The New Nation - Internet Edition

Faisal Hossain

When the idea was floated about 20 years ago (in October, 1989) among the students and teachers of the Applied Physics & Electronic Engineering Department, there were more skeptics than believers. Yet, the protagonist - Dr. Md. Delawer Hossain, Professor of Applied Physics & Electronic Engineering, Rajshahi University- continued toying with the idea of seting up a library with voluntary contribution. When it began, the library was housed in a makeshift cupboard containing only a dozen books and five hundred taka. Today, the rental library set up with Dr. Hossain's visionary initiative boasts of 1225 text books in a dedicated library with an average annual revenue generation of 12 thousand taka. This revenue is used to procure an additional 40-50 text books each year. This is how it all began.

Textbooks at the university level are never in sufficient quantity for our students. Anyone who has completed a university degree would know that, these books, mostly writen by foreign authors and expensive publishers, can cost more than the annual living expenses of a student Realizing this dilemma, Dr. Hossain floated the idea of a rental library, where students could 'rent' textbooks against a nominal annual fee. The rent would be funneled to a money pot that would be used to buy more books at the end of the year. If every student became members of this library, then sufficient revenue could be generated to increase access of textbooks among students.

Apathy and resistance to the idea of becoming a voluntary member of 'yet another' scheme was widespread in the beginning. 'Why care to pay 30 Taka a year when we have the R.U Central library?' was the student response invariably. Dr. Hossain recalls that, "back then, students would rather spend 30 Taka on 'adda', 'chai' and photocopying 'chotha' (i.e. notes prepared for writing exams) than on something that most thought would never be used".

Yet, the journey was not abandoned. In December 1989, there were only 16 books and 2,935 Taka of which Tk. 2000 was obtained as grant from the Chairman of the Department of Applied Physics and Electronic Engineering. The rest came from student fees and personal donations. As students of this department began to realize that the library guaranteed access to many textbooks against a nominal fee (much cheaper than photocopying the whole book), they started to become regular paying members of the rental library. Subscription grew steadily.

Revenue generation was not much during the initial years, but it was enough to ensure the purchase new text books each year. As most of the 200 students (50 per batch) of the Applied Physics & Electronic Engineering Department became members, revenue generation started to rise quickly, often exceeding ten thousand taka.

The notorious session jam that had 5-6 batches of student's progress simultaneously didn't hurt the subscription either. In the figure below, the impressive growth of revenue from students is shown for this now-popular rental library. In between then and today, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and various independent donors have also helped the library to grow beyond expectations. In this regard, the annual book drive organized by the MIT (Massachusets Institute of Technology) Bangladesh Student Association (BSA) is noteworthy. The MIT-BSA has donated around 100 books from funds of the MIT student foundation.

The UGC grant has also allowed the purchase of 432 books so far. All of this was orchestrated with the enterprising spirit of Dr. Hossain who would often go out of the way to solicit book donations from various sources.

Looking back twenty years, Dr. Hossain has much satisfaction with the implementation of the rental library. He believes the concept's success is analogous to the Grameen Bank. But it is the feedback of the Departmental academic commitee and the students that demonstrates the value of the concept in improving student learning.

"Today more than 90% of the books of our rental library are in circulation among member students at any given time", said the Seminar Library Assistance, Mrs. Farida Begum with pride. "If there was circulation any less than that, we would have a hard time housing all the books we have! In fact, we now need to place an order for 6 more wall-bookshelves to house the upcoming books".

Similarly, student Mr. Atiar Rahman, now a newly recruited lecturer of the Applied Physics & Electronic Engineering Department says, "The rental library has been a very valuable asset for us. Our students hardly need to access the ill-equipped R.U central library as they get all their textbooks here. Today, each student member can rent 5 books at a time. Students from other departments often envy our access, which helps particularly before exam times."

We hope that other Departments and Universities in Bangladesh will take of this noble concept of a rental library and take the initiative to set up one of their own for the welfare of our students. Interested persons should contact Dr. Hossain at ninigorki@yahoo.com for information on ways to procure books cost-effectively.

