I Am Asif

কয়েক ঘণ্টা তো হয়ে গেল প্লেন ছেড়েছে। কোন শহরের উপরে এখন আমরা? গন্তব্যের দেশটার সীমানা ভেদ করেছি, সেটা জানি, আর গন্তব্য শহরের বেশ কাছাকাছিই আছি, সেটাও বলে দিচ্ছে আমার সামনের স্ক্রীনের লাইভ ম্যাপ। এয়ার ট্র্যাভেলে এই চ্যানেলটাই আমার সবচেয়ে প্রিয়।   একটু পর পর তাকাচ্ছি আমার পাশের জানালা দিয়ে। নাহ, নিচে এখনও ঘোর অন্ধকার। আসেনি এখনও সেই শহর...   কিছুক্ষণ পর, বাইরে তাকাতেই চোখে পড়ল আলো, কালোর মাঝে অসংখ্য বৈদ্যুতিক আলো। সামনের ডিসপ্লেতে চোখ বুলালাম। এই তো! অপেক্ষার পালা শেষ। আমার নিচেই এখন সেই নূরের শহর, আমার স্বপ্নের শহর, শান্তির শহর......   এই শহর যখন প্রথম চোখে পড়বে, তখন পড়বার জন্য বিশেষ একটি দুআই আছে! অনেকক্ষণ ধরে প্র্যাকটিসও করে রেখেছি। জানালায় মাথা ঠেকিয়ে, চোখ বড় করে তাকিয়ে পড়তে শুরু করলাম...... ও আল্লাহ ! এইতো তোমার নবীর শহর ! একে আমার জন্য জাহান্নামের আগুন থেকে রক্ষার, শাস্তি আর খারাপ হিসাব থেকে নিরাপত্তার মাধ্যম বানিয়ে দাও ! (ভাবার্থ) কি আশ্চর্য দুআ! আমাদের ঈমান, আমল, তওবা, কান্নাকাটি, সব তো জাহান্নাম থেকে বাঁচার জন্যে। দুনিয়ার জীবনের সফলতা...

It was a long drive to Pahang, around 8 hours I guess. With my friend Titash driving all night and me riding shotgun keeping tabs with the GPS, the drive was enjoyable for the major part. From brightly lit highways to dark swerving roads, it gave me a pretty good experience of night-time drives. Towards dawn I was seriously nodding off, going back and forth between dream and reality. After praying Fajr at a mosque in Jerantut, about an hour away from the National Park in Pahang, we had no choice but to take a nap right there. Then after a quick breakfast, we started again. And it began to get a bit tight. We were running out of gas, we didn't know if we'd find a gas station. We were running out of cash, not knowing if we'd find an ATM any time soon. But nonetheless we kept going, hoping the fuel and cash both will last this turn. And all of this trouble was to visit the National Park in Pahang. More specifically, to experience the canopy walkway. High near the treetops o...

As the train that takes us to the top of Penang Hill started to climb up, the trees and rock faces on both sides started to move away. And all of a sudden I'm high above the tree tops, and the sparkling city of Penang Island and the distant mountains are spread open before me, while the train track cracks a line between the green. Breathless, taking in the scenery while being unable to say anything but SubhanAllah , I remembered I need to start taking shots again! Penang Hill, Penang, Malaysia. Didn't expect the photos to turn out so nice to be honest. The train was moving at a considerable speed and was jam packed with tourists. Alhamdulillah, the time spent there was absolutely amazing and I enjoyed the splendid look and feel of the environment while trying to photograph them to the best of my ability. I highly recommend this spot to anyone travelling to Malaysia. Enjoy and Share.

[ Continued from Part 1. Click on the photos to get larger views in a new window, there you can also drop your comments on the individual photos.] The World Peace Stupa (Pagoda) is another popular destination in Pokhara. Part of the attraction is the large gleaming white structure of the pagoda with a golden statue of the Buddha at the very top of the hill, but it also draws people being one of the key vantage points providing stunning views of the Pokhara landscape. The drive up to the top was pretty scary indeed, our sturdy old jeep was twisting and turning its way upwards over the winding hilly path, the road only a bit wider than the vehicle itself. Had to walk up by foot for about 10 minutes to get to the peak. But just like in Sarangkot the previous day, the weather wasn't on my side. But here I had a good chance of putting my newbie photography skills to the test, trying out some real Panoramas. The result wasn't so bad. Panorama of the World Peace Pagoda. Cou...

This just shows how good I am at procrastinating, it took me a month to start writing a blog post about my Nepal tour. At first I thought I'd make a really descriptive post, but I'm just too lazy for that. So I thought I'd make it a photo blog instead. Makes the job much easier for me since many of the shots are already uploaded in G+/Picasa . Click on the photos to get larger views in a new window, there you can also drop your comments on the individual photos. My father is the kind of a person who doesn't wanna wait for something he's decided upon. It might be really hard to convince him into something, but once it's set in his mind, he just can't wait. So when one fine noon he casually informed me that they (my parents) are going to Nepal within a few days and I should let him know if I wanted to accompany them, I knew it was just a matter of time, and a very short time at that. So I was off to making a list of places to visit :D. Also, since I didn...

