The New Nation - Internet Edition

Kazi Enayat Hossain

After the office job Mr. Azinal did shopping on way to his residence. He had no time for shopping in the morning. It's difficult for him to do it during afternoon also. So he used to get it done by this time. For this he kept two folded poly-bags in his pocket. By the way he used to buy something essential from the market at times.

Azmal started walking with two bags in hand and coming across the road looking sidewise carefully; he got in Colony Street. But to his utter surprise he found a girl of 12 or 13 years old and stopped for a moment his eyes fixed on her. She appeared to be his lost daughter Nishi. His heart started pulpitating very fast. In a flurry of excitement, quickly he came very close to her. Yes, this is his Nishi that resembles the same face, same eyes and even the cut mark of her same lip. Almost seven years back, she disappeared. Azmal embraced her by two hands and cried out loudly like an innocent child. Most of the onlookers crowded around him curiously. 'What's the matter? What happened here?' Azmal took his seat on the floor. He forgot, 'Who is he?' 'What is he?' as if, a live dramatic scene.

Her disheveled hairs looked like the red jute fibers. She had her frock and pajama torn. The dirty pajama was drawn up to the knee. Her body looked untidy and covered with tearing clothes. She had her age to put scarf to cover her modesty. But she got no scarf. A plate in her hand she stared at Mr. Azmal strangely. Had she recognised him? Could she recollect him indistinctly? Various comments of the people struck the air around. She was looking at them curiously.

A four-wheeler sick carrier was lying on the other side. A person had his two legs cut up to his knees bandaged, he sat at ease there in the carrier as if he sat on an easy chair comfortably. He appeared to be a middle-aged man. Bodily he was strong. He wore a loose half shirt and a cap on his head. Through patched and torn shirt his oily body was seen exposed.

He was begging alms sitting tight on a cushion like a flat pillow made of clothes. A tin plate was lying before him. He was reciting 'Allah' repeatedly while the girl was drawing the cracked carriage. In each shop she stopped and begged alms putting the tin plate before the shopkeeper and entreating, "Give alms, give alms to the sick". The coins of alms clanked on the plate lying before him and in the plate of the girl as well. After some time the beggar put all coins inside his purse keeping plate bare for more coins to fill in. The people become softhearted to give alms to the sick. This is the way that the beggars become rich. They also purchase lands through such huge alms that make money. Who knows how they get into this profession?

Mr. Azmal stood up. The people helped him and became compassionate. They were talking about, "Ah! It's the heart of the father that speaks." "He could recognise his own daughter after seven years!"- Someone from the crowd made the comment. Some people could sense out the mischief and went to the beggar's carriage and found the carriage lying empty. None was there. They asked the laundryman by the side and others about the fled beggar. "The beggar had already left the place in a babytaxi on the other way." -The laundryman and other onlookers replied promptly.

Azmal's family knew no bounds of pleasure in getting back the lost daughter. Mrs. Hasina Begum could not stop tears of pleasure rolling down her eyes. The people of the neighbouring areas rushed there. The people were thronging there from far and near. The incident made the entire area stirring.

Those who did not know the matter, also came to know. Those who forgot it, could also recollect the same. The lost daughter had been found after seven years. The people are crowded only to see that for a glance.

Nobody could think about the daughter that had come back after so long time. Most of the children lost in this city had never come back. The gang of the child lifters kidnapped and maimed them to become beggars. It is also heard that some children are sold abroad or to the roving theater party or in the whorehouse. But Mr. Azmal was fortunate. Nothing of that sort had happened in his case. He got back his daughter quite well. Both father and mother in laws came to see their grand daughter. The uncles, aunts and other relatives also came. Everyone seemed to be happy to get back Nishi.

Nishi had draun beggar's carriage every day in this city. She lived in a slum at Badda area so long. She could not say anything about how and when had she come to this sick man.

This was a matter of fact before seven years. It was a marriage ceremony to be held in a community centre at night. The people were active here in this connection from the afternoon. Nishi was playing along with other children on the playground in front of the colony. She disappeared before the fall of dusk.

Mr. Azmal came to the residence from outside and heard a lot of hue and cry there. His wife moved helter-skelter. She asked repeatedly, "Where's my Nishi?

They started searching school-front, playground and almost everywhere, her playmate, schoolmate, asking everyone they came across whether anyone might have found her or seen accompanied with anybody. It was also announced through mike throughout the entire area about 'the girl of five years old disappeared from the Motijheel Colony area, a dark-skinned girl having worn yellow frock and half pant. She didn't have two teeth of her frontal tooth-set. If any good soul eould give her whereabouts to the following address, etc.' the nearest mosques were informed about the lost girl for such announcement but she was not found anywhere. Broken hearted Hasina Begum had been weeping for so many days and nights for her lost child like a mad woman. Even she cried aloud in her sleep repeatedly saying, Nishi Nishi t was she alive, crying after her mother on all occasion, had she died of cruel encounter, such questions gathered in her mind. She heard of the child lifter who picked the child stealthily and maimed her to beg alms or sold to the brothel or send abroad at high price. She became overwhelmingly mourned. Once she naturally settled her mind with deepening sorrow at heart for the lost daughter. Now she got her daughter back. Her joy knew no bounds. As if the king got back his lost kingdom. Now Nishi used to sleep abreast her mother. She occupied the place of her younger sister Rubi. Being the eldest one she appeared to have been more adored than the other two. Now the second one Himel became the only son of this family. He was also happy to get back his elder sister.

