Mélange of minds in English Department reunion

They spanned generational and geographic divides in celebrating their ties to the stellar English Department of Dhaka University.

Whether they just graduated, graduated recently or decades ago, they travelled from far and wide, they reconnected, got re-acquainted with old friends and classmates.

The English Department Alumni Society (EDAS) gathered graduates from as far back as 1956 to those as recent as 2013 on the green lawn of Teacher-Student Centre on a wintry Friday evening.

Like every year, it gave former students a chance to walk down the memory lane and make new friends and professional contacts in a fun, casual setting.

Whether it had been five years or 50 since they left, the level of excitement among the 475 alumni returning to campus was undeniable.

The alumni brought them back to campus in a way they may have missed while they were a student. There was ample time for informal conversations with friends, old and new; reunite with fellow classmates and catch up on where they are now.

The get-together also provided networking and social opportunities for the alumni who were eager to keep in touch, and help others keep in touch with each other.

Amidst the hugs and handshakes and laughter, over teas, coffees and pastries, the alumni caught up on each other’s lives – on years of joys and sorrows, of amazing accomplishments, of choices made and roads not taken.

The current students, too, were elated, having the opportunity to get close to their predecessors - some legends in their own right.

The reunion provided a valuable opportunity to meet new members of the network, establish personal and professional contacts, and discuss further development of the alumni network.

Journalist and researcher Syed Badrul Ahsan spoke on the late Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, a former EDAS president, 1991 Caretaker Government adviser and a former Jahangirnagar University vice chancellor.

Tahmina Ahmed, Department Chair and EDAS treasurer, spoke welcoming the alumni to their alma mater.

Syed Badrul Ahsan stood in for AMA Muhith who was the scheduled speaker on Prof Siddiqui. The minister, of MA class of 1955, got stuck in Sylhet and could not make it in time.

The EADS, founded in 1986, awarded students for their outstanding performances in Honours and Masters like previous years.

It was a lot of fun for everyone. The reunion let them unwind, to reconnect with the current department, as well as to talk about issues of importance to everyone who cares about the country.

The gathering allowed them to enjoy some of the intellectual pleasures that made their earlier experiences in the department so enjoyable.

Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and his classmate former NBR chairman Mohammad Abdul Majid came to meet old folks amid their busy schedules.

Bhuiyan, a regular, said he did not want to miss reunions as they brought together friends, juniors and seniors of the department.

"I come here almost every year," he said. "I often meet those (former English department students) who are in civil service but it's here where I can meet the others."

Majid said he came to relive his university days.

"So many years have passed us by, so fast. This event, even though it is held once a year, seems to be taking place in a very short time," he said.

Former ambassador Nasima Haider, senior to Majid and Bhuiyan by several batches, joined them.

"Coming back here makes me feel that this is my campus, this is my university," she fondly said.

RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed, who graduated from the department, was also having fun.

His classmate Jahangir Hossain recalled their days in a study circle. "It only seems yesterday. I miss my university days," he said.

Fatema Chowdhury went to study law abroad after graduating in the '90s. She has not been in touch with her friends since.

"I attended the first alumni programme in 2000 but didn't see any of my friends. It felt really bad but then I started attending the programme regularly.

"This year, about 10 of us have come. We are having a great get-together," she said.

One of them was her close friend Selima Kishowar, who was at the reunion for the first time.

"It feels great," Kishowar said.

Journalist Badrul Ahsan was busy catching up with his friends.

"When we were students here, male and female students could not socialise unlike now. Now we have civil relations with our female friends.

"In our university days, we wrote so many poems for them... but they were of no use," he joked.

As the alumni spoke of the special role the department has played in their life, many could not resist snapping a photo of themselves with their phones - ‘selfie’ in the lingua franca of the youth.

This year, Mehedi Karim Simanto, Nusrat Jahan and Anika Saba received the EDAS awards for excellent results in 2013 Honours final exams.

Zaynal Abedin, Shahadat Hussein, Md Abdullah Al Moktadir and Shehreen Ataur Khan were recognised for outstanding results in the 2012 MA examinations.

Tamanna Sharmin Kabir, Mohammad Humayan Rashid and Humayra Fatema Nizam have been awarded for their results in Applied Linguistics.

Hosneara Mira and Romana Islam sang in the programme moderated by Dravida Anjuman Huda.

Communication specialist Wazir Sattar, who will serve a second term as

EDAS president

, and

General Secretary

Toufique Imrose Khalidi, serving the society for the fourth consecutive term, highlighted the organisation's activities.

Sattar said, "With the anniversary at its 29th year, another branch has sprouted from the EDAS tree. New leaves have now grown on this magnificent tree since our last get-together. EDAS is now even stronger and richer than before.

“We have also been involved in key activities during the year, notably including our co-sponsorship of the international conference on ‘The Great War and English Studies', as well as our Job Counselling Workshop.

“The latter will continue to be held on a regular basis as we progress. We have chalked out plans in extending a hand to our department and its effort to deliver better quality support to its students. We will definitely see the implementation of our plan during 2015.”

General Secretary Khalidi thanked Prof Tahmina Ahmed, the department chair and ex-officio treasurer, for her active participation in EDAS activities.

Professor Dr Rubina Khan, who has been on the society's committees, will replace her next month.

"Our goal for the last few years has been to make the last Friday of January every year a very special day for all of us; we have tried consistently to build the foundation for this day to be looked forward to, a day we will always mark in their annual calendar," Khalidi said.

He spoke glowingly of this year’s edition.

“In many ways, 2014 was much

better than 2013

. It gave us all hope that we would have a much quieter work climate in the run-up to this reunion.

“The preparatory work that precedes such an event requires some predictability so that matters proceed according to plan.

“However, since politicians in Bangladesh prefer to remain unpredictable, we ordinary mortals are left with very little room to manoeuvre.

“Nevertheless we tried, our colleagues on the 2014 committee did their utmost best to make sure this get together is as festive as possible and ensure that there is as much fun to be had by those converging on the lawn of TSC,” he added.

As zingers flew and banters followed, there were murmurs of “wish...was here".

Toufique Khalidi seemed to tug at their heartstrings.

“As we reminisce today,” he said, “hug friends we haven’t seen in ages, meet fellow alumni we hadn’t known in our days as students, and make new acquaintances, we also think of those whom we will never see again.”