Daily Prompt: Childhood Revisited

What is your earliest memory? Describe in detail, and tell us why you think that experience was the one to stick with you.

I love thinking of my childhood a lot. It was my most happy days. I had a  lot of siblings, I loved playing with them, they didn’t mind having me, even if their friends came along.

One of my earliest memories of my childhood was that of my Dad. My brothers’ friends thought he was handsome and resembled Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Now that I think of it I feel, the reason might be, he was tall and thin like Mohammed Ali Jinnah. My Dad loved speaking English. He believed any language we speak must be spoken correctly.

He was very particular about our mother tongue, Bengali. In our house we were encouraged to learn different languages, but  the rule was, we  must speak our mother tongue when we were in  the house.

He told us he did not want his children to be upstarts, at that time I did not know what the word meant. This much I knew we must not speak any other language with each other when we were at home.

In Bengali we have a lot of dialects, if one is  from a certain district the dialect is different. My mom grew up in a village near the little town named ‘Feni’, district Noakhali  she spoke the dialect from  that district, since we interacted with Mom more than Dad we spoke the Noakhali dialect.  My dad probably was concerned because we did not speak proper Bengali. He made sure we heard the proper speech too. Whenever he spoke to us he spoke  proper Bengali.

One day I was playing outside with the neighbors, I noticed some kids playing with yellow balls. I was fascinated and wanted to have one. I was six years old and didn’t know how tired my Dad was when he came home from work.

My Dad’s usual greeting was,  “ma Ranu kaimon achho?”(Ranu how are you?)

I wasted no time telling him I wanted a yellow ball just like the boys were playing with. My Dad didn’t get a chance to go into the house, he turned around and left, in the meantime I forgot all about it until I saw my Dad back with four yellow balls.You must be wondering why four, he knew my siblings would ask for it too.

This is the fondest memory I have of my Dad. I used to tell my husband, if our children want something, don’t say you do not need it, but buy it for them.

I feel the lesson I learned from my Dad is never say no to our children, when they ask for something, provided it’s within our means. It makes a child happy.

…………………………………:)

 

Writing 101, Day Three: One Word Inspiration

Hope

Regret

Home

Choice

Abundance

Secret

Select one word in this list that speaks to you in some way. Have you always wanted to write about that one decision that changed your life? Are you a long term traveler looking for the right city to settle?

While tidying up my drawers, I was thinking about the Six prompts given to us today. We are supposed to choose one out of these six prompts.

Before going to bed last night,none of them were speaking to me. I was a bit disappointed thinking I may not be able to do this assignment.

When I finally went to bed, I made sure; I will not think of them; I knew if I did I’ll be up all night.

This morning after breakfast, I felt like fixing the clothes in my drawers; believe it or not the word ‘Abundance’ spoke to me, “Why don’t you write about me?”

“You”? I replied,”What can I write about you?”

Immediately, I went back to my childhood; One day I was washing my dress; I  felt very sad thinking,”why do I have to wash this dress after school daily; so I can wear it next day.”

The thought made me cry, my Dad always paid attention about me; what was I doing;why was I crying?He said out loud, “why is Ranu crying ,what’s wrong?”

My big sister yelled out, “nothing’s wrong Dad, she always cries without any reason!”

Dad said, “I don’t believe it, there must be something.”

He called me and asked, “Ma Ranu why are you crying?”

I said, “Dad, I only have one dress for school, I have to wash it everyday!”

My Dad was shocked,he called my mother,he asked, “Did you know Ranu has only one dress for school?”

Before my mom could reply, he said, “I want you to buy some material for her, give it to the tailor to get a dress stitched for her immediately!”

My mom bought the fabric to get a dress made for me.

The memory of that dress and my unhappiness came flooding in my mind. That day I never knew what is ,”Abundance,” perhaps my mind told me, ‘you should be happy with less.’

Today I look around in my room and tell myself, “this is Abundance.” I see clothes everywhere, I have a hard time finding space to put them away.

The fact that I cried for lack of clothes, must have reached heaven; God must have written in His favorite book; “I will never let her cry for lack of clothes,I will give her more than enough.”

I remember one of our dearest friend commented once, “Chaman you have so many saris; you will have to live a hundred years to wear them all!”

