My Life Is a Wonderful Journey

By Dr. Miah M. A. Quader

No book, no writing exercise book, no paper, no pen, nothing. But I cannot stop going to school. I continued going to school bare hand, bare body and bare foot. I did observe what the teacher demonstrated. I did listen to what the teacher said. I did one thing. During the class gaps, I used to borrow books from other students and looked at the lessons. Although the gaps would have short time, this helped me a lot. This is the way I proceeded.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Aug 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781543756722

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Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Miah M. A. Quader.

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 any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Struggle in the Morning

Primary Education

Chapter 2 Struggle Intensified on the Way

Chapter 3 High School

Chapter 4 College Education

Chapter 5 University

Chapter 6 Service Life

Chapter 7 War Time

Chapter 8 Higher Education

Post Graduate Diploma

Master of Engineering Degree

Doctor of Engineering Degree

Environment of AIT

Chapter 9 Teaching

Publications

Chapter 10 Project Management

Chapter 11 Some Achievements

National Level

International Level

Change in Poverty - Affluence

Education Attainment

Time Scales in Education

Scholarship Received

Project Experience

Project Experience

Teaching Experience

Accomplishment

Chapter 12 Environment

(a) My Family

(b) Hyderabad Primary School

(c) Rani Bilash Moni High School

(d) Dhaka College

(e) Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

(f) Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

(g) Own Rural House (at that time)

(h) Premier Place Condo (Bangkok)

(I) Own House in Dhaka

My Extended Family

This book is dedicated to my

Father: Safiz Uddin

Mother: Majiden Nisa Begam

Wife: J N Begam

Introduction

T he kind of events that happened in my life through the grace of Almighty, the way these have happened and the way life has flown, are not like an ordinary life. I hope there are a lot of things to learn, it will be interesting to many and to many people it will work as examples.

Chapter 09 Some Achievements is a unique presentation. It is a summary of some greatest events in my life which have been presented in graphics to show in statistical manner on how each of these events portrayed a significant role upon changing my life as a whole. These aspects are presented in six selected sections.

Chapter 12 Environment gives through a series of photographs a light on my study and living environment changes.

01

Struggle in the Morning

C omplete rural setting. All huts. No question of a building structure. Our house is one of the huts in the small village. Two sides west and north surround cultivable land not belonging to us. There are other huts on east and south. On the southern side is the house of my maternal uncle. It is another hut. They are two brothers. After my grandfather and grandmother passed away mom took them here.

On the southern side of our hut there is a veranda. Hasina Banu is my sister from the maternal uncle side. Banu used to go to school every day. I would stand in our veranda and observe her. How it is nice of her that she goes to school every day. It could be wonderful if I could also go to school like her!

Who knows whether such an opportunity would come! It is a dream only! We are so poor that I cannot think of going to the school.

One day she looked at me and said, will you go to school with me?

Such an offer looked unbelievable. I was bewildered with joy. I could not speak, only shaked my head. She said, tell your mom you are going to school with me. I became mad with joy, ran to mom and said, apa (sister) I do not have any clothe other than this lungi. This lungi is also torn out. Will the teachers beat me for this? Banu apa said, you come with me. I looked at mom with at tears on eyes, then proceeded with apa.

Mom, I am going to school with Banu apa (sister). She cried with joy, put her right hand over my head and prayed. However, she said, you do not have any clothe other than a torn-out lungi. I ran to Banu apa and said, I don’t have any dress.

When I reached the school, everybody was looking at me. I discovered that I was the only boy who had only a lungi, had no shirt, no book and was bare footed. The teacher stared at me but did not say anything. When Banu apa explained that I had nothing more than that, I was accepted.

With efforts from Banu apa, I got admitted. A teacher asked me, what happened you do not have even a shirt! I had no answer. It was my great joy that I could be accepted and was able to get admitted.

It was few days when papa knew that I was going to school, he became extremely surprised how it was possible for such a poor boy to go to school! What he could only do was to pray to God for me.

It is not a big problem for me that I do not have a school dress, but it is really a big problem that I do not have any book and anything to write. One teacher asked me, where is your shirt? Politely I said,

Sir, I do not have any.

In fact, there is no student who does not have a shirt, shoe or sandal. However, I didn’t mind. I have been able to come to school and the teachers have accepted me; I am fortunate!

