Abu Sufian sold his wife's jewelry to save the library that now attracts readers from all age groups and walks of life
They often have to pass their days in
extreme hardship, sometimes half-fed, sometimes even unfed. Yet they
have never deviated from or wavered in their resolve. They have made
their life's sole mission a library that is dedicated to the cause of
kindling light in the lives of others. They are a couple living in a
remote small town where they run the dream of their life.
Always
smiling and soft-spoken, Abu Sufian is a popular name in his
neighborhood. He is an indomitable spirit in his business of
disseminating light that is knowledge. And his wife, Selina Akter Kanak,
is a real sahadharmini in the true sense of the Bengali term that
refers to a woman who religiously follows her husband in what he
believes and does. The tale of this couple is in stark contrast to
countless stories across the country in which the wife under duress or
torture is forced to give away her money or valuables, like gold
jewelry, to her truant husband so that he can indulge in gambling,
drinking or even meaner vices. But theirs is a totally different story.
Coming from a modest background, Kanak gladly handed over her only
valuable possession, a pair of gold bracelets, to her husband so that he
could save a library. Kanak not only parted with her possession for the
library, she has also been a comradein- arms with her husband in
raising money for the library and running it.
Sufian wants to
spend his life for spreading the light of knowledge in the lives of the
downtrodden people of society in particular. He cannot imagine parting
with the library during his life, not even when he will be dead. "When I
will die I want to be buried beside this library," he said in an
emotionally charged voice, his eyes welling up in tears. He loves the
library so much that he not only sold his wife's gold, but also the land
and house that he had inherited as his share of the paternal property.
Once he even spent the money meant for buying milk for his children.
Sufian and Kanak live and run their library in Darshana, a small
industrial town in the western Bangladesh district of Chuadanga. The
town is about 22 kilometers from the district headquarters. The
Mathabhanga, once a mighty river, flows on the western side of the town.
Like that river flows towards its destination, Sufian breathes for his
library. He was born in this town in 1965 in the staff quarter of the
Carew and Company, where his father Eskander, now deceased, worked.
Eskander came to the town for a job in the company from his ancestral
home at Kolpur village of Boltali union in Sadar upazila of Gopalgonj
district.
Although Eskander was just a power engine driver, he
wanted to raise his children so that they could become educated and good
human beings. Sufian started his studies at Carew Primary and High
School. As he grew up, so did his mind and outlook. After completing his
high school education he got himself admitted to Darshana College. At
the college level he joined the Chhatra Union, a predominant platform
for progressive student politics in those days, where he was introduced
to an intellectual environment.
It was at that stage that Sufian
began to feel that he should do something which will serve the people
in their need for the light of knowledge. An idealistic as well as
energetic and handsome young man, Sufian as if naturally attracted
Kanak, a student of the same class with a similar spirit, and it did not
take long for them to fall seriin love with one another. The young man
and woman were so madly in love that they entered into wedlock before
they finished their college. Married without having any source of
income, they started a life that started coursing through the
uncertainty of food, shelter and other basic needs, although there was
no dearth of love and affection and compassion for one another in their
life.
With the orientation to serve the selfless cause of
knowledge distribution, the couple never got serious about the needs of
their own life. For example, even when the light bulb in their room
burns out, it takes several days to replace it. It often happens so that
they have to skip a meal or two every now and then. Sometimes Sufian
passes a day just on a cookie and a cup of tea offered by a reader, or
an admirer, who has come to study in the library. Despite his hardship
he does not miss a day in the library and always keeps it open for the
readers.
Sufian and Kanak currently live in a small room of a
tin-shed house at Mobarak Para of the town with their two kids a 14
years old son, Abu Saif Kashfat, nicknamed Sokal, and a seven-year-old
daughter, Jannatul Ferdous, alias Mawa. This is not even a rented
accommodation. The house is owned by a relative who let them live there
free of charge as a gesture of kindness. Though theirs is not a welloff
and very organized family, Sufian and Kanak have no end of dreams
centering their son and daughter.
