Mangsi

I often remember my childhood spent in the suburbs. In Halishahar of Chattogram city, we had a beautiful bungalow pattern house made of bamboo and tin, a spacious yard in front of it, and a small round flower garden with a tube well beside it. A narrow tidal canal bordered the house, a large school field on the other side, and an attractive Mughal mosque by the road on the other side of the field. Water lilies used to bloom in the pond built by the mosque. I grew up watching these vivid scenes. Doctor A. B. M. Nural Alam (1925-2003), my father, used to spend busy days in aesthetic works in parallel of medical practice. He used to run to the drama houses in the evening after taking care of patients in his chamber. He was a well-known actor in the sixties and seventies and used to direct dramas. He also acted in the first full-length film Hiramon (1967) of Chattogram. Apart from acting, my father had a deep passion for photography. He captured the old houses of Chattogram city, Chandanpura Mosque, Kalurghat Bridge, Cox’s Bazar road, various scenes of stage plays, mass movement (1969), political meetings, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s (1920-1975) visit to Chattogram and many other pictures which are memorable for historical values. He used to shoot with a 35 mm film camera (Cenonet) from the Canon company. He was my first introduction to camera and photography. I never had much interest in general education. I used to engage in other activities when I got a gap. It was a fun game of mine to cut the papers and make different patterns and see the reflection of the bulb light in the quiet afternoon