……………………………. 🙂

Writing 101,Day 16

Writing 101: Search your stats for a post idea. If you don’t glean anything from your stats page, consider one of these prompts instead.

If you were forced to make your blog private, would that affect your writing?

Overnight you discover you’ve gained 50,000 blog subscribers, what would you write for your next post?

One day you notice a strange stat. Write a short piece of fiction or poem that describes what you see and/or what happens?

I was awakened from my sleep one day,

The computer was telling me to turn it on right away.

Being a lover of sleep I yelled out ‘can you be calm?’

‘No I can not’ said the machine,

‘For it  will do you plenty of harm.’

‘Really’ I said ,’you got to be kidding.’

‘No ma’am I’m not,’ it replied laughing!

I turned on the machine what did I see?

On the state page,

My Dad was busy writing a story for me!

“I know I’m not a poet but I love it , sadly I  do not have the gift of writing poetry.” Ranu!  🙂

…………………………… 🙂

 

Writing – 101:Why do you write

Today, tell us why do you write?

Set a timer and free-write for 15 or 30 minutes without stopping. Begin your post with “I write because or start it any other way you wish.

I’ve never asked this question why do I write? Now that the question appears before me I wonder, why do I write?

Writing has opened doors for me that were in my mind closed. I’m able to write about my likes and dislikes. My childhood which was the best years of my life. Where we were a happy family, we were contented with everything we had. We did not ask anymore, satisfaction was the keyword in our lives .

Suddenly it all changed, we saw and understood,life was not all about happiness, we must make room or get used to dark unhappy days. Writing gives me the avenue to vent. I know and hope others will read about me and make sense of my personality, why I’ve  become  so quiet, why I take no interest in laughter and good times.

I’ve tasted all of that and thought I’ll always be happy, but it was taken away from n me on a bright sunny morning,when my Dad took his last breath. Before this incidence I thought happiness is forever.

The words of my,”Moral Science Book ” still haunts me, “man can be happy to some extent but cannot attain perfect happiness.”

Little did I realize nothing is permanent in this life, everything is temporary, it is this thought that scares me, I’m scared to be too happy, knowing that tomorrow I won’t be.

I write because I’m free to express myself. There are so many things I can write about,which I won’t be able to do when I am with my friends. They may not like when I talk only about myself.

I can write more,but now I think this is all for today.

I’m happy to be a part of the writing 101 participants. My best wishes to each and every one of you. Thank you for reading my thoughts about ,Why Do I Write?

……………………………. 🙂

Daily Prompt: Que Sera Sera

Do you believe in fate or do you believe you can control your destiny?

The prompt today, reminds me  of my favorite song, Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be.

When I was a little girl I never asked my mother what will I be. I knew nothing about fate or destiny. I was living each day to the fullest, I played with my siblings, I watched my mother cook, sometimes imitated her. Then I’d sit on the grass beside my Dad’s easy chair and talk to him for hours, of course this was after school and my Dad was back from work.

Then one morning at about ten AM . I heard a loud scream coming from Dad’s bedroom. We were playing i.e  we the young ones. We stopped and rushed to  Dad’s bedroom. There to my utmost horror I found my mother crying and my Dad was dying.

In one hour everything changed, we were crying , we had no idea our Dad had left us for good. Within six months we moved out of our precious home to go to an unknown place, it was my parents original homeland. There was no home waiting for us, my elder brother made arrangements to go to our maternal grandparents home in the village, until he could buy one in the small town nearby.

After six months my brother found a house for sale and bought it. If I were to guess what all this was called, I’d say it was our fate. We couldn’t control our Dad’s death, it would happen, it is here that God takes the reins in His hands. My Dad’s time was up, we couldn’t implore God to give us more time, His decree was final.

Sadly we understood,no one can change fate. It took us a long time, but we learned to accept it, and how cruel it is.

Destiny however was a challenge, I was twelve, with Dad’s passing there was no income, although  Dad was an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry Of Defense, his family was denied pension, their argument was, he died before  he was fifty-five years old, hence his family was ineligible for pension.

My Dad had provident fund where he had some money and life insurance. It probably was sufficient for us to live on for a while. Here my brother played with destiny and almost lost all of it by trying to invest in a business.

