City Desk :
As a youth, Mujib lent his heart to poor and helpless people, reaching out to them at trying times and helping them by whatever means he could such as donating food from his own barn to starving people, said Sheikh Rehana while recounting the stories of his father, also the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, reports BSS.
“Once a natural disaster wreaked havoc on the crops in his region. People were about to die of hunger, which little Mujib couldn’t stand. Requesting my grandparents, he started donating rice from our barn. Along with his little friends, he used to collect rice from door to door and donated that to the people in need,” she said at a ceremony at the capital’s Scholastica paying a tribute to Bangabandhu on his 101st birthday on Wednesday. The speech was broadcasted live from Bangladesh Awami League’s verified Facebook page.
This celebration resonates with the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence whose stepping stones were laid by Bangabandhu.
The younger daughter of Bangabandhu shared her father’s journey, how he as an ordinary village boy ran under the skin of the poor people and how his little acts of compassion and kindness transformed him into the biggest name in the history of this land, said a press release.
Born in Tungipara of Gopalganj on March 17 in 1920, Bangabandhu ended up being the architect of the independence of Bangladesh, paving the path for the country’s presence on the global map.
“My grandparents, aunt, mother, and my father himself told those stories to me and the Unfinished Memoirs written by father revealed some others… As it appears, the mellifluous tune of Azan, the lapping of Modhumoti river, and the birds singing in the sky rang in the birth of this child. The entire village went through a festive mood the villagers were treated to sweet, clothes donated to poor men and women, and religious rituals were also performed as well,” she added.
Raised in a large family, the child was picked up with love and care in the laps of one or another and thus he was growing with bliss, she said.
“He was the gem that everyone loved to see. His two elder sisters cuddled him almost around the clock. He grew up little by little and started learning Bangla, English, Persian, and Mathematics. His initiation in education was through my grandfather,” she went on saying.
“Mujib was a bit different and elderly people in our house, teachers, peasants, boatmen, and everyone else admitted this without any reservation that this kid stood out from his peers. This boy had a big heart and could reach out to anyone who needed help. Some of his feats such as taking off his own shirt to donate it to someone else and sharing food with everyone earned reverence and blessing from the people around him,” Sheikh Rehana said.
“Little Mujib was curious about everything, asking one question after another to his father, who also answered all his queries. He used to read out the stories of legends, religion and science to him. My grandfather and father Mujib were like friends. While they could share everything without any reservation, their relationship didn’t miss out on mutual respect. My grandfather never resisted his child from undertaking any feat,” she said.
Sheikh Rehana, also younger sister of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, narrated to children how Mujib reached out to poor and helpless people.
“Once my grandfather returned from Kolkata with a beautiful shawl for Mujib, clad in that shawl Mujib went out. After a while, he was coming back and spotted a weak old man shivering in freezing cold under a tree. Mujib took off his shawl and donated it to him. Then he came back home shivering,” she said.
Mujib underwent an operation on his eye in his childhood as he had been suffering from eyesight issues. The story of how he had to carry it to his dislike also came alive through the story narrated by his daughter.
“My grandfather used to buy a lot of books. He used to read out history, geography, English, Bangla, religion, science, literature, the stories about legends and the repression committed by the British regime to his child,” she said.
