Chasing Dreams

Jahed Rahman

Description

The book Chasing Dreams entails a unique story, though premised on a known maxim that life, in essence, is a bundle of aspirations and frustrations. Unlike most other literary commentaries, this story has no predominant character dictating the flow of events. Most major players in the story play prevailing roles when portraying their respective charisma, for that moment giving impressions about their respective dominant roles in the context of the story.

Azeem's decision to join the Pakistan army against the inclination of his loving Dada-ji (grandfather), his following shattered dreams, and the denial of his career progression in the Bangladesh army were successive debacles. In pursuing life, Shafiq, the much younger cousin of Azeem, played a unique role and discharged his responsibilities, as per the teachings of Dada-ji, in fulfilling the desires of the Madrasah-educated but very rural Dada-ji concerning the family. The story revolves around Dada-ji and his love and care for his grandsons, Azeem and Shafiq, and his granddaughter, Julaikha.

The uniqueness of the story is manifested in the love and support of the Pakistan army's Captain Riaz, the kindness and consideration shown by Babu Bijon Mohan Nag in trusting an unknown young Muslim man in the persona of Dada-ji, and the exceptional flexibility demonstrated by the dance teacher, Shibnath Bishwash, in accommodating Muslim Bijli and her grandma consequent to their home being gutted. Bijli portrayed the life and living of Jatra (a form of folk theater) party girls, was in love with Shafiq's father and youngest son of Dada-ji, Rakib, both to be victims of a boat capsize.

The story epitomizes the death of Azeem, the brutal murder of his son, Fazal, in a paramilitary-armed revolt, and the kidnapping of his growing grandson, Ameen. In all variable situations, life was never abandoned, and Rukiya, the wife of Azeem, nurtured and carried the torch of family dreams. She upheld that while saying Khuda-Hafeez to a loving grandson on his way to a higher education abroad. Life moves on with new hopes and dreams.

Sujets

• Musulmán
• Musulman
• Islam
• Fiction
• War
• Army
• Military

Informations

• Publié par: Stratton Press
• Date de parution: 29 juin 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781648954658
• Langue: English

Extrait

Chasing Dreams
 
 
 
 
Jahed Rahman
 
 

 
Chasing Dreams
Copyright © 2021 Jahed Rahman
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
Stratton Press Publishing
831 N Tatnall Street Suite M #188,
Wilmington, DE 19801
www.stratton-press.com
1-888-323-7009
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in the work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-64895-464-1
ISBN (Ebook): 978-1-64895-465-8
 
Printed in the United States of America
 
 
To my in-laws,
Rahela Abedin and Zainul Abedin

 
Contents
Backdrop
Context
Muddle
Anxiety
Angst
Twists
Trigger
Dazing
Pedigree
Process
Push
Venture
Dare
Wager
Apogee
Climax
About the Author

 
Previous publications by the author:
 
Bends and Shades (2014)
Indu (2015)
House of Twenty-Two Buffalos (2017)
Passion and Pathos (2019)

