I Am Asif

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