I Am Asif

It really came out of the blue. Mu (my chhoto fupu) and uncle (Dr. Shamsul Alam, my chhoto fupa) were supposed to go to uncle's village home at Mirzapur, Tangail with their whole family on Saturday, to stay at the new house they built there. Friday night all of the sudden my Dulabhai came up with the idea of going with them for just one day. I jumped for the idea immediately and my sister was also eager. So we made a phone call to my aunt, and the next morning, within just a few hour's notice, we were on the way. My aunt managed Shapanku's microbus for us. We were off early in the morning at 8:00. We were scheduled to meet with two other cars of my uncle's party in front of the Smriti Sho udho. But when we got there, they weren't there yet. Hence we thought, why not pay a visit to the National Monument? So we did. I've been to Smriti Shoudho before, but that was way back and I don't quite remember. That early in the morning there were very few people in th...

Today was Eid ul Adha, and as expected it wasn't quite different from the Eids of the past years. We prayed the Eid Jamaat at the sector 13 playground which was pretty impressively prepared for a big congregation. Qurbani of our cow was all done pretty fast. I don't wanna get into the details because it's pretty much the same each year. Oh, I forgot to say Eid Mubarak . Cow Shopping: Well, my visit to the cow hut (Gorur hut) yesterday is definitely worth mentioning. As I went to the hut last year as well, this year I had no intention to go. Because honestly speaking, I don't quite like the place, to be more honest, I'm scared of that place. But my father was insisting so much, so I decided to go at the very last moment. We went to the hut of Azompur at sector 6. The place was just as I expected. It was crowded with cows, of all sizes. Huge mass of people moving through it, and every now and then a cow is being led in or out through the crowd. Some of the cows have ...

That's right, today my blog turns 1 ! Exactly 1 year ago I started writing this blog with the post 'Don't know why' . As I mentioned on that very first post, I'm just writing this blog for myself. In the past 12 months I've written 29 posts, which is not a lot, but not bad considering the fact that I'm only writing about events of my life, not anything else. It's also more than I thought I could write. Looking back at my posts of the last year I find that my life's been mostly monotonous. There were some exceptions though. Some of those exceptions were indeed pleasant, as my tour to Bagerhat . But there have been shocking events as well, events I never thought I would have to write about, like the departures of Mejo Fupa and Shelly Apu . And another fact about my blog is that haven't been able to write all my emotions down, I couldn't express everything that have been going inside me. Some events, some thoughts are such that I can't eve...

I was really on a rescue operation last night, literally. Here's what happened. My mom and dad went to Bashundhara City Grand Hall at Panthopath to attend a wedding ceremony of a distant relative. Around 10:15 pm I got a call from dad, telling me that their car was locked with the keys inside, thanks to the driver. So they were stuck as they couldn't just leave the car there and come home by some other means. So I was appointed the rescue mission. I was to find the spare keys, manage a car from one of my uncles and head for the target location to rescue them from this situation. Alhamdulillah I managed to do everything nice and smooth. Within an hour we were back on our way home. Thanks to Allah I was successful in this sudden rescue operation.

Today is 16 December. 36 years ago, on this very day, our struggle from freedom was finally over. After 9 months of grueling battle, and with the cost of over 3 million lives, our land was finally free from the Pakistanis. Our army was mostly formed by the common people; the farmers, laborers, students, the general people of Bangladesh. I'm not a columnist, so I'm not going to write the history of the war. What I want to say here on this day, is my wish on the day of victory. It's not only my dream, it's the dream of every true Bangladeshi, it has been our dream since we earned independence. My dream, our dream is to bring the war criminals of '71 to justice. These are the people who helped the Pakistanis to kidnap, murder, rape thousands of Bangladeshis during our struggle for freedom. They helped our enemies to identify the freedom fighters so that they can kill them, to assassinate the intellectuals so that Bangladesh can never stand on their own feet, and to rap...

Nimmy Aunt is staying with us for the last couple of days, she's visiting Bangladesh after more than a decade. Their family got very close to ours when my parents went to London for higher education. My bro and sis have some great memories with Nimmy Aunt (I don't, cuz I wasn't even born back then. Damn!), that's why they are really happy to spend some time with her, chatting about those days in London. I wish I was there with them too. May be someday we'll visit London again (and this time I'll be there with them) and be her guests instead.

