Two Days Of History - March 26th and Shahed Minar

My second to last day in Bangladesh fell on March 26th, Bangladesh's Independence day. Independence day is a pretty low key affair in Bangladesh; there's no flashy fireworks show. Most people enjoy the day off with family. Around the city I saw many Bangladeshi flags and pictures of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first Bangladeshi PM. A couple of days before March 26th, my cousin Dhola eagerly gave me a much needed history lesson on Bangladesh. She spoke with a great deal of pride and reverence for Bangladesh and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The night of March 26th my parents, uncle, cousins, and I took a walk around the Buri Ganga.

I went to the Shahed Minar my last day in Bangladesh. The Shahed Minar is a monument that commemorates the martyrs of the language movement. From conversations I had with Bangalis who have gone to Bangladesh, most if not all have never been to the Shahed Minar, which seems odd to me because of its significance in Bangladesh's history and culture. I don't speak bangla well because I rarely speak it, but I understand it and it's been a significant part of my life through my parents, music, and television. The monument itself was nice. But, the monument grounds was covered in trash. Litter is a given for any big city, but seeing so much of it in front of this great monument bothered me. It seemed disrespectful.

In fact, the Shahed Minar is rarely kept clean except on Ekushay Feburary or if filming is going on there. That's why it always looks so pristine on TV, ugh the facade again. As a sign of respect you shouldn't go up to the monument with your shoes on. But, because of the litter, I didn't take my shoes off and because I didn't take my shoes off I didn't go up to it. I wasn't being finicky just cautious. I was still recovering from my bout of traveler's diarrhea. The last thing I wanted was hepatitis.

It's a different experience to read about a country's history in a book or a wiki article than actually going to the country and seeing the manifestation of that country's history through its people, the clothing they wear, the language they speak, and the religion they worship. You can't really get this connection through simply reading.