Annual revenue generation of the Rental Library.

Rental Library of Applied Physics and Electronics Engineering Department, Rajshahi University.

Mohan Vamsi

Fear engulfs me from all around when I think of the banyan tree which was on the east side of our village. Among the boys, we used to think there was a devil residing on it It was the biggest tree in our known locale. With all its aerial roots descending down from its branches it was kind of scary in appearance. It was huge and if you stand below it even in the mid-afternoon, it was kind of dark and gloomy down there.

All of us used to be scared of that tree. There were lot of stories which were linked to that tree. People used to say that our village president Kama Reddy's second son commited suicide and he roams around that tree in the night time. People atribute even the death of Sissamma, a small girl died of cholera sometime back, also to that devil.

That tree was in the route to our closest town and around half a mile from our village. Whenever we crossed that tree, we never forget to recite the mantra of Hanuman. My grandmother used to tell me that mantra always protects me from the devil.

It all happened one day, when we decided to go to a newly released movie in the town, which was four miles away. We decided to go to the second show, which starts at ten o'clock in the night and ends between one or two in the midnight Normally the last bus from the town leaves around eleven o'clock or so. Our Reddy friends, who were rich in the village, normally returned thorough a bullock cart after the movie. People like us normally would take a walk in the middle of the night The only problem what we had, was to pass through the banyan tree in the mid-night Normally we request one of our elders to accompany us. We used to sneak behind them while we crossed the tree. The elder themselves were afraid of the tree and would cross the tree with closed eyes. Of course, that was immaterial for kids.

For that particular movie, what I am talking about, no elder was ready to go with us. My cousin Ramana and I wanted to watch that movie very badly, but we were scared to go without any elder person with us. Nobody showed interest, except my father's younger brother Raju, who was just two years elder to us. We had no other go, but to go with him.

After the movie, three of us started walking. Raju asked us about the movie.

"I liked the movie", I answered promptly.

"Fights should have been beter", Ramana commented, seeing across the empty and deserted big streets in the town. They were seeming more wide and long on that night

"This movie is a big hit and is collecting lot of money", Raju gave the statistics about the film. He was good at that kind of information.

We came to the end of the town and took the road, which leads to our village. I saw two men walking much ahead of us, we didn't recognize them well. We were silent for some time and kept on walking slowly. We knew very well that after some time we had to pass through the dreaded banyan tree. My mind started recollecting all the stories, I looked at Ramana and found him also in my condition.

I cleared my throat loudly.

"Are you not afraid of the banyan tree?", I enquired Raju.

"No. Why should I?", Raju showed some brave signs.

"You know, they say that ghosts roam around in the tree…"

"Come on! There are no ghosts. I read lot of scientific books", Raju answered.

I liked his confidence.

"So, all these stories about this tree are not true then?", Ramana was curious.

"Must be", Raju started explaining, "See boys, all these stories are man made. The real stories might be different and over time these stories will be changing"

"All the stories..?", I stressed litle.

"Yes. All the stories"

"So, you think there are no ghosts really", Ramana blinked his eyes.

"I challenge the ghosts to come and stand in front of me ", Raju shouted dramatically.

Raju was a good student and in school he got good ranks. I believed what he said and felt comfortable with the talking. We kept on walking and I noticed the two men in front of us were no longer visible. We must be walking slowly while we were talking.

We came almost hundred yards to the banyan tree. We three were walking holding hands together. Raju was on the left most side, close to the banyan tree, I was in the middle and Ramana was on my right hand side. I could feel Ramana's hand holding my hand very tightly. I knew he was geting tensed. I also increased the grip of my hold on Raju's hand.

"Raju, say something", I almost begged.

"Why are you so terrified? See..there is nothing..it is just a tree", he showed the tree with the other hand.

"Let's us go near the tree. I would like to prove that there in nothing scary about it", he started pulling us towards the tree.

"No…No.Raju, please", we started pulling him away from the tree. "I am here with you. And it is just like any ordinary tree", he assured us and we were near the tree by then.

