajpur”.
Teacher: “Oh, you are from the land of paddy. How was the paddy cultivation this year?………
………
Ok… Shafiul Haque, Abdul Halim…..Salman Azad.
“hey, where are you from Salman?
Salman: Jassore.
Teacher: How was the mango production this year?
Salman: Not good, Sir.
Teacher: Even if it were good you won’t say the actual thing lest we might want to have some mangoes.
………
Ok …. Abdul Kadi, Munni Shaha….”
There are 90 students in the class. The teacher finished calling every one by name (not by roll number) in just 10 minutes and began his lecture.
“The attendance is very low. Maybe the absent students are enjoying mangoes at home. In our country there are many vacations. Because of the strikes, different religious festivals, independence day, language day, this day that day… almost half the year you enjoy vacation, so you get only one month summer vacation. And you students pass that time doing nothing some even do things that are not suitable for Muslims. Don’t tell me that there are some guys who don’t know how to differ good from bad. Because that is not true at all as Allah has given all of us the power to distinguish good from bad. Anyway, in the western countries the students get 2 and a half months’ summer vacation when the students work, learn something new and try to utilize the time.
In my student life I did every kind of job. I taught 2 students when I was at High School. I used to fish. I used to cultivate…. I did every thing. In my time…..”
Now he began to talk about his school life. Then he talked about his College life, then the university life. He didn’t stop until he has finished informing students about his present activities (But he didn’t say in which private universities he takes classes escaping classes at DU.). For forty minutes his looking back continued.
Finally he said, “This is my final class with you. I will be in USA for the whole July. I think after vacation you will not find me. A female teacher will take your class (Yeah, he is sincere in getting degrees). Ok, let me show what she will teach you. She will discuss about polymers”. He said, “I thought I wouldn’t have to go to the board. But …it seems I won’t be able to escape it today”. Many students began to say, “oh Sir, don’t bother so much, please.” ( But I heard someone murmured “give your lazy body some rest so that you may work extra hours in USA).
To come to the subject he took 50 minutes. I couldn’t understand what important chemistry he taught for the last five minutes. He taught about Religion, he taught about History, Culture, Human natures but he didn’t get the time to teach Chemistry. I think the university authority has put him in the wrong place by mistake. We would have done a great job taking History classes.
My friend’s next class was 4 hours later. So he introduced me to his friends. And after that we had a little chat. Quite like this….
Conversation with the DU Students after the Class
I: Hey, is that teacher always like this?
Rafi: He at least went to the board today. The other days he doesn’t bother to do that either. He was in good mood today so he taught for long five minutes. Hahaha….
I: How can you stand a trickster like him?
Moni: We don’t’ have any choice. The practical marks, the writing marks, the viva… everything depends on him. Even if he gives you fail mark you can do nothing. And teachers do such things regularly.
Rafi: It’s not that he can’t teach better but he won’t do that. He takes all the time to get prepared to take classes at different private universities. He is a human being after all. He comes to DU to have some rest and get proper entertainment by gossiping with us.
I: Hmm…
Moni: He got luxurious government house in the university campus. He got beautiful car, his daughter Samia Zaman, the famous newsreader of ETV, his wife is Dilara Zaman, a prominent actress, and his other children are established in USA. He doesn’t need any more money. But still he hankers after money…
Zia’s Soldiers
I was with Rafi in his room at 7 o’clock and suddenly an elderly boy came to call Rafi and he immediately went with him. After 15 minutes, I heard hundreds of boys chanting a slogan, “ke bolere Zia nai, Zia ache banglay, Ak Ziar lokantore lokkho Zia ghore ghore ….Zia, Zia, Zia… toder moddhe Zia ache? “ache” ke Zia? “Ame, ame….””
(who says there is no Zia, Zia is in Bangla. One Zia is in the heaven, million Zias are in house to house. Is there any Zia among you? “Yeah…” who? “Me, me….””)
“Those stupid can’t even come-up with a new slogan. They always use the same age-old slogan. These (unprintable slang...) are ruining the country.” Said Anwar Bhai, a fourth year student of Biochemistry with much grief.
The slogan continued and I became a little tired waiting for Rafi. At 9 o’clock he came.
“Where have you been for so long?” I inquired.
Rafi: didn’t you hear a slogan minutes ago?
I: yeah.
Rafi: I was there.
I: Why on earth did you go to join them?
Rafi: I don’t have any choice. You know I got this room taking political help. Now, if I don’t go to these slogans they will kick me out of the hostel room.