As back as about 25 years ago,
towards the end of the 80's, a group of dedicated social workers
launched a library-based community development movement under the title
of Community Development Library or CDL with its main office in Dhaka.
The objective of the library was to provide information services to
researchers and development workers engaged in community level social
development and rights-based initiatives across the country. The
ultimate objective of the library program was to bring about a
qualitative change in the life of backward communities of the country by
providing them with access to knowledge.
CDL set up a large
number of branches, along with a library component, and thus established
a network of libraries throughout the country. Sufian too became a part
of that movement, started a public library with the slogan 'Let
knowledge be a tool for the emancipation of the underprivileged' in a
rented house in 1989. Later when the CDL pulled out of the program,
Sufian and Kanak did not let the library in Darshana go out of its
existence. As a result of their fervent desire to continue the service,
the library lived on. Particularly, the support and participation
provided by Kanak was instrumental in keeping the library alive.
It may be noted that though the library was initially launched under
the auspices of CDL, its authorities provided very limited funds for
running the reading facility and thus Sufian took upon his small
shoulders the big responsibility of ensuring the financial support for
the activity. In course of time when it became very difficult for Sufian
to run the library, Kanak, who was then an active member of the
library, came forward to join hands with the vendor of light. The young
woman, who would soon marry the man, did so much for the library that it
was a remarkable and long story of sacrifice and dedication. Her love
for the library was also so profound that on an occasion she stopped
buying milk for their child so that they could pay the library's
newspaper bill.
At a later stage, the library faced a major
setback when the CDL authorities withdrew from the program and were no
more providing money for the rent of the library accommodation. But how
could Sufian think of closing down the library which was working as a
lighthouse for the people of the surrounding communities?
Abu Sufian has dedicated his life to spreading the light of knowledge amongst others
ous struggle to keep the library going, Kanak, then his wife for
quite a while, came forward and wanted to make it a joint mission to
carry forward the dream. Before Sufian could work out any plan to save
the library, Kanak came forward with her most valuable possession, a
pair of gold bracelets, which her husband had given her as a wedding
gift. She said to him, "Here you go. Sell the pair and build a shed for
the library."
The sad and, at the same time, happy man sold the
gold, which fetched him 40,000 taka, half the original value, and spent
the money for raising a tin-shed structure to house the library. They
heaved a sigh of great relief, because the lighthouse was still standing
on the ground!
Sufian was also never shy of parting with a
portion of what he earned from his job, for the upkeep of the library.
Even when he was working with Wave Foundation, an NGO, for a very modest
salary, he used to spend a part of his monthly pay for the library.
Actually he always kept a part of whatever money came his way, for the
library. Thus, with his labor, money and other efforts he and his wife
consistently nurtured the venture as if it was one of their children.
Now the small but rich library stands in the neighborhood of Chatka
Tola near Darshana Government College. Though the reading facility is
housed into a modest tin-shed structure, its location in a serene
atmosphere replete with trees and plants has rendered it into a
beautiful site to be in and around. The people who come to read and
write in the library also have a good time being in the place.
Practically, the reading facility has meanwhile become very attractive
to those who want to pursue knowledge.
Though the library has in
the meantime reached a stable condition after going through many ups
and downs, it is yet to have a sound financial footing for its smooth
operation. While it occasionally manages to receive funds in the form of
grants from businesses or institutions, it is largely supported by
subscriptions extended by well wishers. Many people who as students once
attended this library are now employed and often give financial support
to it.
Sufian and his wife have so far spent more than two
million taka to raise, run and maintain the library as well as to
arrange various educational, cultural and social programs under its
auspices. Currently the library has a total of 237 registered readers
and 20 life members. Besides, there are 101 members on the children's
forum and 47 members on the women's forum run under the library. The
library's collection includes a total of 2,440 books in different
disciplines and 260 journals of various kinds. It subscribes to eight
national dailies, two weeklies and a monthly on a regular basis.
"Nothing gives me more joy than the readers, who come to use the
library when I see them in the library," said Sufian with a profound
contentment ringing in the tone of his voice.