We were standing right below the tree. Ramana closed his eyes while he was holding my hand more intensely. Raju and I were watching the tree. Having litle moonlight, it was hard to see through it It was pitch dark towards the corners and when we looked upwards, we could see feeble light here and there but it was mostly very dark. With all its roots and huge branches in the dark it was looking like a big monster.

"Raju, let's go", I pleaded.

"See. Nothing here", Raju reiterated.

We started walking towards the village again. As we took just steps ahead, something happened. It must be a small dried branch of the tree or something of that sort Ramana stepped on it in the dark. He was already in such great fear that he thought he stumbled on something. Instantly he shrieked and jumped into air. As he landed again on the land, he stumbled on to same again and it bumped into air and hit Raju at the back of his head. It was so pitch dark, and all of a sudden everything became very scary. The so called, brave Raju, was trembling with fear now. He thought it to be something else and shouted loudly. I did not understand what happened and the only thing I could do was to shout loudly "run". Ramana's loud cry got added to that We released all our hand locks and without looking back we all started running.

We didn't stop running till we reached our village. Raju ran faster than both of us and was waiting for us. We were all panting. Our bodies were full of sweat and our faces were red with fear. We turned back and saw the road. We could hardly see the banyan tree from there. It look us couple of minutes to come to normal state.

I wanted to say something, but my mouth was dry. I wondered what happened there down the banyan tree. But we were not having guts to talk about that As the fear slowly geting dissolved, we started walking towards our home.

Mohan Vamsi

One evening Surya was engaged in a cheerful conversation with Protima on the lawns of Presidency College. Both were brilliant students in their final years and studied Physics.

"Surya, Surya," a familiar voice disrupted their discussion. They saw Gautam approaching them hurriedly. "Surya, go home quickly," Gautam said, "Your brother Bipin is badly hurt"

Panic-stricken, Surya got up and started running leaving Protima behind. He took a bus and reached his residence at Bagbazar. He found a crowd outside his home.

Sight of some elderly women wailing greeted him. Soon he came to know what has transpired. His elder brother, Bipin, who was a naxalite, has been gunned down by the Police in an encounter.

Surya helped his family complete the rites of his deceased brother.

Days passed, Surya stopped going to his college. Protima used to come to meet and console him regularly.

"How long are you going to live this way?" she used to ask looking at his bedraggled appearance.

Surya was adamant He had decided that he would quit studies.

Gradually a gap developed in the relationship between Surya and Protima.

Years passed. Rumors began to surface that Surya has got involved in underground activities.

His acumen would help in foiling the ploys of the police to nab him with evidence.

"How come he always gets wind of our plans to catch him?" the police would say.

Surya became a dreaded name in the police department They claim that he has exterminated at least half a dozen of their men in the last five years.

On the other hand, he was loved by the poor people. In a Robin Hood style, he and his accomplices went about eliminating dozens of wicked businessman extorting huge money from them and distributed their loot among the poor people.

A few years passed. Some of Surya's underworld friends got caught A few of them were hanged, others were put behind bars. Their movement appeared to be losing its steam.

Disillusioned with the present state of revolutionary activities and dearth of capable hands needed for their struggle, Surya decided to call it a day.

"I am fed up with this life, I want a more decent and respectful life," he told his band of outlaws.

He said he would start life afresh, on a new note, and so he left for a distant town.

Surya started a Hotel business. With passage of time, he became a respected person in the town. Again his keen intellect and vast knowledge won him many admirers, and many people came to him to seek advice on diverse maters.

Years drifted by.

Surya is now in his early forties. This particular year witnessed unusual floods. Roughly one thousand people had perished in his town. There was huge damage to standing catle and crops amounting to crores of rupees.

Surya did yeoman's service for the distressed people on the occasion. He must have saved at least two dozen poor villagers in the vicinity. He brought them to his Hotel and provided them free food and lodging during the crisis from the stock he had kept aside for an emergency situation. Most of the refugees were sheltered in the upper rooms of the Hotel. "Surya, did you hear that the Govt has sent a special team to assess the damage and fix the relief assistance to be provided. They will relax in your hotel for a few hours before the inspection," the local MLA said.

