Star Diary
Photo: Star File
The Cost of Inexperience
On my way to work one day, I was stuck in a gridlock at rush hour in the morning. The heat was unbearable and I was getting late. My rickshaw puller seemed oblivious of the surrounding, regarding the traffic as a regular scene. “Apa, don't you know that this is Dhaka? You'll get used to it soon,” he assured me. I was soon distracted by an argument going on nearby. Two guys, a lanky youngster and a middle-aged man, were arguing with a car driver. It soon became obvious that the youngster was learning how to drive a car from the middle-aged man who was the instructor of a driving school. The owner of the car, a lady with a small child, was annoyed about the fact that her car was hit accidentally by the trainee driver. While sitting in the comforts of her car, she was ordering her driver to settle the matter through compensation. This caused the unbearable traffic jam. Other commuters were shouting aimlessly for the jam to diffuse but their requests were in vain. As I was waiting for a way out of the mess, I wondered how inexperienced drivers were allowed to drive on busy road, putting their lives and the lives of other in danger. Their ineptitude often leads to such terrible traffic congestion as well.
Naome Syed
Mohammadpur, Dhaka
***
Humanity Exists
It was drizzling and wind was blowing at high speed one night. However, as I had some business to attend to, I had to get out of my house in the rain. Thanks to the rain, when I reached the stand from where I could hire a vehicle to my destination, I found no transportation but some people waiting. Finding no vehicle, I had no alternative but to wait for one. I struck a conversation with some of the others. After a while, I started walking towards my destination as I had not yet found any transportation. After a few minutes, I saw an auto-rickshaw stop ahead of me and heard someone call me from there. However, it was not the driver who called but a passenger. I recognized the person with whom I talked a little while ago when we were both waiting at the stand. I was surprised to see the person's sense of humanity. I mean, he could have gone alone in the rickshaw but instead he recognized me, told the driver to stop and offered me a lift. That incident made me believe that humanity exits but perhaps we are too afraid to believe in others.
Nahid Hossen
Via E-mail
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