Ibn Abbas Radiyallahu Anhu narrates that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam said: Today you listen to me about Deen; tomorrow you will be heard. And then it will be heard from those, who heard from you. (Abu Dawud)  Although I’ve been acquainted with Tabligh for several years now, but only after going in this jamaat that I finally got to see and participate in the Dawah activities in full swing. The effort that is going on in the name of ‘Dawat-e-Tabligh’ in every corner of the globe now is the effort to re-establish the missing bond among Muslims. Deen cannot be rejuvenated in the hearts of the Muslims without the proper understanding of Allah Subhanu Ta’ala. So our Dawah consisted of just that, to remind the people of Allah’s identity as the controller of the whole creation. The goal of the Dawah is not to preach to others and give Hidaayat, but to acquire Hidayat from Allah for ourselves by preaching the very words that we want to set in our own hearts. Once this purpose ...

How can we correct ourselves if we don’t know what to correct? How can we adhere to Deen Islam if we don’t know what it asks from me? How can we follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (S) if we don’t understand its importance? How can we obey Allah if we don’t love Him? How can we love Allah if we don’t even know Him? It’s not possible to understand the value of something if there’s no effort behind it. Those who are brought up in rich families don’t understand how precious food is, because they never had to struggle for it, they never knew hunger. We claim nowadays that just because we have recited the Kalima we’ve become Mu’min . But how strange is our Imaan that it cannot prevent us from an action which we ourselves know is a grave sin, in what level is our Imaan that it cannot improve our behavior, doesn’t make us humble, kind and soft hearted. What kind of Imaan do we posses that makes us arrogant and selfish? What sort of Imaan do we have that it cannot take us to the masjid w...

The last day on our trip to The Sundarbans started on an island called Dublar Char . This is a place famed for its shutki , a kind of dried fish preparation popular in Bangladesh. Right after daybreak we got out on the land to check out the place. This area is occupied for a certain period of the year by fishermen who catch fish and dry them up to produce the shutki. So almost all the people who live here are seasonal fishermen. Now in our family, we never were fans of shutki, mostly because of its awful stench. I remember back when we were in Elephant Road, our next door neighbors used to cook shutki every now and then, and we all started running this way and that, hurrying to close all the windows. So for a guy like me, this shutki island is not the place to be. If you don’t like the smell as well, you should be glad that you can’t smell them through the photos, cuz otherwise you would have to run away from the monitor. Rows upon rows of bizarre looking dried fish are hung upon s...

The sun was shining bright in the winter morning when we reached Katka . This place offers a whole set of varying experiences. We had to get into our boat again at first and head into a canal for a short distance before we came to a landing spot from where the walk towards the sea beach started. This walk of about 45 minutes is a fun ride by itself. At the beginning the forests were at a pretty fair distance on either side of our path, as our caravan of 63 with the two armed gunmen at the front and back walked deeper into the region. Soon the tree-lines started to close in on us. And then came the spot called Jamtoli , were the path only allowed a single file, and the tree branches and bushes brushed us from the sides. Now, these parts of Katka are famous for spotting tigers and a considerable number of tigers are believed to be living in and around this region. This is the area where the famed tigress ‘ Jamtolir Raani ’ (The Queen of Jamtoli) was spotted. So passing through this narr...

When we reached the region of Kochikhali, it was already getting dark. So for the rest of the night we had nothing to do but to spend the time by ourselves as our ship lay anchored at some river-branch. From the evening, me, Kanto, our beloved teacher Ferdous sir, Monzur sir, Nobin and several others sat at the very roof of the launch. From before the journey I was very eager to witness the quiet of the night and the sky once we’re inside the forest region. Here in Dhaka, we’re always deprived of the beauty of night sky thanks to the air and light pollution. So there beneath the sky I sat, looking up frequently. At first there was no moon, and the sky was filled with a dazzling collection of distant stars. It was amazing to note that despite the utter randomness of the stars up above, there was a strange sense of order in them that knew no algorithm or pattern. It was a pattern with no patterns that screamed out the Majesty of Allah’s creativity that made a man with the slightest of si...

Monday morning we started later than we wanted to. We were actually pretty damn tired from the extended amount of walking on the previous day. We checked out of the hotel and kept our baggage at Nahiyan's place, and took a public transport known as tempo here in our country, towards Jaflong. On our way to Jaflong we feasted our eyes with the sight of the huge mountains that are visible across the border, over in India. Well, "the mountains are always higher on the other side of the fence", hehe. The shear magnitude of the mountain range clicked the inquisitive part of my mind, it made me wonder, what secrets lay hidden in those deep valleys covered with trees. There must be places within those mountains and forests that no one has ever set foot upon. Truly Allah's creation is way wider than our thoughts can be. Jaflong is a place that combines sand, stone, and crystal clear water in a fascinating way. It is a tourist spot, yet the place is busy with labor, men ...