Maqsoodul Haque

It was immediately after the overthrow of the dictator H.M. Ershad in 1990 that our nation made its gradual progress towards representative democracy. Like all avenues of culture, dictatorship of nearly fifteen years brought in its wake several new and abominable cultures that the nation was least prepared for. The euphoria of freedom post 1990-91 led on to a democratic transition with open elections which on surface was 'free and fair'.

The tragic events of August 1975 had cascading effects in our cultural life, with very few equals in our tumultuous history. It was to be the beginning of a long and debilitating experience as our political life i.e. a new nation with a nascent democracy, strong trends towards secularism and progressive efforts at driving culture

Post independence Bangladesh had lingering sadness creeping into our lives and would overwhelm our culture at every juncture. The first years were spent trying to resuscitate the nation back from its collective grief and trauma of the war.

Unfortunately, these conflicts have spilled over to the millennium where 'globalization' or 'global cultures' are just not random inferences.

For those of us not using chauffeur driven cars and literally 'battling' an existence by self driving or using Uber, CNG three wheelers or public transports to commute - matters in the lanes, by lanes, streets and main roads of Mirpur where I live is a time bomb ticking to explode. Unending and ongoing 'development works' of nearly four years, have rendered all side and by lanes impassable to traffic.

On the evening of 1st July 2016 I had set out to a mall in Mirpur with my family for some shopping ahead of Eid. Around 8 pm I logged into Facebook and saw a friend's post in my newsfeed that said, “Gunshots heard around Gulshan 2. Folks in the vicinity please take care.” It was too benign a warning to be taken seriously.

Life revolves around our experiences and first hand experiences determine our course of action in dealing with the many travails of life itself.

It was a relief for Lucky Bhai. He now had a place to rest and recuperate to functional levels in what turned out to be the last months of his life. He could also get to meet legions of fans and well-wishers who would come and cheer him up. But the see-saw in his health continued. He would recover well enough and would start singing and composing, leaving his indomitable spirit tired, and have yet another relapse.