All that came around made her prominent. The mother used to give her the best food, best dress and more things than she needed. Hasina Begum also took much more care of her than that was necessary. For that the most ill looking girl got back her natural beauty within a few days.

Still some problems hover over Azmal's mind. His was a low-income job. He had to make out everything within this monthly salary. Nishi seemed additional liability too. She had not only been growing up to her youthful age but also likely to be marriageable soon. In spite of all wants this duty must lie on him as the prime responsibility. But this didn't take him over anyway. He made up his mind to marry off Nishi spending all from his provident fund. His hard-earned money would be spent on her marriage. If required he would take loan and repay it gradually on time. The marriage would be ceremonial with lot of fun and frolic. No matter what would make its cost. As a matter of fact, father's heart appeared to have been ecstatic beyond the means but he had to feel pleasure to perform his duty.

Meanwhile she required learning a lot about the code of conduct to run her life in a civilised society that she did not have as yet. How could she learn that in a society of a beggar? Every possible step and necessary arrangements had been taken to make her natural, to have her well becoming conduct, manners and to teach her to suit the time. Azmal arranged a private tutor for her education, as she would not be able to fit herself to schooling at her 13-year age.

She would not pass B.A or M.A; rather she must have education at least. The idea of her father was to educate her||only to fit in society as far as practicable. Sometimes happy and pleasant spree of jovial moods of all that covered Nishi as well as she got her good food, dress and other amenities of life.

She was taught about the orderly manners, rules and regulations befitting the society. But she had shown no interest to them. Rather she was disgusted to be bound by such rulings. She was not likely to take any interest to studying.

Nothing seemed well now other than free life she enjoyed before. She had to be educated. Unless she reached to certain standard of life she would not be able to cope with the society. It was never desirable being the ward of the same parent she should remain alienated from her brother and sisters. How was that? She was neither adopted one nor picked up from the street; she was their progeny.

On the spree of happiness and pleasure a shade of cloud covered the family.

Almost all efforts seemed to have been gone in vain. She looked indifferent and there had been no change in her manners.

She was accustomed to a beggar's life. She lived on begging and used to move from one door to another whether she could have her square meals or not. She was happy to have her two square meals here but otherwise the bonds of order and discipline made her chained. She got here more than what she could expect in the underworld beggar's life. Could she forget that wretched life of begging alms? If so, then why could she not forget her manners of past life?

Azmal's family had good relations with the family of Mr. Shafi of the next flat. Some clothes and two kerchiefs were held on the grill of that flat entwined with nylon rope for drying. One of the kerchiefs was missing from there. Shahin, the son of Shafi, once found that kerchief in the hand of Nishi.

After a few days a lipstick was lost from the dressing table of a flat of the ground floor. None else were there except Nishi who went there and remained for a while. After a lot of searching a boy servant came to Mrs. Azmal and asked, "Aunt, has Nishi apa brought a lipstick?"

Mrs. Azmal took Nishi close to him and asked, "Have you taken the lipstick?" she nodded with negative answer. Similar complaints came from other flats also. Nishi was forbidden to leave the house. On the other day another incident took place at the dining table. Everyone was taking meal there. The mystery was out when Himel went to bring sauce from the jar; he found lipstick and kerchief wrapped in a paper under the steel almirah. It's no secret to anybody now who did this wrong.

Both Mr and Mrs. Azmal said nothing about the matter. They remained reserved only. After the dinner they asked her, "Why do you take these things from other's house? What makes you lie saying 'no' to our questions? Don't do such wrong in future. Whatever you need, you tell us, we'll buy that for you."

There's a lot of complaints outside about Nishi. But Mr. and Mrs. Azmal kept mum all about the matter. Nowadays Nishi started hide and seek game about her own affairs. She thought, the people might have been thinking her bad. She had been suffering inferiority complex that misgivings overshadowed her. Who stole food from the cooking pot that's one chicken piece out of the two? Out of the dozen bananas two are missing.

These were almost regular affairs. It's no secret that who might commit the wrongs. Nishi came down with her younger sister from upstairs to buy groundnuts from the peddler. She made her heart open but her irrelevant flirting with the peddler became obscene. Both of them laughed at each other as if they had past relations.

While purchasing groundnuts, she took away a handful of groundnuts from peddler's carriage without weighing and paying. The young peddler put no objections on it rather he smiled back. He became her relation so easily. A young boy servant often used to come from the flat of Azmal's sister and talked to Nishi and sometimes worked for her as if she had been her close friend. Stealthily they spoke, laughed and even tussled and grappled each other. However, nothing went unexposed before Hasina Begum's eyes.

Why could not Nishi forget those manners innate to her? Why could not she do away with all wrongs and come back to lead a good social life with all? The problems with her made everything a mess that questioned the respectable position of the family itself. Instead of happiness she caused sadness, was it better not to get her back at all?

Mr. Azmal thought to himself; Nishi must have been lost forever.

(Translated by M Mizanur Rahman)