Lessons From Probhaat Ferry

Split is gone before the morning procession Kids never spoil the grand occasion. Shutting down a daily before the Ekushey Hurts talks while tempers begin to fray.

The quintessential part of commemorating Amar Ekushey on February 21 (Mother Language Day) is to take part in Probhaat Ferry (the morning procession) that ultimately ends in offering flowers bouquet at Shaheed Minar(Language Martyrs’ Memorial Monument). The commemoration of Mother Language Day has been observed every year since 1952 when students and ordinary people took bullets in demanding Bengali as state language of Pakistan along with Urdu. Pakistani rulers complied but the language movement culminated into a full-blown freedom struggle and gave birth to Bangladesh (Land of the Bengali speakers).

In the early morning of 21st February, people from all walks of life clad in black/white Punjabi/Saree take part in a brief morning procession called Provaat Ferry and lay flower at the footsteps of language monument, often erected at parks and educational institutions. At educational institutions, it is a must. When we were kids ,it was pretty common. Over the years, it faded away and restricted into the confines of govt programs and key institutions. Revival of probhaat ferry in recent years is a good sign.

I still remember when we were kids how we spent days and nights in the preparation of observing the day.I live in a neighborhood that is adjacent to cantonment. Back then a huge lake,now turned into an apartment complex, separated the neighborhood from the cantonment. During the winter,the lake dried up and walkways through the lake provided us the opportunity to explore the rural part of the other side. In the Monsoon, the lake turned into a vast ocean and we often went for a boat ride/picnic like Huckleberry Finn. I never forget the taste of rice,brinjal fry,egg curry we cooked on a makeshift brick stove. Sometimes we played cricket. We played all day long with stems of Pink Morning Glory ,which was used as bush hedge on the perimeter of a house. The dried stems looked like assault rifles. We aimed them at imaginary enemy and made crackling sounds with mouth. But the most adventurous task we embarked upon is the one that took place on the day before 21st February. We crossed the lake and raided the cantonment in search of flowers. We went door to door in that heavily guarded area. Security guards and occupants of the houses were welcoming and appreciating. Every houses had flower gardens. Marygold, Rose, Dahlia, Sunflower and Chrysanthemum were in abundance. They plucked the flowers and donated them to us with a smile. Bigger the flower,greater is our hope that we are receiving all the blessings from heaven.Having gathered enough flowers,we spared no time to make a bouquet. Our team effort was short lived. Soon we split into two or more groups over trivial issues. Discord was often about who would lead the procession and hold the bouquet. But somehow we overcame all the differences and made the event a successful one. The monument was covered with flowers. By noon,a completely opposite scene was staged.The disciplined crowd turned into a bunch of marauding monkeys and joined the pillage of the Shaheed Minar.Some grabbed the biggest bouquet and some got hold of few Dahlias and ran towards home. Few petals and Marygolds were all left on the Shaheed Minar.Nowadays we have become civilized. Display of such plundering of Shaheed Minar is conspicuously absent. This is indeed a progress in human development!

Despite being kids,we know how to unify all on grand occasion. With heavy heart the country witnessed that the day before 21st February govt shut down a daily that worked as spokesman of the main opposition over whimsical reason. It is indeed a blow to freedom of expression and reconciliation that ultimately leads us to a functioning democracy. The action is contradictory to the very spirits of language movement. It is unfortunate that govt sometimes takes some steps that even the Pakistani rulers did not dare to take during the time of military dictatorship. On the grand event like Probhaat Ferry we made sure no one is left behind and take part in the morning procession. But it is sad that govt used the sacred month and the grand event to drive a further wedge between the two major parties instead of walking the path of reconciliation. Sometimes I feel in this country the kids show maturity than the grown ups.