"O.k.," said Surya.

The central team did arrive to inspect the grimness of the flood situation and determine the amount of Relief to be sanctioned for the flood victims.

The team consisting of four persons arrived. Surya went to greet and receive them with a smile. The team which had come to survey the conditions of the affected people of the district didn't seem at all interested in knowing the plight of the marooned people.

"Is this a place fit enough for a person to stay?" they complained when they were shown their rooms in the hotel. Moreover, they fussed about as to why a red carpet has not been rolled out for them in the hotel.

"Hell! why are the air-conditioners not functioning properly?" "Hey mister, order some kebabs for us."

Surya was simmering. But he reined himself in. He was simply filled with loathe at this bunch of scoundrels who were Govt representatives.

The team was in the town for just two hours. Then they left for the Airport They didn't bother to make a tour of the affected site.

They didn't reach the Airport

They were found dead lying in a pool of blood in their car, shot through their head, somewhere along the way leading to the Airport

Later a big investigation was conducted by the Govt to nab the killer(s) but they were without a clue. The file had to be kept in abeyance.

Surya's renewal with violence marked his second innings. The decaying standards of society bothered him.

"What's the world coming to?" he said. "Corruption, greed, hatred, killings and exploitation seems to be omnipresent"

"I will have to do something," he said. After a lot of musing he decided he would train some educated youths in the use of arms and ammunition so that they could revolt against the exploitative rules and laws of the present corrupt Govt

By daylight, he remained a successful hotelier. Years passed in this manner. As Surya grew older, he also felt tired of the violence and regular killings around him. Deep inside, he felt he has performed his duty towards society.

He is nearly sixty. One day he heard that his lady-love of yesteryears, Protima, is now married to a lawyer and she has a happy family life somewhere in Kolkata.

In one of his visits to Pondicherry he paid a visit to Sree Aurobindo's ashram. Aurobindo's philosophy of life appealed to him greatly.

Like Surya, Aurobindo had participated in the freedom struggle of his motherland and later drifted towards spirituality to seek the 'Divine Truth.'

Surya spend the last remaining years of his life working for the teeming poor people of the country. He remained unmarried till his last days. His end came at the ripe age of eighty-four years.

Ahkame Islam (Commandments of Islam)/ Dr. Maulana Mustaque Ahmad. Published by Nadia Book Corner, Banglabazar, Dhaka. 15th March 2007. Cover: Nazmul Haidar. Calligraphy: Arifur Rahman and Bashir Misbah. DDI/16 Page 464. Price Tk. 240.00, US $ 20.00.

Renowned writer, researcher and scholar Dr. Maulana Mushtaque Ahmad has the credit of being the author of a number of valuable Islamic books, some of which are research work and some are research-based. His thesis 'Shaikhul Islam Sayyed Husain Ahmad Madani (R)' has been a prestigious publicaton of Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. His 'Ulumul Hadith', 'Ohir Mormo 0 Tatparya' 'Islamer Drishtite Ain 0 Bichar' are some of his highly appreciated books.

Ahkame Islam (Commandments of Islam) is a volume containing Islamic injunctions, principles, customs and humanistic values and etiquetes. The writer has endeavoured to present these in the context of Islamic way of life. The verses of the holy Quran and Hadithes in original text and meaning in Bengali has been furnished. His quotations from the first two original sources of Islam i.e. The Quran and Sunnah and the analysis and explanations of those from his expert hand make the book authentic and above controversies. Credit goes to the author that he has arranged huge number of subjects, which the Muslims have to deal in their everyday life. It will serve the Muslims in general and the researchers in particular. Lucid explanations and descriptions have made the injunctions and negations easy to comprehend.

The book has got a charm of Islamic calligraphies of eminent calligraphers like Arifur Rahman and Bashir Misbah

The book has been dedicated to the oppressed children of Iraq and other countries.

The claim of the writer and the publisher that the book is useful in discussions in the Mosques and at home, is genuine.

We expect well circulation of this volume and thank the author for such a valuable presentation.

Reviewed by

Abdul Muqit Chowdhury