The internet connections were bugging me. I've tried 'em all since I came to Uttara. First we tried 'broadband'. It's between the inverted commas because it's actually slower than dial-up (believe it or not). The reason for that is, most of the broadband providers in this country split up a single 256/512 kbps broadband line among 60-100 subscribers! So the share of the bandwidth that you get is miserable. So, bye bye 'broadband'. Then I tried dial-up. There are some very attractive packages on the market currently, and I've used them a lot during the last 1.5 years. They give you 100-110 hours for a month just for 300 bucks. Sounds great, until you check out the speed, which is slower than a snail I guess. Moreover, the Fiber Optic cable connection of the country gets snapped every now and then (I don't know why that happens). So working on the net meant hitting the reload button over and over again until finally the page you want arrives (not w...

The merit list for the semester final of 2nd year 1st semester was out today, and Alhamdulillah I stood 11th! It was a bit unexpected, but thanks to Allah, my name's on the list. I strongly believe that this is a direct gift from Allah, as I'm sure I don't study even as much as 1/3 rd of anyone else on that list. I was on the merit list of the very 1st semester as well, I stood 5th then and got 18000 bucks. Then 1-2 was not so good, and I was way out of the reach of scholarship. For the whole 2-1 semester I never thought that I have any chance of coming up with a good enough result. Even after I gave the final exams, I wasn't hopeful. But the results showed that most of the students ended up getting low scores. My score in Mechanics is what I think was the deciding factor, and also CSE, on which I got A and A+ respectively. Anyway, It's great to be back on the merit list. Moreover, Inshallah I'll get 9000 taka as scholarship! My family is ecstatic, especially my...

Thursday, 15 November, a date which the Bangladeshis won’t forget soon. It was a day of disaster, of destruction, of death. The coastal districts of the country were already on the highest alert from the previous night, warning the people of the ferocious cyclone ‘Sidr’, and thousands were evacuated from their homes to safer places. The cyclone, hell bent on destruction, made landfall in the afternoon, starting from The Sundarbans, making its way towards the coastal districts. As it moved over our land, all that it left behind was a trail of devastation. It grew ever more powerful as it drew towards the land, and when it hit, it was at the peak of its strength. ‘Sidr’ means the eye, in this case, the eye of destruction. Wherever it went, nothing was left of the place. Just as I am writing this, over 2,000 are already reported dead, and according to the Red Crescent, it’s being expected that the death toll may even rise to a staggering 10,000. For those people, it took their lives, and ...

Classes of the new semester started a couple of days ago. It means I'm back to that disgusting back breaking routine. It means getting up real early, catching a bus to karwan bazar, going through the classes, then walking back to farmgate, waiting for a bus (and that can be pretty long), and when it arrives, literally fighting for a place, most of the times, just to stand, getting a rickshaw back to home. And after such toil, I'm also gonna have to finish all the lab reports, prepare for quizzes and do other childish homeworks. And this same routine goes for most of the next 3 and a half months. Even thinking about it makes me sick. Wish me luck. I'm really getting frustrated about the way the days are going nowadays. I mean, I've spent the whole 40 day semester break in front of my pc. Yes I do love that but for how long? I want a real change in my lifestyle. I don't mean doing new things on the net or learning some new software, I mean a REAL change. I'm fed u...

I'm spending this semester break mostly in front of my PC. A few weeks ago I updated my personal website, giving it a much simpler look than before. I had to create the banner and title bars for the site in Photoshop and Flash. Click here to check out the site in its new look. Then I started working with a whole new site. Bhaia's got some cool models of cars and bikes, I took some pictures of those before. This new site is based on those photos, and I also took some new photos. I did put quite a lot of effort to this site. First of all I created the banner, and then the buttons. I also used photoshop to put the pictures in frames. And I gave attention to making the site organized and well navigable. I hope I was able to do that. Check out the new site , and tell me what you think. Add your comment in the site's guestbook. My classes are supposed to start from the first week of November. So, a few more days left to enjoy, and after that, back to those back-breaking days of ...

My cousin Shelly Apu died yesterday. Don't have much to say about it, because I don't know what to say. Her father died just a few months ago. Then two months back she got married, and we were so happy about it. But unfortunately the end was not so well. The whole family is in a state of shock. These are all tests upon us from Allah, but I fear big tests, as we are really bad students. I really don't know what to write here, so I'm signing off. May Allah keep her soul in peace, may she sleep well. Ameen.

Yup, the semester finals are over. Most of those were just okay but the last one (C++) was pretty good, Alhamdulillah. Well, I'm free now, but don't have much to do. The word is that we are getting a pretty big break this time , for about 45 days or more. Most of the time these breaks go away wasted. The last break was good though, we went to Bagerhat, and I also learned the basics of Flash. I hope I could use this break pretty well. I planned for a long time to get a new PC, but that plan has reached a complete standstill. Anyway, Allah will give me what's best for me in the best time. So may Allah give Barkat in my semester break. Ameen.

