Jan 27, 2012
Kaiser Ali was born in Murshidabad, British India. He told me that his house was next to Mir Zafar's house. He went to the primary school founded by Mani Begum, Mir Zafar's wife. He completed his matriculation in 1946 from the Nawab Bahadur Institution. He learned Arabic, Urdu, English and Farsi in school. The years before partition was full of turmoil and chaos in Musrshidabad. There were several riots. On March 1, 1950 Kaiser Ali left for East Pakistan. He and his wife started at 2 AM on a palanquin. Later, they took the train from Lalgolahat to Rajshahi.
Since they had to leave in the middle of the night, they could not bring much with them. His wife had some cash on hidden in her clothes. When they arrived in Rajshahi, the means of transportation was 'tomtom' (horse driven carriages). It was a new thing for them. Kaiser Ali started working for a cloth merchant in Shaheb Bazar in Rajshahi city. Later he joined the Star Studios and worked there for 35 years until his retirement in 2003.
Kaiser Ali said life in Rajshahi is mostly peaceful. He bought a house that was owned by a Hindu, who migrated to India. He went to Murshidabad once during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. But his relatives back in his hometown were not welcoming. They feared that Kaiser Ali might ask for his property back. He never went back since then.
Kaiser Ali is 80 years old now. He lives with his son and grandson in his house in Rajshahi. He calls it his town, but home is Murshidabad. I have met his grandson, Mridul, an aspiring youngman. He did not know much about his family history and sat beside me during the whole interview. It is situation like this that makes the work for the 1947 Partition Archive worth it.
Kaiser Ali was born in Murshidabad, British India. He told me that his house was next to Mir Zafar's house. He went to the primary school founded by Mani Begum, Mir Zafar's wife. He completed his matriculation in 1946 from the Nawab Bahadur Institution. He learned Arabic, Urdu, English and Farsi in school. The years before partition was full of turmoil and chaos in Musrshidabad. There were several riots. On March 1, 1950 Kaiser Ali left for East Pakistan. He and his wife started at 2 AM on a palanquin. Later, they took the train from Lalgolahat to Rajshahi.
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| Kaiser Ali and his brother in law in Hajar Duari Garden, Murshidabad in the 1930s |
Kaiser Ali said life in Rajshahi is mostly peaceful. He bought a house that was owned by a Hindu, who migrated to India. He went to Murshidabad once during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. But his relatives back in his hometown were not welcoming. They feared that Kaiser Ali might ask for his property back. He never went back since then.
Kaiser Ali is 80 years old now. He lives with his son and grandson in his house in Rajshahi. He calls it his town, but home is Murshidabad. I have met his grandson, Mridul, an aspiring youngman. He did not know much about his family history and sat beside me during the whole interview. It is situation like this that makes the work for the 1947 Partition Archive worth it.
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| Kaiser Ali with his grandson Mridul |
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