Since 1971 Poem by Ahmed Kayes

Zabed did not know why he was not shot by the military at that night. He was staying at the road side of Dhanmondi area under a Krishnochura Tree in a house built by tree leaves and bamboo.At that night he was halt by the Pak Army while passing with his Rikshaw to his destination from Mohammadpur area. He muttered his name Zabed, Mostofa Zabed. The army said, "get back to the road from where you came".He knew if Army would saw him he would be shot dead. He saw many dead bodies while passing with rickshaw that night. He took a long round by his rickshaw and did not find his wife and daughter in his house when he reached. Two full plates of rice were put down in the wood plate with some tiny fishes. Zabed became astonished with overwhelming grief and sorrow. He could not get out to look for them for curfew. Since that night he had been looking for his wife and daughter with his rickshaw and that's why he did not go for freedom fighting.
In the mid 1966 he came to Dhaka city from his village for his household was grabbed by the nearby river and built this accommodation by his own hand at Dhanmondi. Up to the date he is still staying alone at the same residence and was never eliminated by anyone. He sometimes thinks that his wife and daughter will come back to this house. He has observed 1969,1971,1975,1990 and all democratic elections including the ups and downs of democratic Govt. He was lucky that nobody tried to eliminate him from his residence.
‘Uncle will you go' said Moni while he was thinking rear laying his back on the passenger seat and putting the legs on his driving seat of his rickshaw under the Krishnochura tree with smoking a cigar. He saw small drops of tears getting down the cheek of Moni whose father Badar Uddin made a twelve storey building in the adjacent plot of his small cottage in 1980 as he captured that during liberation war in 1971 driving some Hindu families out with the help of some local Razakars.He asked Badar Uddin about his daughter and wife several times but did not get any reply. ‘Why are you crying ‘? Zabed asked Moni, she replied ‘We shall cry lifelong as we are the children of Razakars(Betrayer) .