There's been a great unrest throughout the country this past week. It all started with a simple feud between some students of the Dhaka University and some military personnel from the DU military camp. Students from all over the city, and then from all over the country got crazy and started raising hell all around the country, breaking cars, houses, literally doing whatever they want. It was a complete pandemonium. Most of these people were not students at all, these were political street thugs who finally had something to do after such a long time. So as the streets were getting out of control, the government ordered a curfew in six divisional cities of the country. That did the trick. The whole country was at a complete standstill. Wednesday was the first day of curfew, and I went to the varsity to submit some papers. After I was done there I was going to my friend's place at Green Road, and on my way I saw that there was havoc on Farmgate, usually that's the place where ...

This day was pretty memorable. The Jamaat from our mosque are staying at a mosque in Kuril for three days, starting from Friday. Last night, by Allah's will, my dad suddenly decided to go there and join the great work for a day. I didn't expect him to make such a decision. But no one knows what Allah wishes. So today after lunch, me and my father went to that mosque and joined our Jamaat. After Asr we went out for Gasht (to invite people to the mosque), and my father was there with us. I did the part of inviting. After Maghrib we listened to the discussion. And then after Isha we came back home. It might not sound much to you, but I know how big this is for me. It teaches me a lesson. We always think that we can predict everything. We judge the future with reference to the present situation, and we forget that Allah can do whatever He wants. He can bring about things we never even imagined, He can make changes to the world within a blink of an eye. All we have to do is have som...

The last two weeks have been just that- a roller-coaster of exams. I had to give 14 exams in the last two weeks, including a Friday! Plus, the classes were on too. Thanks to Allah I made it through pretty well, most of those exams went good. Now we have a two week break, well, not a break actually. It's the PL - Preparatory Leave, to prepare for the semester final which starts from 1st September. I'm really concerned about one particular subject - Mechanics. May Allah get me through those exams nicely. Remember me in your prayers.

Alhamdulillah last Friday my cousin Shelly Apu finally got married. Her marriage was long due and we are all so happy to celebrate this ceremony that we were praying for so long. May the blessings of Allah be with Shelly Apu and Dulabhai, and may Allah keep them in the right path. Shelly apu used to take a lot of care of me when I was just a child, I loved to stick to her all the time (although I don't remember much now). So I pray to Allah from the depth of my heart for a magical marital life for Shelly Apu. (And I also pray that my other 'young' cousins and especially my 'young' brother also gets married very soon. Ameen)

I've been working on my website in googlepages for the last month or so, and now it's in a stable position I think, although it's being updated almost regularly. Click here to check out the site. I submitted my site to the google page creators group and many liked it, especially the animated banner at the header, which I did with flash (I'm so happy that I finally got a chance to show off what I learned with flash during the last semester break). Send me your comments, good or bad, and drop a few lines on the guestbook.

The students of AUST are on strike for the last 2 weeks demanding the shifting of the university to the new campus and 21 other points (that's a lot, to be fair). Well, the demands are logical. Important points include improvement of lab facilities, library and teaching staff. The authority being scared of the revolt turning violent, has declared the institution closed until further notice. There's supposed to be a meeting between the students and the authority today, don't know how it's going. My friends are getting scared of a semester drop, and some are really considering credit transfer. Well, for my part, I'm enjoying my leisure, hehe. Honestly speaking, I never loved studying. If there's a semester drop, I'll welcome it!!

A few days ago my mejo fupa Mr.Akkas Ali passed away to the world from where no one can return. He was suffering from various diseases for the last 2 years or so. The last days of his life were of great struggle. He was admitted in the CMH (military hospital). May Allah forgive him and make his grave a piece of Jannah. It's been long since any close family member died, actually 32 years long. My grandfather died way before I was born. I've never someone being buried before. I went to burial of fupa. It's an experience like no other. This man was among was a few days ago, he used to talk to us, eat with us, go the mosque. And yet there he was being put down inside a hole in the ground, covered in plain white, by his own sons, and then being buried alive. I don't know how his sons felt, I don't want to know. I imagine how it's possible to leave someone in his grave who used to love us so much, and whom we loved so much as well. Yet, this is life. Once you are born...

