Road to litterateur Abul Mansur Ahmed's village in sorry state

Unusable during the monsoon months, the roads leading to the historical home where renowned satirist Abul Mansur Ahmed was born are themselves somewhat of a satire. While none of the 20 kilometres of dirt road in the area of Mymensingh's Dhanikola and adjacent villages are in prime condition, the final four kilometre Char Kumaria – Natiarpar Bottola Road is the worst.

Born in 1898, the late Abul Mansur Ahmed was a Bangladeshi litterateur, politician and journalist. As a political activist he was involved in the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements during the British period. He was elected Member of Parliament from Trishal in the mid 1950s and served as minister for education, and later commerce and trade in the then Pakistan government.

Ahmed's literary legacy includes three novels, four satires and four works of reminiscence. His writings are often considered most noteworthy for their wittiness.

Every year people travel even from afar to visit Ahmed's birthplace, and also the home in adjacent Ujaan Bhatipara village of another renowned litterateur, politician and journalist, also Ahmed's friend, Abul Kalam Shamsuddin. But during the rainy season any such expedition is likely to become a futile venture due to the condition of the roads.

"We feel so proud that great literary personalities like Ahmed and Shamsuddin were born here," says Md Walid Bin Khoshru, the headmaster of Dhanikhola Osmania High School. "But their villages are neglected and the state of road communication is dreadful."

The headmaster of Mohammadpur High School in Trishal, Ayub Ali, believes that, at the least to properly honour the two local litterateurs Dhanikhola union should be properly developed.

"There should be institutions," says local poultry and fish farmer Md Ashraful Alam, "to honour these two historical figures. Libraries should be established in their names."

Beyond the inconvenience to visitors wishing to connect with literary and political history, however, the state of Dhanikhola's roads causes a much hardship for locals, including about 400 students who use the roads to reach their classes daily.

There are 19 villages in Dhanikhola union, and poor road transport is an unfortunate reality in at least 5 of them.

"On several occasions we have requested the concerned authorities to construct better roads in the union, especially in Dhanikhola village, to no effect," says local chairman Asadullah Asad.

Many locals also support the renaming of an improved Char Kumaria – Natiarpar Bottola Road after Abul Mansur Ahmed, to honour him.