I wrote this when I was a GP employee. I worked in GrameenPhone Ltd. for almost 1 year and 7 months (6th November, 2003 to 27th July, 2005).
Prologue
The last time I visited her, was like 16 years ago. It isn’t the fact that I dared to face her, nor was it that she was living too far away from my place. My friends asked me to join them, but I had to refuse because I had my finals going on. Then
I bothered my parents to take me there, but they were too busy. I had to pass out from university, get a job, and rely on fate and fate did smile upon me. My organization organized its annual convention in Sea Gull hotel, Coxsbazar. So finally I got an opportunity to see my teenage love, the whirlwind seas once again, with aging eyes. Now I realize, the seas were not my teenage crush, they were actually my childhood crush.
The journey was ten hours long. Our journey was scheduled to be started at 10 PM. However, when the bus finally started, it was 11:15 PM. There’s a prologue to the journey. I left office in the afternoon, with a tired body and mind. Had a terrible argument with my mom and dad—why? Just because they were too concerned about my journey, and they were asking too many irritating questions which I wouldn’t even like to answer when I was a six year old kid, and most importantly, I was damn tired to answer them! Anyways, like all good things must end, all bad things also end after a certain point of time. I packed up my bag, with 3 days stay in mind, and some funny stuff make their way in to my bag (a bar of soap, and a mini-towel). I started towards the home of a colleague of mine, at around 9:15 PM. He had a car, and we started out towards Gulshan at 10 PM.
It’s a totally different feeling to be able to log into your office email account at 10:30 PM. By the way, we can’t check that one outside of office. To make things more enjoying, I had most of my colleagues (at least the ones that belong to my department, the market research and development one) present.
I had to carry the heavily filled bag of a colleague, because he was in charge of something, and was roaming around aimlessly. I became a weightlifter, and instigated a severe “hand-ache”. When I finally exported his bag into the luggage compartment of one of the three big green line buses, I felt like winning a war.
There was a widespread rumor that the buses won’t have A/C, and hence we’ll be compelled to keep our windows open. So what’s wrong with that? We’d also have to receive the bonus dusts and gusts with that! However, we were lucky and powerful (!) enough to arrange for A/C busses, thought it wasn’t even confirmed the day before our journey. Corporate muscle play worked there.
The journey was full of sporadic slumbers from all the participants, excluding the poor conductor and driver. There was a CD player and TV in the bus, and had to digest some so called popular hindi film songs, and also a few Bangladeshi dramas. There were chips and drinks, but I felt the vomiting urge after while. The roads were bumpy, and I wasn’t in perfect physical condition. Thanks to God, I went through the journey without causing people distress and disgust. I’m not a guy who falls sick during journeys, but this time was an exception. I didn’t feel well at all. I was just waiting for the journey to end. I think I had some sort of good sleep at around 3 to 5 am. But after that time, I was fully aware of the surrounding sceneries.
Perhaps this was the only journey of my life when I didn’t look out of the window much. As a matter of fact, this was my first overnight journey (in a bus) as well. When I made my last overnight journey, the vehicle was an airplane, and I was a mere kid. Don’t have much memory regarding that one.
Finally, at about 9:30 AM, we landed in front of the majestic sea gull hotel. Helped the guys unloading the water bottles and virgin cola cans, and then took my bag and dragged my tired self forward. I knew I’d be sharing a room with my friend S, with whom I did my graduation and spent my whole university years. Both of us went to the reception, and after some routine stuff, we got our keys and headed for the room.
I bothered my parents to take me there, but they were too busy. I had to pass out from university, get a job, and rely on fate and fate did smile upon me. My organization organized its annual convention in Sea Gull hotel, Coxsbazar. So finally I got an opportunity to see my teenage love, the whirlwind seas once again, with aging eyes. Now I realize, the seas were not my teenage crush, they were actually my childhood crush.