Papa had two more brothers. They had separate families. Three together had about 30 decimals of land which accommodated three family huts. The three huts were situated in low lying area which during monsoon time was engulfed with water. There was no cultivable land. For livelihood, they had to depend only on labour works which were also seasonal. There was no surety that they would have three meals every day. Typically, there were many days when there was no meal at all.

In a few days the problem appeared to be acute when I started going to the school. No book, no writing exercise book, no paper, no pen, nothing. But I cannot stop going to school. I continued going to school bare hand, bare body and bare foot. I did observe what the teacher demonstrated. I did listen to what the teacher said. I did one thing. During the class gaps, I used to borrow books from other students and looked at the lessons. Although the gaps would have short time, this helped me a lot. This is the way I proceeded.

I did not perform poor in any exam. In all exams I stood first. All the teachers were very pleased with me they developed a special affection for me.

Want was our everyday companion. So, want of food was acute. It was true not only for me, but for every member of the family. We were supposed to have meals three times a day. There is no question of three meals a day. Some days two meals, some days one meal and some days no meal at all. If we could have two meals some days, we would feel happy.

In the beginning, papa alone worked. We all family members would depend on him. We were six members in the family – papa, mom, three brothers and one sister. Since papa is the only earning member, we needed to give papa something to eat even we did not have anything for others. This is to help him keep fit to earn. Otherwise, there will be none to earn. Consequently, there will be a collapse in the family.

One day one thing happened. It is pathetic. It made a permanent wound in my mind. Papa went to the field to work. There were a few pieces of rice only at home. Mom boiled it and sent it to papa in the field. She realized that it was not enough for one person. It must be given to papa. I realized it. But I was being driven by hunger. I forgot everything. My elder brother was carrying that nominal food to papa. I was running after him and was shouting, give me that food give me that food. I was mad with hunger and forgot it was being carried to papa. My brother realised, it was not enough for papa alone. He did not stop!

Have any one of you seen such a pathetic scene? Possibly not, if yes, did you see tear drops falling from your eyes? Stop your eye drops. You will come across more such incidences. Wait a little bit!

Primary Education

One day in the school the mathematics teacher called each student to his table and asked them to count from one to 25 with the help of fingers in the traditional way. Every student went near the table of the teacher and slowly counted the numbers. When my turn came, I went near the table of the teacher and started counting the numbers. I was so fast that I finished counting up to 25 before finishing the fingers count. The teacher became surprised. However, because of habit he used the cane he had on his hand and gave me a strike on my back. He did it not knowing what to do in the circumstance. It was not an incidence of that much importance but I remember it because it was the first such an incidence (use of cane) in my student life. The second incidence of using a cane on me by a teacher was much later. That was much painful. I shall tell you later.

Within a few days I managed to arrange a slate and a pencil. I do not remember how this was arranged. Either papa arranged it or somebody donated it. I am sure none of you have seen the use of a slate and a pencil. It is very easy and convenient. You can write on the slate by the pencil and erase it conveniently. But you cannot store the writing. You erase it and again write on the same place. I was very glad to get it. If there is any assignment or note, I could do it on the slate and showed it to the teacher. If there was any homework, I did it on the slate and showed to the teacher. This helped me step forward.

During the exam there was no problem. The exam scripts would be given from the school. Since these were given from the school, no teacher asked me whether I had paper, pen etc. For book, I found no difficulty. I did not need it. What the teacher would teach in the class, I would commit it to memory.

The name of our school was Hyderabad Primary School. About two years I studied here. Ours is a rural school; some people told me to go to another school, Tangi School, because that was better. I felt fortunate to be able to come to Hyderabad School. I could not think of having another better school. When I learned really there is another school and that was a better school, I felt to go to that school. Really, I went to that school. It is Tangi Primary School. Hyderabad Primary School was on the northern side of our house. Tangi Primary School was on the southern side. There is only one road

It is the rail road, I have to follow to go to Tangi Primary School.

There is a danger that train may come any time. So, I have to be very careful. About 3 miles have to walk along the rail line to reach the school. There is none to accompany me or help me. Still I must go to that school because this school is better.

Within a few days the teachers have realized that