 
Backdrop
The tail end of my life amusingly appears to have a lot of similarity with my growing-up phase, stamped by indeterminate interests in matters of abstract virtuosity. Besides academic engagements, my principal focus was acting and writing while growing up.
As a class six student, I was selected by the local patrons of Sonapur to portray the role of the second son of Tipu Sultan of Mysore ( The Tiger of Kingdom of Mysore of India ) in a drama play so titled. My quasi involvement with dramatics continued throughout until I joined civil service. In between, and due to social compulsions, I had to walk out, with dismay, of an opportunity to join the nascent film industry of Dhaka as an actor.
During my growing-up, akin to a middle school phase, I very much liked history as a subject and used to sketch my disjointed thinking about presumed kings and queens and invincible heroes of made-up detective stories. I even had a pseudo name of Kuasha (Mist). As it came to my knowledge that someone from Dhaka was already writing with the same name, I changed that to Jhapsha (Fuzzy) at the behest of my immediate younger sister, Bilkis (died a few months back).
My writing took a more structured shape during my high school rung, when I started writing essays for schoolwide and interschool competitions on various occasions of social relevance. In my early youth coinciding with intermediate level (akin to the eleventh and twelfth grade of the American system) educational pursuits, I started writing one- and two-act plays, staged them at the local community level during vacations, and acted in some of them as well. The most embarrassing experience I sustained, while portraying a drunkard young man, was when I found my father adorning the chair of the chief guest as a replacement of the deputy commissioner of the district who could not make it.
As I moved to Dhaka for my intermediate education, I was bewildered. Even the then limited span and extent of Dhaka city, nothing compared to present Dhaka metropolitan, baffled me. I was at a loss in the new setting, but I also soon realized that focus and competence are pertinent but not all-embracing equations for access in pursuits of life, more extra-academic ones. One like me from a subdued social setting of Sonapur needs contact and support.
Armed with that realization, I made efforts to be visible when I got into the Dhaka University. I consciously bade adieu to my writing craving and happily got into acting in plays staged by the residential halls and the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union. I started enjoying portraying characters, mostly lead roles, scripted by more celebrated theater enthusiasts. That continued even when I was teaching in colleges. It logically came to an end as I joined government service.
The initial few years of my retirement in the serene and picturesque setting of Vancouver went merrily in the warm care and love of a few relatively young Bangladeshi couples. That was my most intimate relationship with Bangladeshis since leaving Dhaka in early 1980 to join the Asian Development Bank in Manila.
Destiny eventually ordained my relocation to Chicago, a place I never wanted to be. The irony is that since living in Evanston City, one of the contiguous suburb, I love genially living in Greater Chicago.
In the initial few months of living in Chicago, I realized, absolutely my personal prognosis, an apparent variance among the Bangladeshi-origin immigrated populace of Vancouver and Chicago. Those of Vancouver are mostly immigrants since early 1990s, with no typified prejudice about life and related professional competence, and most of them have had reasonable higher level of educational attainments. Chicago settlements, mostly beginning late 1950s and early 1960s, were of professionals, followed by hosts of new young arrivals since the early 1980s for studies and in search of jobs. Evidently, there were abrasions initially. That has since mostly been defused, but the elements of that subsumed feelings are still there. Thus, our full integration in the Bangladeshi community of Chicago took a relatively longer time. Once that phase was over, we were enthusiastically accepted by both sets of warm and friendly Bangladeshis of Chicago.
The interim period was a challenging one for me. I had no contact. Not many were aware of our presence in this large metropolis having about a third of Canada’s population.
Taking advantage of this situation, I decided to leave behind something in writing about our root and background for our progeny, if one is interested, since we as a family happily opted for a cross-cultural family setup. That took the shape of a biography titled Bends and Shades . That attainment recommenced and propelled my interest in writing anew. Subsequent publications are the logical outcome of that.
As I presented my last book titled Passion and Pathos , published in late 2019, to some friends and well-wishers happily coinciding with my eightieth year, I decided to retire from writing. Then the most devastating worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 took the whole humanity by shock and nervousness, with infections, ailment, hospitalization, and death becoming unpredictable and pervasive. Occupational pursuits, educational attendance, social interactions, and travel all became constrained, and continued through 2020.
Many obviously used this space in productive pursuits. I do not have that privilege, being a retired individual and being unfamiliar with most technological advancements of today, so I opted for writing to avoid tedium, and used my constricted existence within my home using illi mitable, and equally exasperating, time. Writing is an endeavor for which I do not have a natural proficiency but blessed with boundless alacrity. Chasing Dreams is the outcome of that in the prevalent constraining situation.
 
—Jahed Rahman

 
Context
That was a joyful evening in the Bilkhana official residence of Major Fazal Abbas of the Bangladesh paramilitary force, officially known as the Bangladesh Border Rifles (BBR). As in many countries, the BBR is an auxiliary force between the army and the police establishments of Bangladesh and manned by regular infantry with deputed army personnel at senior positions (officers’ level) on a rotation basis.
The r esidence of Major Abbas was full of friends and relations on the eve of his being promoted as a lieutenant colonel the following day in annual Durbar (akin to an annual general assembly), where discussions are held and guidance articulated as to the state of setting and affairs of the BBR. The event, because of its relevance as an annual event of distinction, had all the planning and preparation for excellence. It was divided into two segments. The first segment in the morning was to be presided over by the commandant in chief of the BBR. The second segment, commencing at noon, was to be graced by the president of the country in awarding recognitions to recommended officers, besides delivering his ceremonial presidential address. That was to be followed by Bara Khana (big feast).
The j oyousness and exuberance of that evening in the abode of Major Abbas were predicated on the frustrations of his late father, Major Azeem, and the ardent hopefulness of mother, Rukiya Azeem.
Father Azeem had been a student of Dhaka University during 1965 war between Pakistan and India. The war between the numerically and materially superior forces of India and tinier equivalence of Pakistan was projected to be at par even though the actuality remained undetermined. The physical reality at the end of the seventeen-day war and the media hype in Pakistan galvanized the mindset of Pakistanis at large. That ethos mirrored into the minds of younger East Pakistanis even though the war was fought in the western front of Pakistan only.
The other backup factor was the heroic performances of East Bengal regiments in a number of war fronts in West Pakistan, a perform