Just came back from my three day tour to Bagerhat, my 'Mamabari'. It was great to get out of Dhaka after so long. We (me, my mom, my sis and Hilu Bhai) went last Thursday on the 19th of April and came back yesterday on the 23rd. The stay was great. We started for Khulna in a Volvo Exclusive bus from Dhaka. The bus started at 10:00 in the morning. It stopped at a rest house at Faridpur at noon. We reached Khulna at about 4:00pm and from there headed towards Bagerhat by a rent microbus. We reached our destination at 5:00pm. The journey was pretty pleasant. The bus was really cool and comfortable. The next day me and Hilu Bhai went out on a rickshaw after Fajr. We went to see the 'ghers' of Alap bhai.Those were really nice to look at. We also saw one of the two new bridges built over the Doratana river. The river looked great in the early morning sun. That day there was a party arranged for the occasion of Akika of the newborn son of Golap bhai. Quite a big arrangement...

A three day Jamaat went out from our mosque on 13-15 April. Alhamdulillah I joined the work all the three days, although I didn't stay at night. The jamaat went to Masjid e Noor at Malibagh. There's also a Madrasa there. Our Amir for the jamaat was Pinu Bhai. He was really helpful to me all three days ( Pinu bhai if you are reading, Jazakallah). I really enjoyed the time. It must be mentioned that on the third day we went to the Madrasa to talk to the students. It felt really great to be among them, I really felt honored. May Allah give Tawfique to us all to stay on Allah's path.

Well, this post was long due. Few weeks ago Thanks to Allah my Dad got me an air cooler for my room. It's a split type 1.5 ton unit. It's working real good. And a few days later I got a bicycle! Yeah that's been on my wish list for a long time and finally I got it. The bikes really cool and good looking and Inshallah I'll post a picture soon. So two great additions to my life, Alhamdulillah.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk by myself on the nearest beach :)). It's actually a place the government is filling up with sand by dredging to make new residential areas. Well, that's as close to a beach I can get now. Anyway, I stayed there for the whole afternoon after the Asr prayer up to Maghrib. I sat there at the bank of the canal for sometime looking at the setting sun and its reflection on the water ( I thought it would bring out the poet in me but it didn't). I walked in the sand bear feet, and honestly I was enjoying the time with the constant cool breeze. And just before I started on my way back I came across a kid flying a kite, I told him I can't fly a kite, honestly I never tried before, and the boy laughed at me. So I thought I should give it a shot. So I took the string from him and flew a kite for the first time in my life (fireworks in the background please). It's not that hard actually, all I was doing was holding the string. Anyway, inspir...

Thanks to Allah the unbearable 2nd semester final exam is finally over. It was a mess this 2nd semester. I didn't understand the classes quite right, our schedule was continuously hampered by the then dirty politics of the country, and the immense pressure of 23 credits, I'm so happy it's finally past (well, actually the result isn't out yet so can't say it's really over though). The exams went pretty much as expected. Math and electrical were not so good, physics and chemistry were good enough and electronics was somewhere in between. No hope about being in the merit list this time, hehe, I'm gonna be happy just to make it through. But who knows? Allah is powerful over all (even the result sheets).

Ashique was probably my first close and best friend in school, in life. We used to be inseparable. He left school after class 4 or 5. We last met in 1996. After 11 long years, we met again yesterday. He called me a couple of days ago, he got my number from another school friend. He remembers everything about me. I used to miss him a lot. From his words it seemed to me that he missed me all the while more than I missed him. He went through some tough times but now he is in a stable condition. It's great to find him again. Hope we will stay in touch from now on.

From 31 January I had the privilege of being present at the second largest Muslim gathering after the Hajj. Yes, I'm talking about the Tongi Ijtema. I anticipated it since the last one. I didn't stay at night, but I regularly attended the lectures of the elders. The place is huge, infact, if you haven't been there yourself, you have no idea about the magnitude of the place. The huge space is actually not enough for the magnitude of people who stay there. When I look around there, I see people from all over the country, from all fields of work. I see people who work in huge multinational companies, who earn tens of thousands, at the same frame I see people who live from hand to mouth. I see students, doctors, engineers, politicians, beggars, businessmen. But they are all living in the same state there. They are having food from the same plate, drinking water from the same glass, standing in lines to get to the toilet. They are living the same life there. The rich have left t...

Friend. Isn't that someone who's supposed to cry for your sorrow, rejoice for your happiness? Isn't that someone who would share the same views with you? You probably have a lot of friends then, who you can share your life with. There is always some chief goal in your life, a chief concern or target. A subject that drives your thoughts and guides your life. To some it's music, to some it's politics, or to some it's love for a 'special person' etc. This is the center point around which one's life and thoughts rotate. A friend is someone who you share these feelings with. I see most of the friend circles sitting and chatting about music and movies, or gossiping about their love lives, discussing what their loved ones said to them last night, or how they looked. So they have a common center point around which they themselves move and they share it with each other, so they are friends. Now, in this generation, if your center point of life is Islam, you...