The journey was ten hours long. Our journey was scheduled to be started at 10 PM. However, when the bus finally started, it was 11:15 PM. There’s a prologue to the journey. I left office in the afternoon, with a tired body and mind. Had a terrible argument with my mom and dad—why? Just because they were too concerned about my journey, and they were asking too many irritating questions which I wouldn’t even like to answer when I was a six year old kid, and most importantly, I was damn tired to answer them! Anyways, like all good things must end, all bad things also end after a certain point of time. I packed up my bag, with 3 days stay in mind, and some funny stuff make their way in to my bag (a bar of soap, and a mini-towel). I started towards the home of a colleague of mine, at around 9:15 PM. He had a car, and we started out towards Gulshan at 10 PM.
It’s a totally different feeling to be able to log into your office email account at 10:30 PM. By the way, we can’t check that one outside of office. To make things more enjoying, I had most of my colleagues (at least the ones that belong to my department, the market research and development one) present.
I had to carry the heavily filled bag of a colleague, because he was in charge of something, and was roaming around aimlessly. I became a weightlifter, and instigated a severe “hand-ache”. When I finally exported his bag into the luggage compartment of one of the three big green line buses, I felt like winning a war.
There was a widespread rumor that the buses won’t have A/C, and hence we’ll be compelled to keep our windows open. So what’s wrong with that? We’d also have to receive the bonus dusts and gusts with that! However, we were lucky and powerful (!) enough to arrange for A/C busses, thought it wasn’t even confirmed the day before our journey. Corporate muscle play worked there.
The journey was full of sporadic slumbers from all the participants, excluding the poor conductor and driver. There was a CD player and TV in the bus, and had to digest some so called popular hindi film songs, and also a few Bangladeshi dramas. There were chips and drinks, but I felt the vomiting urge after while. The roads were bumpy, and I wasn’t in perfect physical condition. Thanks to God, I went through the journey without causing people distress and disgust. I’m not a guy who falls sick during journeys, but this time was an exception. I didn’t feel well at all. I was just waiting for the journey to end. I think I had some sort of good sleep at around 3 to 5 am. But after that time, I was fully aware of the surrounding sceneries.
Perhaps this was the only journey of my life when I didn’t look out of the window much. As a matter of fact, this was my first overnight journey (in a bus) as well. When I made my last overnight journey, the vehicle was an airplane, and I was a mere kid. Don’t have much memory regarding that one.
Finally, at about 9:30 AM, we landed in front of the majestic sea gull hotel. Helped the guys unloading the water bottles and virgin cola cans, and then took my bag and dragged my tired self forward. I knew I’d be sharing a room with my friend S, with whom I did my graduation and spent my whole university years. Both of us went to the reception, and after some routine stuff, we got our keys and headed for the room.
Seagull Days
Seagull is a cool bird. I don?t know why I?m saying this, but for some weird reason I feel like calling it a cool bird. Seagull is a majestic hotel; it costs six thousand taka per night to just stay in this place. Six thousand taka is approximately equivalent to $100. However, for Grameen Phone employees, there?s a 50% discount on every service. By the way, only breakfast is included within that 100 dollars price tag, you gotta pay for your lunch and or any other additional food requirements. Anyways, I didn?t have to bother a bit about money; the whole tour expense was on the company.
When I finally dragged my tired self to the 4th floor, a small verandah caught my sight. I was able to catch a nice view of the roaring sea from here. The sequence is like this?first the hotel driveway, then a narrow road, then a rectangular area surrounded by iron fences and lots of trees, and then a sea-police checkpoint. Just around that checkpoint, there remains the sands. A man without a woman is like a sea without a sandy beach!
I passed the verandah, and entered our room. I and S, best of buddies for quite some time, shared the room. Now this guy has a girl friend, who calls her after every one hour. The cellular network was down for most part of the bus journey. Thus there was an anxious girl in Dhaka, and a relieved guy in Coxsbazar. Phones started pouring in. The funny fact is, he had to terminate all the calls, and call back by himself. There was a TV, two nice beds and a small, but well decorated toilet in the room. After dozing off for some time, both of us went downstairs for breakfast. I thought I?d be dead tired, after that hell of a journey. But surprisingly enough, the ocean breeze was giving me a refreshing feeling. After hastily finishing the mediocre breakfast, I headed for the beach.
