Day 14 in Dhaka

Feb 5, 2012

My days in Bangladesh are coming to an end. I am scheduled to fly back on the 9th of Feb. This might be my last blog as I intend to spend some time with my family and ofcourse, shopping :)

Last week, I visited the Haridasi Woman and Child Care and Nutrition Centre in Gokorno, Comilla. It is an NGO that works for the poor villagers of Gokorno. The founder, Dr. Marufi Khan and her team of volunteers (that included a doctor, an accountnant a teacher) and I headed for Comilla one fine morning. We reached there by noon. The little ones arrived by 1 PM for their meal. I had the opprtunity to serve food for the little ones. I will remember this day for a long time.

Haridasi Woman and Child Care and Nutrition Centre started 12 years ago and works to improve the health of the young children and pregnant mothers of the area. It serves free milk and meal twice a week to the children and pregnant and nursing mothers. It also has a clinic that has doctors and a pathology lab that treats the villagers with a nominal fee.

Dr. Shirin Jahan volunteers for the Haridasi Centre on weekends

The team of volunteers from Dhaka with Dr. Marufi Khan at the Haridasi Centre, Gokorno, Comilla

Day 13 in Dhaka

Feb 4, 2012

If you ever lived in Bangladesh, you'd be familiar with the name Ispahani. It is a common household name. I grew up with it as it is the brand of tea that is used in our house everyday. And it is probably the best brand in Bangladesh. I did not think of much of the name Ispahani until I was introduced to someone named Mariam Ispahani in San Jose, California by my friend Guneeta. The first time I met Mariam, I took a Ispahani tea bag in a ziploc bag and asked her, "Is this your people?"

She laughed and said, Yes!
I was happy that I could relate the name with a person. Mariam and I became friends fast. Coincidentally, when I made my plans for the Bangladesh trip for the 1947 Paritition Archive, Mariam too made plans for coming to Dhaka. We decided to meet and have 'tea'.



Mirza Ahmad Ispahani (1898-1986) establised the Ispahani Limited in 1934 in Calcutta

The plan was to visit her parents and hear her family history from her dad, Alijoon Ispahani. Unfortunately, Alijoon uncle was not in in town when I was in Dhaka. But I did get a chance to meet Mariam's mom, Ameneh Ispahani. Mariam and her parents live in a place called the Ispahani Colony in the heart of Dhaka. I was curious about the origin of the name and learnt that the Ispahanis had a huge property in that area and primarily lived there. Today many of the family members have moved to other locations but the name stayed behind. Mariam and her family have been living in the Ispahani colony for more than 30 years now. The house is a 3 story building with a beautiful lawn and garden infront of it. It is quite rare to have such a big compound and garden in the city today. I sat down and asked Mariam about her family history.




Mariam Ispahani talks about her family in the Ispahani Colony in Dhaka, Bangladesh

The Ispahanis moved from Espahan, Persia to Bombay in 1820 and established the MM Ispahani Limited, one of the largest business concerns of the Sub-Continent. The family subsequently expanded to include a broad range of businesses stretching from Bombay in the west, to Madras in the south and Burma in the east which until the 1930's was part of British India. Mirza Abu Talib Ispahani was one of the earliest visitors from the sub-continent to England in 1799. Many of their descendants were educated at universities in UK. Some held legal, diplomatic, and political positions in the West as well as some in the sub-continent. His grandson Haji Mirza Mehdy Ispahani (1841–1913) moved the corporate headquarters to Madras. He also spent twelve years in Cairo expanding his trade - leather, tea, turmeric; tamarind, peanuts and other produce of India. He opened a branch office in Dhaka in the year 1888. His son Mirza Mohamed Ispahani (1871–1925) established the Calcutta office of MM Ispahani & Sons in the year 1900, when a branch office was also established in London.

Mirza Ahmad Ispahani (1898–1986) eldest son of Mirza Mohamed Ispahani joined the partnership in 1918 and established the private limited company, M.M. Ispahani Limited in 1934 in Calcutta along with his younger brothers Mirza Abol Hassan Ispahani and Haji Mirza Mahmood Ispahani. When the British India was devided, the Ispahanis moved their corporate headquarters to Chittagong in the newly created East Pakistan in 1947 where it stands today. By 1947, MM Ispahani Limited was the foremost exporter of shellac, kapok, hessian, jute bags, tea and chemicals. In 1948 Mirza Ahmad Ispahani left the family business for public service where he and his brother Mirza Abol Hassan Ispahani played a pivotal role in the formation and industrialisation of the new country of Pakistan (currently Bangladesh).
His son Mirza Mehdy Ispahani (a.k.a. Sadri Ispahani) born in 1923, was made chairman of M.M. Ispahani Limited in 1949 and remained in that post until he died in 2004. The company now has corporate offices in Chittagong, Dhaka and Khulna where it employs over 20,000 people in many sectors such as tea, textile, real estate, crisps, poultry, shipping and internet services.

Mirza Mahmood was Mariam's grand father. He, along with most of his family members migrated to W. Paksitan from Calcutta after partition. While Mariam's father, Alijoon and his cousin Sadri migrated to E. Pakistan. The families kept close touch during the years of Paksitan (1947-1971). When the liberation war broke out in 1971, many of the Ispahanis left Dhaka for Karachi, while Alijoon, Sadri and his sons stayed back in Dhaka. When Bangladesh became independent, it was these members of the Ispahanis who took hold of the family business.
The Ispahanis have many charitable organizations, such as the Islamia Eye Hospital, the Ispahani School and College in Dhaka, Comilla and Chittagong. Today this big family is spread all over the sub-continent, in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.







Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._M._Ispahani

Day 12 in Dhaka

Feb 1, 2012

Her name is Abeda Fahmi. She lives in Uttara, Dhaka in a big apartment building. When I went to meet her, I met a young man in the garage vacuuming his car. I asked if he knew the apartment Mrs. Abeda Fahmi resides in. He told me that she lives on the fourth floor, I should press 3 on the lift. Oh yes, the British system, I almost forgot that first floor is really ground floor here.

The last Moghul Nawab, Wazid Ali Shah of Lucknow, 1847-1856

Mrs. Fahmi opened the door herself and welcomed me into her apartment. I sat down and talked to her about the 1947 Partition Archive. She began to unfold her story. The Fahmis are descendants of the last Moghul Nawab Wazid Ali Shah of Awadh. When the British took over the Mughal empire in 1856, he left Lucknow and settled in Matiyaburuj, Kolkata. The Fahmis are originally from Matiyaburj but are scattered all over the world today. While she was talking about her family, the young man from the garage appeared and introduced himself. He was Mrs. Fahmi's only son and a pilot for the Bangladesh Biman.

Abeda Fahmi graduated with an MA from the Karachi University

Abeda Fahmi was born in KishoreGanj, E. Bengal, British India in 1936. Her father was a goverment service holder and was posted all over India during his service life. Eventhough she was born in E. Bengal, her early days were spent in Kolkata. She remembers the riots of 1946 as a little girl. Her house was in Park Circus, which was a Muslim majority area. Baligunje was a little further away, which was a Hindu majority area. She saw many processions between these two neighborhoods.
In 1947 her father was given a choice of migrating to Pakistan or staying back in India as a government employee. He opted for Pakistan. The family moved to E. Pakistan on 14th Aug 1947. They took the train from Kolkata and arrived in Goalondo. Then took a steamer to Mymensingh.

Abeda Fahmi did most of her schooling in E. Pakistan. When she was studying in the Dhaka University, her father was posted in Karachi. She graduated with her MA in Islamic History from the Karachi University in 1962. The Fahmis are Urdu speaking but has adopted the language of the land, Bangla. She studied in Bangla medium. Her career  spread over 4 deacdes. She retired as the headmistess of the New Government Girls High School of Armanitola, Dhaka. Eventhough she has settled in Dhaka, her family is spread all over the world. Her sister lives in Karachi, brother in USA and many relatives back in India. Today she lives with her son, Golam Abid in Dhaka.

Abeda Fahmi talks about her family

Rajshahi days-3

Some pictures of Rashahi....

My first school, P.N Girls High School. I went to this school from grade I to III

I found this beautiful terracota mandir in Rajshahi....

Rajshahi is the silk city of Bangladesh. I visited a silk factory and watched how the silk worms are grown and silk sarees are made.

And I bought sarees :)

Rajshahi silk

Rajshahi Days-2

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.

Kaiser Ali and his brother in law in Hajar Duari Garden, Murshidabad in the 1930s

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 with his grandson Mridul

 

Rajshahi Days-1

Jan 25, 2012
I met Mrs. Suraiya Begum today. She lives in a big mansion in Rajshahi. Once her house was full of people. She and her husband late Advocate Abdus Salam had 3 sons, 5 daughters and many helping hands living in the house. Now the house is almost empty. Mrs. Suraiya Begum lives there with one of her daughters and grandchildren.

Mrs. Suraiya Begum talks about her life in Calcutta

Suraiya was born in Sundarpur, Darshana. She was married at an early age to Mr. Abdus Salam of KrishanaNagar. After the  partition she migrated to Rajshahi with her husband and in laws. They exchanged most of their property in India. Mr. Salam was a successful lawyer and was an influancial man in Rajshahi.
But tragedy struck the family in 1971. On 25 March, Pakistani Army came to their house and took her two sons away. The eldest son was going to Engineering University and the second one was in Rajshahi College. They also took her 2 of her brother in laws and a nephew that night. These 5 innocent men never came home.  Mrs. Suraiya Begum sheds her tears till this day for her sons.

I also met her brother in law, Mr. Badiuazzaman. He too had migrated from India during partition as his father, who was a government employee, opted for Pakistan. They migrated thinking, Pakistan would be a new country for the Muslims. But things changed in 24 years. The East Pakistanis felt they were treated differently by the West Pakistanis. The liberation war started in March 1971. Mr. Badiuzzaman was a freedom fighter. He fought for his country, he fought to save the people of his country. He too remembers the 5 members of his family who were lost forever on March 25, 1971.

The 5 men of the family who were taken away by the Pakistani Army on Mar 25, 1971. They were gone without a trace.

Travelling across the country

Jan 23, 2012

All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy. I decided to take a break and have some fun. I attended a friend, Suravi's wedding in Dhaka. I met so many of my friends of my childhood.

Then, I felt it was time to change gear. I headed for the North Bengal. First stop, Sirajganj.

The scenary changed as soon as I left Dhaka. The countryside is soo green!

Sirajganj is on the river Jamuna. I crossed the river via Jamuna bridge by train. Jamuna is so wide that one cannot see the bank from the other side.



On the bank of Jamuna

I spent couple of days in Sirajganj, visited the very old grandmother and headed for Rajshahi. I have a special attachment with Rajshahi. It is the city where I was born. It is the city where I spent the first few years of my life.

Rajshahi photos...coming next