I: Why don’t you stay in a mess instead.
Rafi: Do you know how tough it is to stay in a mess in Dhaka? Who will cook for me? What about laundry? Where will I get access to so many newspapers, TV, library and other facilities? Who will give me the extra money to meet the expenses in the mess? My father is not rich like yours…
Rafi became emotional so I stopped the conversation for then.
2nd day….
Rafi was sleeping even at 9 o’clock in the morning. I waited for hours so that he wakes up himself. Finally finding no other way I woke him up. “You have become very lazy. Look at me for how few hours I sleep…” I said.
“Don’t give me knowledge. You didn’t walk three miles yesterday. You didn’t have to shout at the top of your voice like me…” Rafi retorted.
His reply silenced me.
Good sides of DU
At 9:30am we took our breakfast at the Amar Akushe Hall canteen. Prices of different foodstuffs are very low. I’ve listed them for you.
Vegetable: 2TK/small plate.
Egg: 5TK/piece.
Parata (bread): 2TK/piece.
Egg (with onion): 5TK.
The quality is acceptable and pricing is lot better than outside the campus but unfortunately the canteen is not so clean. The plates are made of thin steel and make a lot of sound.
After breakfast we went to TSC (Teacher Student Centre) and my friend described different monuments and statues to me.
DU is simply huge, in fact mammoth. I heard that over 40,000 students study here. No bus, mini bus, tampoo or truck can enter the varsity area. Only rickshaws and cars are allowed. So there is no sound pollution or air pollution at DU and hence it is the healthiest place of Dhaka.
At 10am we were at TSC. What a lovely place TSC is! My favourite place in DU. There is a huge auditorium, where you will find functions going everyday, Table Tennis Room, where you will see many players playing all the time, Internet Room, where you will find about 50 students browsing the net in a beautifully decorated AC room and there is a Chess Room which you will find always CLOSED. Then there is Rehearsal Room for performers. I saw many groups of boy and girl; most of them are couples, of course of opposite sex, not caring a bit of what other people may think of them. I couldn’t look at them. It was embarrassing. (Don’t make the mistake by taking all those couples as students of DU). You can do anything that you like to do at TSC. You can practice singing, reciting, giving speech… for the whole day. You can play TT for hours all for free. I saw some players playing from 9am to 6pm. You can ahhh…. Gossip with your sweetheart as long as you please (don’t worry... Nobody will notice you except those who go there on a visit.)
I had a conversation at 5pm with a boy at TT room.
I: I found those boys playing from 9 o’clock here. Do they always play like this?
Boy: They are students of 2nd year. I also used to play like them when I was in 2nd year. For the first 2 years, I think very few students care about study.
I: Ok… will you suggest anyone to study at DU instead of private universities?
Boy: Yeah, you will get every kind of students here. Drug addicts, extraordinary players, good singers, politicians, lovers… every kind. There are lots of things to learn from them that you can’t learn studying in a private university where there are only 15 students in a class like a kindergarten.
Did you notice that player over there? He is one of the best TT players in DU; the best 2 players play in the national TT team.
I: Yeah, he is an awesome player.
Boy: Did you hear the boy singing with a guitar at the entrance of TSC?
I: No, but I saw a boy singing without any instrument that made me stand beside him for five minutes to listen to his song. I’ve hardly listened anyone sing better than him.
Boy: There are many talented singers here who can easily make huge amount of money if they produce an album or sing as a band.
I: What about the curricular activities?
Boy: It is very tough to get a 1st class and a 3rd class here. But it’s very easy to get a 2nd class. So very few students go for the 1st class. Others remain consent with 2nd class and don’t bother to study much and engage themselves in extracurricular activities.
I: Why it’s hard to get a 3rd class?
Boy: Even if you write very little you will get enough marks to get 2nd class. Teachers won’t let you get 3rd class. But those who want to study can shine from here.
I: Hmm….
At 7pm Rafi and I went to the canteen again to have something to eat. The price list of different snacks is like this:
Dal Puri: 1taka/piece
Kima Puri: 3taka/piece
Shingara: 1 taka/piece
Jelapi: 1taka/piece.
Boot: 2 taka/plate.
Alur chop: 1 taka/piece.
The taste is really great. Don’t miss it.
Then there are many graves of prominent politicians, poets like Kazi Nazrul Islam, Doctor Mohammad Shahidullah etc. (I can’t recall all the names. You will have to be content with etc.). Every brick of DU is a part of history. Every moment just by passing through the university road you will learn history.