Finally, the moment came back. After 16 long years, I came near to my beloved one once again. The beach was sandy, as expected. The wind was so strong?..I felt like if I let go of myself, I might fly like superman. I wasn?t prepared for getting down to the sea, was in my jeans, had my glasses on and the mobile was also residing in the pocket. I was highly tempted to get down in the water, but couldn?t. Returned to the hotel, and had breakfast. Later on, I got to know that the breakfast was complimentary, and that?s why it sucked big time. The only memorable thing was the salt-less fried egg. Surprisingly, it was tasty.
After breakfast, I wanted to get some sleep. But as they say, you can?t always do what you want to. I changed clothes, got into some comfortable wearable, turned off the cell and headed for the sea again. This time I found myself playing amidst the wonderful waves. I was forced to drink a lot of saline water, because I tried to face the waves bravely. It was a wonderful experience, a bit salty though. I was wearing my glasses and sandals, for what reason I can?t recall at the moment. There were instances when I thought my sandals will drift away, but I managed to stick them with my feet. After some time, I noticed three strong waves were approaching from different directions. This is was just too much. When the waves were gone, I realized that something was missing. A flow of terror driven electricity swept through my spinal cord?I realized that I didn?t have the pair of specs on, which is my all time companion from year 1989. No, I?m not using the same pair, but it?s been a part and parcel of my attire since then.
I wear high powered spectacles. Without my glasses, I am literally an invalid and blind person. I was in Coxsbazar, on a three day visit, and it was just the first day?and apparently, I just lost my single pair of specs. I should?ve fainted at the very moment, right?
I?ve always considered myself a lucky person. But this was way too much incredible. When the wave faded away, and I realized that I lost my glasses, I delved my right hand underneath the water?.in a random way. The first thing that my hand came into contact was my lost glasses. It was nicely resting on the sand, with full glory. Now do you think I should become a religious person and pray regularly? Maybe I should.
When I?m writing this, the incident is still sounding unbelievable to me. The wave was very strong?and the glass was hit by its full force. I wasn?t ready for it?it hit me suddenly. The water should?ve taken my glasses far, far away. The ocean current was not static, as well. I know, someone can come up with a mundane explanation of this incidence, but to me, it?s another miracle.
After another half an hour of water-play, I dragged myself back to the hotel. One good thing about this hotel is that wherever you go, you listen to those evergreen Mozart tunes. The music keeps playing on and on and on, and on! I must say, after a while, the sound becomes addictive.
We went out in the beach once again, after having lunch and taking some rest. The hotel room was really comfortable. In fact, it was a bit too comfortable! I?ve heard about ?unputdownable? books. The bed was ?ungetupable?. That is, once I lied there, I never felt like getting up. I still miss that bed. And the air-conditioning was great, too.
Nothing much happened in whatever remained in the day. At 11 PM, I started watching WWE: Smackdown! So what did you expect me to do? Write poems? Hehe?.not this dude! The funniest thing was that Mr ?S? was continuously being bombarded by his significant other?miss calls, phone calls?I had to memorize the ringtone by force. If you have a Nokia handset, you can check out the tune, too. It?s called ?Danube?. I guess the guy himself got tired of it as well; because he changed it after returning to Dhaka. But he was enjoying the bombardments?.you?re heard of sweet sufferings, didn?t you? This was a perfect example. When it was 12 AM, the Smackdown! Finally ended, and, I decided to doze off. When I was diving deep into oblivion, the whispering sounds of romantic conversations kept on striking my ears. I think I imagined it a bit, because when I was awake, I wasn?t listening much (and I had no intention to listen as well!), but in slumber, I thought I was hearing it all.
Can't remember anything more!
When I finally dragged my tired self to the 4th floor, a small verandah caught my sight. I was able to catch a nice view of the roaring sea from here. The sequence is like this?first the hotel driveway, then a narrow road, then a rectangular area surrounded by iron fences and lots of trees, and then a sea-police checkpoint. Just around that checkpoint, there remains the sands. A man without a woman is like a sea without a sandy beach!
