The Unfinished Memoirs (Lesson 4)

অষ্টম শ্রেণি (দাখিল) - English for Today Bangabandhu and Bangladesh | - | NCTB BOOK

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Key words : memoirs, oppressed, auto-biography, unfold, excerpt, insist, equate, moist

A. Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

What do you see in the picture?
What does 'memoirs' mean?
What does 'The Unfinished Memoirs' mean in your own language?
What relation do you find between 'Sheikh Mujibur Rahman' and 'The Unfinished Memoirs'?

B. Read the text silently and tell what it is about.

You all know Skeikh Mujibur Rahman as a politician, who has many feathers in his crown. He is the leader of our struggle for independence. He declared independence on 26 March 1971. He is the founder of Bangladesh. He is our Father of the Nation. He is the leader of the oppressed people. He was and still is so popular, so dear, and so own to everyone that people passionately call him Bangabandhu meaning the friend of Bengal/Bangla. But do you know, Bangabandhu as a writer! Yes, we have got some precious memories of Bangabandhu written by himself. He wrote that in Bangla which is available as Osomapto Atmojiboni. Written in the style of auto-biography, Bangabandhu unfolds some unknown aspects of his personal, political and family life in this book. The narration clearly shows why he has been Bangabandhu and why he is the best Bangalee in a thousand years. The following text is an excerpt taken from The Unfinished Memoirs, an English translation of the book.

People in the village that I visited would not only offer me refreshments, they would also offer me money and would be offended if I refused to take it. They insisted that I should utilize the money for my campaign.

remember once how a very poor old woman had waited for a few hours by her hut because she had been told that I would be crossing by. When she finally met me, she held my hand and said, "Please come inside my hut because I would like you to sit inside it for a while." Holding on to her hand, I went in. There were a lot of people with me and yet she spread out a mat for all of us and gave me a bowl of milk, a paan leaf, and some coins. Handing me these things she said, "My dear son, please drink the milk and have the paan leaf and take the money, little though it is, because that is all I have." Tears came to my eyes. I drank the milk but returned the coins, along with some more money, saying, "Your bless- ings are more than sufficient for me; they cannot be equated with money and I don't have enough to repay you. But she refused to take the coins and the money I gave her. Instead, she told me affectionately, "The prayers of the poor will be with you. "When I left her hut my eyes were moist with tears. On that day, I promised myself that I would do nothing to betray my people.

(Taken from The Unfinished Memoirs - translated by Dr. Fakrul Alam)

C. Here are some words from the excerpts taken from the Unfinished Memoirs. Work in pairs and write their synonyms on the blank spaces.

auto-biography equate excerpt insist

memoirs moist oppressed unfold

D. Read the text once again and answer the following questions.

What kind of campaign do you think the writer is talking about?
Why would the villagers offer Bangabandhu money?
What is your opinion about the old woman in the above excerpt?
Why was Bangabandhu emotional to experience the story of the old woman?
Do you think this story has any moral? What is that? Justify your arguments.
What is your first reaction after reading this true story from the life of Bangabandhu?

E. Now read the following text and fill in the gaps using the words you have Bangabandhu?

You have read an _ from Bangabandhu's memoirs. The Unfinished Memoirs is in fact, Bangabandhu's _. Such a writing always _ someone's life-story. Have you read any other's _ ? Can you remember any other leader, who worked for the _ people? Anyway, it was really interesting to read about the woman in the excerpt who _ (ed) Bangabandhu to accept her _. It's true that nothing can _ such selfless love. Bangabandhu realized it and so his eyes got _.

F. Discuss in pairs to make a list of things that you can do for senior citizens in your community.

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Rezwan Siddiki Tamim

Bangabandhu and the Language Movement The Historic 7 March Speech Declaration of Independence