'আই নিউজ বিডি' অ্যাপ
December 13, 2019. That day was not just a date on the calendar; it was a day of irreparable void in our family history. On that day, an invisible sheltering tree was removed from over our heads, the silent lamp of our household was extinguished, and a heartbeat—one that sustained the entire family—came to a stop.
Today, on World Mother’s Day, many people across the globe might be remembering their mothers with flowers, greetings, and formalities. But I am returning to the long corridors of memory, where a familiar voice still echoes:
—“What happened to you?”
Just four words. But within those words lay all the security in the world, all the tenderness, and the touch of a divine feeling.
Perhaps I said nothing. There was a smile on my face. Everything seemed normal from the outside. Yet, my mother could read the restlessness gathered in my eyes. She was a person who could hear the sound of her child’s silence. Today I realize that a mother does not just give birth; she translates the invisible pain of her child.
How a woman who couldn't cross the hurdles of fifth grade became the ‘Visionary’ of a family
My mother did not hold a university degree. She never spoke at seminars, never authored books, and was never the head of a major institution. Yet, looking back today, I feel she was our family’s greatest strategist, most skilled economist, and most far-sighted planner. Despite having studied only up to the fifth grade, she understood that the greatest weapon to defeat poverty is education. This realization made her extraordinary. She may not have known the language of the modern education system, but she knew that a book could change a family, and a pencil could illuminate a generation.
Not chocolates, but pencils: A mother’s silent revolution
In our childhood, when we pestered her for chocolates, Mother wouldn't easily give us money. Back then, it felt like she was very strict. But the moment I said, "Ma, I need a pencil," she would untie the knot of her saree and the money would appear. Today I realize she wasn't just handing us a pencil; she was handing us the key to our future. She knew that chocolate gives momentary joy, but education changes destiny. This was her philosophy. This was her silent revolution. The sense of education, self-control, and future-thinking that an under-educated mother sowed within her children is the foundation of where we stand today.
In a low-income household, Mother’s economy was an unwritten university
Father was a low-salaried government official. Running a household of five siblings was no easy feat. But the real Finance Minister was Mother. At the end of the month, Father would hand over his entire salary to her. It wasn't just a responsibility; it was a deep trust. Mother managed that limited money so perfectly, as if she were a professor of economics. She viewed unnecessary expenses almost as a crime. She had no hobbies or luxuries of her own. I don't recall her buying more than two sarees a year. But she never compromised on the costs of her children’s education. During my university life, money would reach me at the exact time every month. I never had to say, "Ma, I need money." She understood beforehand. Because a mother can feel her child’s needs even before they are spoken.
A child's future was bigger than the joy of Eid
An Eid from my university days remains vivid in my memory. I couldn't return home due to exams. Father was very hurt. But Mother was steadfast. She knew the importance of an exam is sometimes greater than a festival. She never once told me, "Come back home." This is because she learned to value the future over emotion. On the other hand, Father, unable to bear the absence of his child, went to his workplace on Eid day. But Mother suppressed her pain and remained firm, ensuring there was no distraction in her child’s focus.
Lost jewelry, but unlost self-respect
In 1974, a fraudster took advantage of my father's identity and disappeared with all of Mother’s wedding jewelry. Those ornaments were never recovered. But the astonishing thing is—Mother never thought of buying new jewelry again. Even though all the household finances were in her hands and she could have done many things for herself, she prioritized her children’s future over her personal adornment. She understood that jewelry enhances a woman's beauty, but education makes the entire family honorable.
A substandard rented house changed the family’s future
My paternal uncle was a government official. Seeing him live in an uncomfortable rented house after retirement deeply moved my mother. That very day she decided, "We must build our own house before Father retires." That decision is the foundation of our existence today. Saving money bit by bit from Father’s limited salary to first buy land and then slowly build a house—this was the history of a woman’s silent struggle. Today, we three brothers live in that very house in Chandpur city. Our two sisters have also built their own homes, carrying the same lessons in their lives. A woman who only finished fifth grade, through her vision, secured the safety of an entire generation.
She was the silent statesman of our family
Today I understand that Mother was not just a homemaker. She was the invisible Prime Minister of a family, an unwritten economist, a strict education policy maker, a visionary planner, and above all—a silent revolutionary woman. Among us five siblings, four are well-established in society today. If I have to name the biggest contributor to this achievement, it is our mother.
Returning to Mother at 2:00 AM
It is now late at night. The clock has struck two. The surroundings are silent. My wife is asleep beside me. In another room, my daughter sleeps peacefully. Yet, I sit in this lonely, dim night, writing about my mother. I didn't even realize when my eyes welled up while writing. The words are becoming blurred. A heavy sob is gathering in my chest. Perhaps this is what a mother is. People leave, but some voids never go away. Even after all these years, it feels like Mother will call out from behind the door— "What happened to you?" I still feel that even if everyone else in the world falls asleep, one person stayed awake just for me.
Sometimes, I feel a deep sense of guilt. While growing up, we didn't even realize how silently a mother wastes away her own life for the sake of her children’s future. My mother wanted nothing for herself. No jewelry, no luxury, no personal dreams. She only wanted her children’s success, a safe roof, and an educated future.
Today, I am a father myself. Seeing my daughter sleep, I am reminded of my mother even more. Then I understand with what deep anxiety, invisible fear, and silent prayers a mother lives for her child's future. This night, these tears, these memories—everything makes me feel today that mothers never really go away. They remain within their children—in their blood, their habits, their conscience, and in the silent cries of the deep night.
Final Prostration
Mother is no longer here. Yet, in every page of a book, in every achievement, in every habit of discipline, in every lesson of saving—she lives on. Even today, in difficult moments, it feels like someone is saying in a very familiar voice— "What happened to you?" And then it feels that people called 'Mother' never truly die. They live on in their children forever—as principles, as courage, as inspiration. On World Mother’s Day, I pay my deepest respect, infinite love, and eternal gratitude to that noble mother. Because history tells the tales of many empires, but the epics of mothers who build a family bit by bit are rarely written.
Reporter:
Professor Md. Zakir Hossain
Secretary of Information and Research, Chandpur District BNP.