I passed the verandah, and entered our room. I and S, best of buddies for quite some time, shared the room. Now this guy has a girl friend, who calls her after every one hour. The cellular network was down for most part of the bus journey. Thus there was an anxious girl in Dhaka, and a relieved guy in Coxsbazar. Phones started pouring in. The funny fact is, he had to terminate all the calls, and call back by himself. There was a TV, two nice beds and a small, but well decorated toilet in the room. After dozing off for some time, both of us went downstairs for breakfast. I thought I?d be dead tired, after that hell of a journey. But surprisingly enough, the ocean breeze was giving me a refreshing feeling. After hastily finishing the mediocre breakfast, I headed for the beach.
Finally, the moment came back. After 16 long years, I came near to my beloved one once again. The beach was sandy, as expected. The wind was so strong?..I felt like if I let go of myself, I might fly like superman. I wasn?t prepared for getting down to the sea, was in my jeans, had my glasses on and the mobile was also residing in the pocket. I was highly tempted to get down in the water, but couldn?t. Returned to the hotel, and had breakfast. Later on, I got to know that the breakfast was complimentary, and that?s why it sucked big time. The only memorable thing was the salt-less fried egg. Surprisingly, it was tasty.
After breakfast, I wanted to get some sleep. But as they say, you can?t always do what you want to. I changed clothes, got into some comfortable wearable, turned off the cell and headed for the sea again. This time I found myself playing amidst the wonderful waves. I was forced to drink a lot of saline water, because I tried to face the waves bravely. It was a wonderful experience, a bit salty though. I was wearing my glasses and sandals, for what reason I can?t recall at the moment. There were instances when I thought my sandals will drift away, but I managed to stick them with my feet. After some time, I noticed three strong waves were approaching from different directions. This is was just too much. When the waves were gone, I realized that something was missing. A flow of terror driven electricity swept through my spinal cord?I realized that I didn?t have the pair of specs on, which is my all time companion from year 1989. No, I?m not using the same pair, but it?s been a part and parcel of my attire since then.
I wear high powered spectacles. Without my glasses, I am literally an invalid and blind person. I was in Coxsbazar, on a three day visit, and it was just the first day?and apparently, I just lost my single pair of specs. I should?ve fainted at the very moment, right?
I?ve always considered myself a lucky person. But this was way too much incredible. When the wave faded away, and I realized that I lost my glasses, I delved my right hand underneath the water?.in a random way. The first thing that my hand came into contact was my lost glasses. It was nicely resting on the sand, with full glory. Now do you think I should become a religious person and pray regularly? Maybe I should.
When I?m writing this, the incident is still sounding unbelievable to me. The wave was very strong?and the glass was hit by its full force. I wasn?t ready for it?it hit me suddenly. The water should?ve taken my glasses far, far away. The ocean current was not static, as well. I know, someone can come up with a mundane explanation of this incidence, but to me, it?s another miracle.
After another half an hour of water-play, I dragged myself back to the hotel. One good thing about this hotel is that wherever you go, you listen to those evergreen Mozart tunes. The music keeps playing on and on and on, and on! I must say, after a while, the sound becomes addictive.
We went out in the beach once again, after having lunch and taking some rest. The hotel room was really comfortable. In fact, it was a bit too comfortable! I?ve heard about ?unputdownable? books. The bed was ?ungetupable?. That is, once I lied there, I never felt like getting up. I still miss that bed. And the air-conditioning was great, too.
Nothing much happened in whatever remained in the day. At 11 PM, I started watching WWE: Smackdown! So what did you expect me to do? Write poems? Hehe?.not this dude! The funniest thing was that Mr ?S? was continuously being bombarded by his significant other?miss calls, phone calls?I had to memorize the ringtone by force. If you have a Nokia handset, you can check out the tune, too. It?s called ?Danube?. I guess the guy himself got tired of it as well; because he changed it after returning to Dhaka. But he was enjoying the bombardments?.you?re heard of sweet sufferings, didn?t you? This was a perfect example. When it was 12 AM, the Smackdown! Finally ended, and, I decided to doze off. When I was diving deep into oblivion, the whispering sounds of romantic conversations kept on striking my ears. I think I imagined it a bit, because when I was awake, I wasn?t listening much (and I had no intention to listen as well!), but in slumber, I thought I was hearing it all.
Can't remember anything more!
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