by Taj63622
Chapter 33
She scans the ground carefully, not knowing whom to choose. There was a girl at the back of the class, who raised her hand, and waved it at her to prove her eagerness to answer the question. She pointed at her, prompting the girl to rise to her feet, whereupon she excitedly answers the Mastorni’s question.
‘I want to be a doctor when I grow up,’ the girl says.
She was impressed, but equally confused.
‘How do you become a doctor?’ she asks the girl.
‘By giving people medicines,’ the girl answers.
She shook her head hopelessly at the creature, while Dhadhi, who sat nearby on a chair, puts a hand on her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
Her name was no longer Mayah. The whole neighbourhood, including the Shahiraj of Rajshahi, calls her Mastorni, and with good reason. She has set up her own little school here. The classroom was an area of ground on the sandy balcony, accosted between the overlooking flats. Her pupils are those children, who do not or cannot attend school, and sometimes, those adults and parents who desired to learn English. These children have attended municipality schools to complete their primary education. Primary schools do not teach English because the resources are too expensive for the government to supply. Thus, she filled the void by offering them tuition instead, not only to teach English, but also to offer guidance to parents, who overlook the importance of continuing their children’s education. Their poor financial circumstance was often the cause, but she advised them at least to take full advantage of the free primary education. There was no penalty for being absent from school. Attendance was irregular, furthered by some parents' leniency to exert pressure on their child to regulate their attendance and punctuality.
The number of pupils in her class was a surprising turnout, evolving from a simple question. She was helping Dhadhi unhang some clothes from the washing line, when she noticed some parents bringing their children home from school. It was comforting to learn that there were parents here, who ensured their children do attend school. However, her relief was short-lived, when one of the mothers voiced her concerns of having to discontinue her daughter’s education in a year’s time. Her daughter was one of five children. Her husband cannot afford to fund all their higher education, and so, when he came to choose, he gave his sons preference to continue their schooling. A year ago, he terminated his eldest daughter’s education upon her completion of primary school. Now she was eleven and destined to learning household chores. Many girls suffered the same fate, and it did not just stop at girls. Poverty struck both sexes, but it was the girls, who bore the brunt. Parents often gave them a promising start, but their ambition diminishes with the coming of age, which is more apparent on a girl.
This was not news to her ears, yet she could not offer any words of consolation or advice. She felt obliged to change the subject and departed them with a heavy heart. She wished to have done something to alleviate the mother’s concerns, but what could she do. It bothered her a great deal, and became the prime topic of discussion at the dinner table. The Shahiraj of Rajshahi, and the flatmates, did not appear startled at her distress. They reasoned that there was more than one issue to overcome to bring about a positive change, and related from their own experience. Firstly, there was the issue of money. Parents of modest income do not have the courage to expend their earnings on education, however beneficial they may consider it. Those that are willing to invest, become selective, giving their sons preference. At least that way they will reap the reward of their investments, whereas daughters will eventually marry and settle down with their own families. What hope is there for her to have a career?
The issue of gender inequality is a difficult subject to address to the illiterate. To impart any understanding in them, she will have to remove the root of the problem – the absence of education itself. “The only way you can help,” quipped Live Wire at the breakfast table the next morning, where she continued the discussion “is by making education free for all.”
The look on each person’s face at the table was worth capturing, as they realised the effect of Live Wire’s advice upon her. The Shahiraj of Rajshahi became wary of her long silence, Live Wire watched in confusion, the flatmates smiled in humour, and Dhadhi drank her tea unable to fix on a reaction. None was accustomed to her silence, in particular the Shahiraj of Rajshahi, whose uneasiness was clearly visible. When he fearfully questioned the reasons behind her brightened expression, she merely said “blackboard”.
She cannot make education free for all, but she will do as much as she can to avoid the children becoming education free. Since this was Live Wire’s suggestion, she obliged him to help make it true. That very morning, the Shahiraj of Rajshahi brought her a blackboard, which she took down to the balcony. Live Wire was her only pupil. The English alphabet was the only subject. Curiosity attracted many children to wander towards her, and wonder at what she was teaching. Within two weeks, she had an entire class, of both sexes and many ages. Amongst English, she also taught Mathematics. Very soon, she will venture into other subjects too. But whatever subject she taught, she was under the consolation that each child came here at its own will. Where there was passion to learn, subjects were enjoyable to teach.
‘That is what a doctor does,’ she informs the girl. ‘To become a doctor you must have really good academics. The field is such that you must have top grades in your sciences and speak English. For that, you must go to school. Not wander around the grounds playing or working,’ she adds meaningfully to Live Wire, who was also a pupil.
At home, Live Wire would not spare an opportunity to tease her or pull her legs, but here, he was a well-behaved child. If another pupil should speak when she spoke, or laugh at one of her speeches of wisdom, Live Wire would quickly come to her defence. The children would always take heed to his action, even if it were a simple gesture of putting his finger to his lips to order silence. The other day, some children, not of this neighbourhood, stood on the side and giggled at her. Live Wire became so livid, that he approached them head on, and dared them to laugh again. Suspecting a commotion, she intervened, but it was not necessary. The children took off without causing any further scene. Such was the effect of being Shahiraj of Rajshahi’s acquaintance.