We realized soon enough we can change our destiny if we seriously studied and got a good education. Most of us siblings did that , accomplished our goal, except the two black sheep in the family, they had no desire to change.

I believe it’s possible to change our destiny if we put in the effort. I studied, got an education which helped me  get a job. Had I done the  opposite, I wouldn’t be doing this prompt today but struggling to survive!

…………………………….. 🙂

 

 

Daily Prompt: Memory on the Menu

Which good memories are better—the recent vivid ones or those that time has covered in a sweet haze?

The memories I treasure  most is when my Dad was alive and I sat in the garden and watched and talked to him.One of my favorite memories are the ones after the end of Ramadan. We got new clothes to wear for the day of Eid-al Fitr, this is the day after Ramadan ends.

My Dad and my older brothers would go to the mosque that day for prayers, after they came back my Dad would take out the money and give to us. I loved it a lot.

Lunch time my Mom would treat us with delicious food, she was a very good cook. In the evening we’d visit our parent’s  friends . This was one day we got to eat a variety of mouth watering food.

The highlight of this day was, we all wore new clothes and wished our parents “Eid Mubarak”( Happy Eid) and then ate sweet vermicelli with milk, it was a dessert cooked by mom, and  served right after the other members of the family came home from the mosque , which is a tradition observed  in all the Muslim families.

This is one vivid memory I’ll always have it will never be covered in a sweet haze. 🙂

……………………………………..:)

Daily Prompt: All About Me

Explain why you chose your blog’s title and what it means to you.

I was twelve years old when my Dad passed away. It was a sad time for us. I wasn’t able to show my dad how much I loved him. Although he is no longer with us, it gives me great pleasure to choose my blog’s title,”Sabethville”, my Dad’s name was Abdus Sabeth. He was a great inspiration to us,he worked day and night to provide us a comfortable home and the best education.

He told my mother once, a child’s education is like a foundation of a building, just as any building with a good foundation would last a long time, so will a child’s education with a good foundation bring increasing benefits. He tried his best to see us thrive. With this in mind he registered us in the best schools in the city.

My blog title makes me very proud that I was able to use my Dad’s name.

It means a lot to me when I  publish posts and read the comments of my blogger friends. I have a few dedicated friends who take the time to read my post and leave their awesome comments. I  thank them  for their positive words.

Somewhere up there my Dad is probably thinking, “I am so happy, Ranu did not neglect her education!”

…………………………………… 🙂

Writing 101,Day Nineteen: Don’t stop the Rockin’

Today is a free writing day.Write at least four-hundred words, and once you start typing don’t stop. No self-editing,no trash talking, and no second-guessing : just go. Bonus points if you tackle the idea you’ve been playing with but think is too silly to post about.

Four-hundred words one at a time Go.

I spend hours thinking how my childhood could have been if it was not cut short by my father’s passing. I know we’d live in the same house, we had to my father was working and we’d need a place to live. We lived in an ideal place at least my memory of childhood tells me so.

A large house, a race course nearby to walk and watch the horse race, the jockeys trying hard to win it for their owners. It was wonderful to watch, then we’d walk further to see if there were other things that would catch our fancy, oh yes, one after the other life was showing us the beauty of the place we lived.

Then the worst happened Dad was with us no longer. We moved to a far away place  we knew nothing about. The people sold vegetables ,fish, chicken from door to door. While I watched and complained to mom that the potatoes were too tiny and the onions were unattractive, mom would laugh and say the reason is the soil, the weather and things like that.

I’m not sure she convinced me but I know I did not like the place so I picked everything negative about it. We started growing up all the while thinking Dad would come back because he cannot leave us forever.

Then big brother was married, he changed, he did not love us anymore. He was always angry with us. I was terribly scared of him and stayed quiet thinking if I say anything he’d hit me. At the same time wondered would he have changed so much if Dad was alive, my mind said, no . Dad certainly would not let him do so.

I wished we’d be the happy family we once were, but things did not let us be happy. Mom was constantly worried about money, she had to spend as little as possible to save some of it.

I finished high school, went to college, I did not like how the boys used to tease me. I managed to get admission in a girls college, to avoid getting teased everyday, it was awful.

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DP Daily Prompt: Four Stars

Write a review of your life— or someone close to you—as if it were a movie or a book.

