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| Volume 11 |Issue 16 | April 20, 2012 | |
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Star Diary The Most Amicable Roommate We live in a bachelor’s mess. A couple of weeks ago, we advertised for a service holder roommate. After a few days, a man called up and made an appointment. He came to see the mess for himself and decided to move in with us. He also gave us Tk 500 as security money and said that he would come to stay with us from the next day. He came to our house the next night and introduced himself to most of us. We were very impressed by his good manners and amicable nature. Some of us felt lucky to have him as our mate. However, as per our former decision, we asked him for his national ID and told him to meet us with an introducer. He said he would do these in the morning. However, in the morning, as we woke up, one of our roommates could not find his wallet. He hastened to check if the new man was in his bed. He was not there. In utter surprise, we saw that the man left the mess at night with whatever he could lay his hands on–mobile phones and wallets were gone. As we remember the incident now, we laugh at ourselves for our naivete. Ramij Ahmad Incredible Honesty I was driving through Shajahanpur last month. As I crossed the intersection, the engine suddenly jerked violently a few times and the car stopped. I went to a nearby workshop to get some help. The mechanics took the car to the garage and fixed the problem pretty quickly. Since it was only a matter of some burned electric fuses, they charged me very little and said that I could go. After returning home, I received a phone call from that workshop. The mechanic told me that I mistakenly left my wallet on their table and that they got my number from my business card. Apart from a Tk 1000 note, I had all my credit cards and my national ID in that wallet. Losing them all would have caused me a lot of hassle. So I immediately drove down to that workshop again to get my wallet. I thanked them heartily but the mechanic who found it and called me up was not there. I was really moved by the moral integrity and sense of responsibility of that person. In a land of corrupt people, I think he has set an example of honesty. Walid Ahmed A Quiet Dhanmondi of Fairy Tales
When we first came to live in Dhanmondi in the mid nineties, we often felt suffocated by the quiet of the area. The street before our apartment remained empty most of the day. My mother used to boast to our relatives about the number of ways one could reach our house. She quite haughtily declared that there was no traffic jam in the area. There were few English medium schools. Unlike now, the schools were not scattered all over Dhanmondi then. Private universities were practically non-existent in. However, as I went to sleep the day before Pahela Baishakh this year, I tried to ignore the loud sound of dhak (a drum), played as part of the Pohela Boishakh celebration by the students of the private university next door. I began to doubt the memories of a quiet Dhanmondi. Unable to rest, I gave up the effort and went out to take a walk. Both the entries to the street were blocked by cars and rickshaws, even though it was not one of the dreaded school hours. Thankfully, the footpaths that have been recently restored and renovated were free. The pavement was raised higher than before. As a result, motorcycles and rickshaws no longer use it as bypass and cars as parking space. However, after walking a while, I realised that it was impossible to ignore the constant honking in the street. My mother's pride about Dhanmondi sounded more and more like a fairy tale. Novera Islam Copyright
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