3rd Day
Attending a Political Meeting
At noon an elderly boy named Kamal came to Rafi to take him to a meeting (election campaign). I also went with him to the meeting just for to know what my friend in going through everyday. Moni (Rafi’s friend) tried to escape from going there by hiding in a bathroom but unfortunately couldn’t escape the eyes of another big brother. I expected Kamal Bhai to be bad looking, hot-tempered, furious by nature (as he is a political leader), but I found his totally opposite both by look and behaviour. He is a student of one of the best subjects of DU: Biochemistry.
From Akushe Hall about 10 students went with us.
After changing rickshaws twice and due to traffic restrictions on rickshaws we had to walk half a mile to the meeting place (Karwan Bazar). Kamal Bhai paid the14(8+6)taka rickshaw fare. At 3:30 we reached the meeting place. It was a huge gathering of people, no less than of 30,000 people. Many groups of people came to the meeting after our group. This meeting was specially organized for people of Barisal. Before this meeting there were other meetings for the election campaign, like for day labourers, for people of Noakhali, people of Cumilla, for businessmen, for native Dhakaits. My friend Rafi, had to attend al of them. That made him a labourer businessman Noakhalian Cumillean Dhakait Chittagonean (by birth he is Chittagonean). Rafi jokingly told Moni (who is from Barisal) to look for his district people there. Moni said, “Like you district people?”
Actually no matter what the politicians give names to the meetings for their election campaign the people are the same. 99% of the people are forced to go there and of that 1% there are curious people like me who have never been to a political meeting before and the politicians and their stupid supporters. If the people weren’t forced to go there, I believe there would have no listeners at all.
After an hour at 4:30pm Kamal Bhai told us that our job is done and gave a 50taka note for 4 of us as rickshaw fare. Once the meeting was over, thousands of people were looking for bus, rickshaw or taxi. So even after managing to get in a tightly packed shabby old bus, we considered ourselves very lucky.
When I reached Rafi’s hostel room I had a terrible headache and I was lost sleeping. At 9 o’clock at night Rafi woke me up and said, “You have become very lazy. Look at me for I didn’t even sleep.”
Things I Regretted for Going to the Meeting:
1. I had a terrible headache so I couldn’t go to anywhere else that night.
2. My nice shiny shoes lost their polish, a loss of 10taka.
3. I couldn’t hear what the politicians were saying although I desperately tried to hear so that I may write them for you. But the excessive sound of the microphone prevented my all attempts.
Some Tips to Stay Safe in a Political Meeting:
1. Keep some cotton in your pocket to put it in your ears when you are in the meeting to avoid sound pollution.
2. Wear old shoes. You won’t have to regret even if they are regularly overstepped.
3. Don’t wear sandal cause is some cases you may have to run like an Olympic 100 meter sprint runner, you may lose your sandal.
4. Keep medicines to avoid headache, foot ache, eye itching.
5. Avoid the cameras. If your picture unluckily gets published in any daily newspaper you will permanently be labelled as a supporter of that party. You may find yourself beaten up by supporters of other parties.
Some questions
1. If a student loses 5 hours of his day for the political meetings then when will he study?
2. For four of us Kamal Bhai spent 62taka just for our attendance at the meeting. Hundreds of Kamal Bhais are assigned for every meeting. Where do the politicians get the money to give those Kamal Bhais?
3. Why these meetings if nobody can hear what the politicians are saying?
No Exam on 3rd July:
At 9:30pm, when I finished my dinner with my friend and came to his room I heard about fifty boys carrying out a slogan just beside our building. The slogan went like this…
“Ak tarekhe porikkha hole jolbe agun halle halle. Ak tarekhe porikkha cholbe na cholbe na….(the halls will be set in flames if the exam is held on 1st July. The exam can’t be held on the 1st July no, no, never.)”.
Then we heard someone out of the crowd say, “Hey, the exam is not scheduled on 1st July it is on 3rd July.”
“Did you see that Zahir? Those stupid don’t even know when the exam is!” Rafi told me laughing. “I think those students get more time than it is actually necessary to get well prepared for the exam thanks to session jam. Why do they still need more time?” I asked. “Well, these boys never study. Maybe for excessive involvement into politics or for other activities they didn’t get the time to study. And I bet even if you give them 5 years extra time, they will not be able to pass because now they don’t have the mentality to study. But for these spoiled guys we, students are suffering.
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