Bicycle

Writer

-K C Milan

BICYCLE

Who can say that I've never seen a bicycle?

Bicycle is very popular bike and available all over the world. No one, I think, would be found anywhere all throughout the globe who is not familiar with bicycle.

It benefits three ways.

1. Almost all even village people of low income can buy as it is cheap 2. It offers comparatively easier and safer travel saving a good junk of time 3. Riding bicycle is a good exercise. Therefore, it offers those who ride it a good heath

Bicycle is available everywhere in Bangladesh. It is popular here to the same extent as it is in other countries of the world.

In Bangladesh bicycle is used or can be used by people of all age groups. Recently many girls and women will be found using this vehicle for easy communication every day.

But only 10 or 12 year ago riding bicycle was something shameful and disgraceful to girls or women of Bangladesh. The thing was more complicated in rural areas.

Rubina was 13 year old at that time. She was a girl of a remote village and a daughter of a poor farmer.

Rubina born to a poor parents, lived in a poor family, led a low standard life but cherished a sky like high and broad ambition.

Though the village was remote but luckily there were a primary school and a high school.

She was always a good student both in primary and high school level.

She passed SSC one day with a brilliant result. Heavenly happiness came over her parents from above. But that happiness was only for few days. Only in few days happiness flew away like vapor.

Her father had no ability to send her to town for higher study. But he wanted it and tried his best to find any means.

Without finding any means or alternative he with heavy heart decided to stop her study and give her to a marriage.

Rubina was disappointed. But her high ambition and indomitable interest in study made her thinking different.

She got to know from one of her school friends about a college. The college was not in town but at such a distance not possible to go and return by walk in a day. That was really another problem.

But she saw in her visionary eyes that a bicycle, only a bicycle can be right solution to this problem.

She requested her father to buy a bicycle anyway for her.

Her father thought twice. But one day like a good father bought a bicycle for her daughter.

Rubina started going to college by riding bicycle everyday. The villagers saw her, spoke ill of her terming her a slur to society, disgrace to her family. But Rubina never minded, never took their ill speaking as stumbling block to her way.

I am from the same remote village Rubina lives. But I have left that village and been away since my early life. Now the whole area not alone the village has become much developed.

The other day after several years I went to that village for a brief visit. Luckily I met some of my old friends. We gathered in a tea stall, talking, order for tea has already been placed and served.

I lift my cup up to the lips and about to have the first sip but before that a sound of motor cycle came to my ear. I turned to  a wayside and saw a lady on a motor cycle riding on her way.

“Who’s she?” I asked my friends.

One of them told, “She is  Rubina Madam.”

“A high government official, still lives here but only for her parents’ sake,” Informed another friend.

The other one sitting to my left said, “Now she is quite able to lead a decent life along with parents even in town. She may leave any time”.

I listened carefully.

I have never seen her face. But in my inner sight I saw a picture of present Rubina, a young, vibrant, educated, bold, ambitious and visionary lady. She is such a lady everything awaits for.

Now she is riding motor cycle but someday will drive motor car and some other day will fly from country to countries, I thought to myself.

Change Must Take Place

Writer

-K C Milan

 All of my attention was drawn to a picture surfaced on Facebook. But in true judgement that was absolutely a normal picture and I believe was not taken in a good camera by any expert or professional photographer. One of Facebook users from my friend list posted the picture in his timeline. Probably he took that picture by his smart phone. However, reason behind my attention drawn to it was a group of school going girls. School going girls are normally jolly as they have nothing to be worried about. Probably all those girls in the picture were jolly and having a lot of fun while on their way to school together. But when on a wooden or bamboo bridge over a brook to be crossed they seemed gloomy and frightened. Reason they were gloomy and frightened might be a thought of falling down as the bridge was probably shaky. I always like and love girls. Wherever and whenever I see the girls I feel a kind of sympathy for them. Because I have a young daughter and I see her face reflecting on faces of all these girls. This is what I became gloomy too. I asked to myself how many days and how many times will they lose their jolliness, their laughter and their fun?In search of answer to all these questions I went back to the days of twenty year ago. I mean the days I spent in my village home. Not only my village but that total area was cut off all modern amenities like electricity, road etc.There were primary and high schools nearby my village or house but still we had to walk through knee deep water and sticky mud especially in rainy season. We could not use even bicycle let alone other vehicles. We had to walk 15 miles only to get to a photo studio for some passport size photographs.But now within this time a huge change took place all over those areas. Electricity is available, roads have been paved, place of bicycle has been occupied by some other motor driven vehicles. A degree college has been established, more than three private banks have opened their branches there. People are getting treatment from government health clinic, doing business or buying necessary things from local markets. There is a branch post office, some N G O's are doing activities through their branch offices opened in our village. In fact the village has been turned into a small town now.This is reality which comes through a lot of changes in course of time.I am sure this reality will come and appear to that place even to that wooden or bamboo bridge.It may take sometimes. May be two, three or five years but surely that wooden or Bamboo Bridge of today will be removed and modern bridge will be constructed over there. The things may happen that these girls will be seen at that time driving their own cars over the bridge with happy mind and smile on face. This is not dream but reality. Because changes are taking place every hour and everywhere. A season changes into another one, change takes place in nature and human life, love changes into hatred and hatred into love.In short, change must take place everywhere in course of time.

A Word of Acceptance and Acclamation

Writer

- K C Milan

Unfortunately I forgot what definition of word according to Grammar is. So I had to take sometimes to find it out. 

However, I found the definition of word which is "Word is a meaningful element of speech or word is a meaningful element used with others to make a complete sense." 
The definition itself shows the importance of word. 
Without word we can make a kind of sound but cannot express what we want to. 
An old and almost a forgotten memory was getting back its root in my mind while I was thinking about it. 
Long ago while I was young and a college student I discovered one day that a beautiful girl from my nearby area was after my heart. 
Instead of saying "I love you" I exhibited a number of signs to make her understand about the weakness that I have for her. 
I was fool and I discovered my foolishness on a particular day after several months when she told me to wish her a happy married life. 
I don't know from where I got so much courage. Only on that day I told that I love her. 
She replied with much surprise saying 'Why didn't you tell me?" 
Let me stop here. I told this only to make it clear that apart from saying in words we may use some other means to make someone to understand our feelings which may work sometimes but not most of the times. 
Here is the inevitable use and importance of word. 
It seems to me words can be categorized or classified in a number of categories or classifications like word of love, word of hatred, word of disappointment, word of inspiration, word of criticism, word of acclamation and so on. 
The words of all these categories are effective enough to bring immediate actions. 
The people of Bangladesh use to listen to a recorded speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman especially on the day of victory, the 16th of December. 
This is the only speech of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that has been classified as not only historical but inspirational. 
I too listened to this speech several times. This is really inspirational and encouraging. 
Bangabandhu delivered this speech to inspire the unarmed general public to face the armed forces of the then West Pakistan and snatch freedom. 
And only in six month time it happened. 
I have seen some people so spirited, so encouraged, so inspired that they can as if fly over the clouds and touch the sky. Encouragement was the reason behind them and disappointment was also a reason behind them I saw disappointed. 
I encountered a number of people neither beaten up nor injured but crying. They were crying being mentally hurt at rude behavior or cruel words. 
This is how the words work, this is what can be called power. 
Words have power of destruction and power of repair. 
In this finishing line of the article I remember a few words of one of my colleagues Zumur Roy. 
She said the other day that "Its good thing, Milan Bhai writes stories. I read his writings whenever it gets published in the magazine named Omega. 
Those were the words of encouragement, acceptance and acclamation and I believe with that encouragement only I could write this article.