By A.H. Jaffor Ullah

June 2, 2001

I could clearly see from 37,000 feet above the sea level that monsoon cloud had enveloped Bangladesh’s landmass on this bright early morning.  Monsoon has arrived this land early this year.  The aircraft that brought us to Dhaka from one of those Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf, to be politically correct) Sheikdoms made an abrupt turn over the landmass where River Padma and Brahmaputra merged.  It is an awesome sight.  As they plane descended from the lofty altitude down to 10,000 feet, the hamlets scattered over the riverine land were visible to our eyes.  The verdant land of Bangladesh was becoming more alluring as the plane descended even more.  Finally, at 7:30 a.m. the plane made the touchdown.

In the airport everything went smoothly.  No big line at the immigration checkpoint.  However, there was a big surprise waiting for us at luggage counter.  Whoever came from America were disappointed not finding any of their luggages.  My family is no exception.  After being finished with the paperwork in the lost luggage counter, which took me over an hour, we headed home to our temporary abode in Bangladesh – a place not too far from the International airport.  Lucky for me, the NFB office is also nearby!
 
 

As I mentioned earlier, the monsoon rain came earlier this year, which brought unusual verdancy even to Dhaka’s street.  As an extra benefit, the air pollution came down precipitously.  I could take almost a deep breadth of urban air.  Really, I did not smell any foul air, which other overseas Bangalees often complain.  Thanks to Mother Nature!  Without the monsoon deluge what mother Bangla could possibly do.  I am glad that we came to visit our motherland in the heat of the summer.  The temperature was not exactly pleasant, but with all those rain clouds hanging over the land, it was bearable.  No wonder, the ancient Sanskrit poet Kalidasa in 6th century wrote his epic poem Meghadutam so elegantly the beauty of monsoon cloud.  Bengal wouldn’t be the Bengal we know of without the monsoon season.  From time immemorial, monsoon cloud had been the boon to Bengal and the rest of India.  Without this precious cloud our subcontinent would have been a barren waste land.

Dhaka’s northern most suburb, i.e., International Airport area, Banani, and Gulshan, seemed more crowded than ever before.   The driver shaheb of the car I was riding took us through some meandering back roads avoiding the main thoroughfare.  There was cacophony of horns adding to the ambiance of Dhaka’s suburban life.  Ricksha, babytaxi, pedestrians all crisscrossing the narrow back roads were trying futilely to claim a portion of the precious road space.  In this seemingly hectic suburban life of Dhaka, there is however this rhythm of life, which takes a while for an expatriate to comprehend.

After meeting all the relatives who went to the airport and a few who couldn’t not make the long trip to the airport, our congenial host offered us a plethora of seasonal fruits of which Litchis were the prominent.  Mangoes, fresh green coconut, jackfruit, and those ubiquitous black berries (Kalo Jam) are plentiful at this time too. The cornucopia of Bengal’s Mother Nature was filled up to the brim with all those tropical fruits.  What a pleasant sight!  Please do come to Bengal if not to devour the fruits, but to quench the thirst.
 
 

In the early afternoon I asked my host to send me to Gulshan Circle 1 where NFB office is located.  The driver shaheb told me that it had been raining off and on for the last few days.  But while I was sitting comfortably in the back seat, a huge black cloud enveloped the from above.  And a torrent of rain started falling without giving any forewarning such as thunder and lightning.  The monsoon deluge came with such a fury that I was dumbfounded.  With much difficulty because of inclement weather we reached NFB’s office building which is also home to Tanvir Chowdhury.  When the rain took a brief hiatus, I stepped into the carport.  Tanvir came out with a broad smile on his face.  "You must be our Jaffor-bhai?"

Without giving me any chance to reply, Tanvir gave me a cordial hug and led me to his air-conditioned office room.  I briefed him about my lost luggages.  However, I told him that none of the family members were upset over the fiasco.  We were scrounging for old clothes and what not.

Tanvir knew beforehand that on this day I was coming to Dhaka.  Thanks to Internet.  Communication is now much easier these days.  Yesterday while we were at New Orleans airport waiting to be boarded, my teenage son saw a both where one can log onto the Internet.  I took the opportunity to send e-mails to some folks telling them about our whereabouts.  Tanvir told me that Emory University’s faculty Prof. Nazrul Islam also alerted him about my coming to Dhaka.  Nazrul and I communicated through e-mail a few days earlier.  We both wanted to meet some high-powered folks in Dhaka to impress upon them the need for a pollution free environment in Bangladesh.  Tanvir was interested meeting all of us at his office on this issue.  NFB had been at the forefront of environmental issues for quite sometime and is still continuing to play a pivotal role in disseminating the news on Bangladesh’s lax on environmental regulations.  I spent about two hours with Tanvir during which time he briefed me his accomplishments and failures (there were some) dealing with running the very popular Internet newspaper of Bangladesh.

Finally, I was getting visibly tired due to jet-lag.  Tanvir brought me back to my host’s place.  It took him only few minutes.  Tomorrow I will head back to International airport to reclaim all our luggages.  Hopefully, these will be there to be picked up.  This will end to our brief miseries.  Despite, all the surprise we have had at the airport concerning the lost luggages, the first day of our stay was quite enjoyable.  Thanks to the warm reception that was bestowed on us everywhere.  The governmental officials at the airport were extremely polite and helpful.  Bangladesh is improving its public images notwithstanding the scathing criticism we hear everywhere.  There is a streak of light at the end of the tunnel.
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A.H. Jaffor Ullah writes from Gulshan, Dhaka.  Comments could be made at - [email protected]
A whole bunch of Kodombo flowers is shown on top.  The tree and the flower is associated with Indian legend Sri Krishna

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