‘What about you?’ she points next at a boy in the middle of the class. The children in the neighbourhood nicknamed him Hero for all the obvious reasons. He gets to his feet and answers.
‘I want to be an actor,’ he says, running his hand through his hair suavely. ‘Amir Khan Style,’ he adds, undoing and redoing the knot of his neckerchief.
He could very well be an actor. He certainly had the charms and confidence of a movie Hero.
‘Whether an actor or a doctor,’ she reasons, gesturing Hero to sit down, ‘you will need to speak good English. This brings us onto our topic for today - pronunciation.’
She turns to the blackboard, and chalks down an example from her workbook. She never considered teaching as a profession, but her recent experience in it made her realise how enjoyable she found it. There was little else to do otherwise. It will be two weeks tomorrow since the Shahiraj of Rajshahi set BanGool on the task to find Dhadhi's brother. Whenever they seek updates from him, he says so little on the progress of his investigation that it was difficult to determine what he has discovered, if anything at all. “Work in silence,” he often said. Until BanGool does not come back with results, she decided to do something worthwhile. Sometimes, she wondered how the women here pass their time just simply doing household chores. Talking to some of the women, she found that they are not entirely content with the monotonousness of their daily routine. Granted, the older generation had a different upbringing, but those similar to her age were not properly encouraged to pursue a career or indeed higher education. It is no wonder why many of them sat in her class to learn English.
When she was not teaching, she would accompany the Shahiraj of Rajshahi to his street talks. She noted each one down, an
d when she recited it to him in English, he would praise his own speech, adding that, his words transcribed in English, had him sound like a philosopher. She has met his network of friends and acquaintances, and as such, has become very fond of the staff at the dhaba. They have also come to learn of her and Dhadhi's purpose in Bangladesh. Whenever she visits the dhaba, they always made a big deal, referring to them as Shahiraj bhai's “specials”. The flatmates were also getting used to having Dhadhi around the house. Before she and Dhadhi became unexpected guests, each flatmate would take his turn to cook. But Dhadhi has seemingly taken an authoritative position within the household, preparing meals for them, all ready to eat upon their return from work. They expressed their appreciation many times, and held Dhadhi in high esteem. They even commented that Dhadhi so easily voided the absence of their mothers.
She felt too much at comfort to worry about the agenda of her visit. She might as well enjoy her visit, for worrying and regret will not improve her situation. Admittedly, she was rather grateful at the way past events have shaped her present. If she had returned to England, then she may never have made this many new friends or witnessed this way of life.
But her parents were less understanding. As suspected, they were in Sylhet, staying at Shapla Hotel. However, in receipt of the message she sent, they have now returned to England. They were here for two nights, but the phone signal being very poor in Sreemangal, she could not receive their messages or calls to alert her of their arrival. They did not know Jameel Dhadha's address either, and only managed to contact her, when she was in main town Sylhet. This meant that they had received the text message, which she sent the night before she and Dhadhi were due to depart the country. Fearing that they will return home to find no one there, her parents took the next available flight to England. Of course, by then, she had no phone or address.
The other day, she spent an hour in the internet café. The email to her parents detailed the events between now and then. Some details she left out and others she embellished, or rather rewrote completely under Dhadhi’s direction. Her parents were worried anyhow, and giving the update that Dhadhi was hospitalised, and that they were staying with three strangers in a random district of Sylhet, will only increase their blood pressure. Besides, they will learn the truth once they are here. She advised them to email her as soon as they have a date to revisit the country, for she lost her phone and was staying with Jameel Dhadha again. She had to lie. Dhadhi promised to call him once they returned home. He was too kind to overlook their missed call, giving rise to the strong possibility that he would call them instead, and so bring the truth to her parents’ attention. Thus, they pretended to be calling from England. If they told Jameel Dhadha the truth, he would worry unnecessarily, and insist them to stay with him in Sreemangal until they do not resolve their situation. It would have been a sensible option to consider, but they could not overdo their rights as guests in his house anymore. Once her parents are here, she will take Jameel Dhadha into confidence.
The Shahiraj of Rajshahi has been kind enough to take her to the internet café every day to check her emails. Her parents have not booked any flights yet. She told them to book their accommodation at Shapla hotel again, and from there she will collect them. She has no clue to how she will confront them with the truth. But it was not a hurdle she must overcome presently.
She no longer knows who knows what, or what she knew about anything. Everything was all over the place. Dhadhi constantly reassured her that everything would fall into place eventually. Shockingly, she was enjoying every twist and turn of her adventure in the country. She has not found the lost, but has discovered many things previously unknown. Even the mosquitoes have left her alone.
As she writes the next sentence on the blackboard, she hears a clap of hands about her, and a familiar voice informing the children that school is finished for today due to unforeseen circumstances. The children do not disperse at the Shahiraj of Rajshahi's instruction, but upon her nod of approval she terminates the class for today. She regards the Shahiraj of Rajshahi sometimes in puzzlement and other times indignantly. That much she understood that he must have good reasons to cause this disturbance, but that much she did not like that he must terminate her class so abruptly. Dhadhi also comes over to gain an understanding. He does not explain immediately. Instead, he takes off his hat and places it on her head. He only does this when he has a plan up his sleeves.
Then, smiling knowingly, he gently flicks her nose, and merely says that they have found something. Or rather, they have found someone.