I was the seventh child of my parents and the second daughter. I was told  I was born after my mom lost her ten month old son.

My sister informed  me mom sat in a corner every day and cried for her son who passed away.

I had an unusual malady as an infant I fainted without any reason, once my aunt had me on her lap, I suddenly fainted, my aunt cried and said, “Apa(big sister) I did not do anything.”

Before my mom could reply,my sister blurted out, “You didn’t do anything she always faints without reason.”

When my sister narrated  this I knew how much my sister loved me i.e. (hated me).

I loved poetry early on, I’d hang out with my older brothers and listened when they memorized poems esp. the funny ones. My memory was sharp, I recited the poem before my brothers  could learn by rote.

I loved singing quietly when no one was watching, the songs the nuns taught were my favorite.

I spent my time reciting my favorite poems and singing. My siblings always found me in the corner of my room, squatting on the floor singing.

I loved to go to school, but when I was unable to complete my homework, I’d make an excuse and stayed home. This angered my sister so much she’d scream at the top of her lungs with the words, “Dad is spoiling her.”

Life according to me was playing with my siblings, having fun moving around the neighborhood exploring a brand new place every day. I never ever thought what I’d like to be when I grow up, these feelings never found its way  in my mind.

When I was eleven my Dad planned a trip to Bangladesh, it was the first time I saw my aunts,  uncles and cousins. Before I saw them in real life I wondered if I have these relatives that my friends boasted about. The mystery was solved I too have near and dear ones like them.

I barely turned twelve, it was a Wednesday morning, the sun was bright, we the younger siblings came out of the house to play as usual, a loud scream from my mother caught our attention, we raced inside, mom was in Dad’s room, we all went in, to my absolute horror I witnessed my dad taking his last breath.

Things were not the same after this incident,my mom announced we will go to Bangladesh for good.

Everyone in the family was heartbroken as we packed our belongings to leave the place we called home for so long!

………………………….

 

365 Writing Prompts:

When I think about childhood I must admit they were the best years of my life. I grew up in a large family, Mom was a fabulous cook,Dad was busy with his work. He had a very important 8 to 6 job.

We were very disciplined, school was from 6 to 4. I went to school on the  school bus. I was picked up at 6 in the morning and dropped off at 4 pm. Our teachers were strict there was no room to fool around, tasks had to be completed on time or there was tons of homework, unfinished school work and regular homework.

We had supper as soon as Dad was home. My Dad was a fussy eater, everything Mom cooked had to be perfect or he wouldn’t eat. If any of the ingredients in the food was slightly more he’d call me and tell me to give it my Mom to eat. I was very young ,I never understood the sarcasm, I’d happily take the food to Mom. One such day the meat Mom cooked was not according to my Dad Up to standard.

As usual he instructed me to take it for my Mom , I thought Dad was generous, as soon as I said, “Mom Dad wants you to eat this.”

I felt all hell would break loose, Mom was unimpressed, she yelled something which I did not understand. Once my Mom put too much onion in one of the dishes, Dad called me and said in his sweetest voice, “Ranu ask your Mom if the onion is cheaper these days.”

I knew why he said it, I wasn’t going to ask Mom about the price of onion.

One might wonder why Ranu was doing all this chore, what about the older siblings and the servants. Well none of the siblings or the servants wanted to face Dad when he was in a devilish mood. So Ranu was the one everyone depended on, I wasn’t fond of this duty but like Shakespeare’s character Andrew Aguecheek , it was thrust upon me, I could not complain, I stayed away from Mom’s anger.

As far as music goes we were prohibited from listening to any kind of music, because my Dad thought it would distract us from our studies. He never bought a radio,for this reason.

Once my sister told Dad Ranu can sing quite well, I was summoned by my Dad, when Dad called you had to be there, so I went with a heart beating out of my chest,thinking what was I guilty of.

It turned out he heard I can sing, he was all smiles, “Ranu can you sing a song for me, I will give you money?”

I was very shy singing in front of Dad was unthinkable, besides money was not an attraction, the moment my two older brothers found out I had money, they would make me give it to them. I declined to sing.

I’ve probably presented a very gloomy picture of my childhood, it wasn’t,  nothing could match the wonderful time I had in my early childhood.

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k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/365-writing-prompts-2/