Keeper of the Flame

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Weekend Independent

Friday, 17 February 2012

Author / Source : by Fakhruzzamaman Chowdhury

The sudden and unexpected turn of the events really unnerved me, as my stay in Japan was time bound. We had our programme chalked out and there was no way we could prolong our stay.   And from my side I could not make any new plan to that extent either. Being new in a fathomless city, we simply lose our individual identity! My dejection at the sudden turn of events was writ large on my face. It is what we call act of God!
At the same time, I thought this was not the end of the world and the sooner I forget the unpleasant episode the better for all of us! But within myself a voice said that this sudden unexpected event arising out of a conundrum may take a fortuitous turn. 
Professor Mari Kaigo seems to be a person not interested in crying over the spilled milk! A day after our scheduled meeting was supposed to have taken place she wanted to know on telephone from me if it would be possible on my part to visit Fukuoka. She even quipped; it would be revisiting a place where I am likely to have fond memories with my daughter and her family and above all till then only grandchild!

The question was simple but the reply was not. How could I defray the expenses involved in the journey?

I simply replied back without wasting time, that it would be my pleasure to visit Fukuoka, but because of lack of preparation this time it would not be possible. And in my next trip to Tokyo, definitely Fukuoka would be in the itinerary!

Within a week, a very urgent query came from Professor Kaigo. Without much ado, she asked me to suggest urgently three possible dates within a fortnight and also if I was willing to travel to Fukuoka. She also suggested that each date should have two preceding and succeeding days! Though it was like a puzzle to me, without botching the matter further I sent her a reply.

That Professor Mari Kaigo is a quick decision maker was  amply demonstrated by her telephone call saying that a special courier service delivery should reach me in 24 hours and I should , immediately inform her if everything in the packet is in order!

The special packet reached me in Mari Kaigo riposte and to my utter surprise it contained a two way All Nippon Airways (ANA) air ticket Haneda/Tokyo-Fukuoka-Haneda/Tokyo, room reservation coupon of Hakata Hotel, Fukuoka and a very formal programme schedule to be followed in Fukuoka/Hoshino. I was really amazed at the sudden change of my fortune.

The ANA morning flight from Haneda to Fukuoka reached on dot. Haneda is now Tokyo’s number two airport after Narita was opened to air traffic in 2004. But even though Haneda’s pristine glory is no more, its runways were humming with activities like other busy airports. Even at one point, through the window of the aircraft, I could see a congestion of aircrafts on runway waiting for go ahead signs!

Weather in Fukuoka was glorious, with soothing morning breeze blowing across. At the arrival lounge, I found a placard bearing my name and holding it was a gentleman along with a lady. The lady could be none other than Professor Mari Kaigo herself and the gentleman introduced himself as simply ’Nobu’. And involuntarily I screamed, Nobu Bhai’! Formalities of receptions were done with and we two became very close in no time, when I explained to him the meaning of “Bhai”!

From the airport, it was a straight drive to a posh restaurant, where Japanese delicacies are served. Food for lunch was served in the most sophisticated style. But alas, what is delicacy for them is just the opposite for me. It all depends on habit and human beings are slaves of habit. And I was no exception. For my hostess it was shocking but she resolved immediately that here in Fukuoka, I will be taken to Bangladeshi/sub continental eating houses. She thought it would be wise to let my daughter give me the taste of Japanese food delicacies! And the formal dinner she hosted to welcome me was also shifted to a Bangladeshi food outlet, managed by one Maniruzzaman from Dohar, Dhaka.

The dinner party was graced by the octogenarian father of Professor Mari Kaigo, an academic, former Dean, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University. When it was told that my daughter and her husband were students of his erstwhile faculty, the old man became a little emotional.

Next morning, it was our turn to have a day-in-day-out trip to Hoshino, a picturesque village, about 150 miles south of Fukuoka and 120 miles from Hiroshima. The drive would not take us more than one and a half hour. I was waiting in the lounge for Professor Kaigo and Naba Bhai. They did not keep me waiting long. And in the beautiful, serene place, when traffic was not thick and fast, the automobile under the driving prowess of Naba Bhai seemed to gain wings.

Our car stopped at the gate of Hoshino Peace Memorial Park. It was a huge sprawling park covered by green grass top. Dotted with trees here and there, the park is situated at the depth of the valley, the grandeur and beauty of which cannot be described in words.

As we were approaching the memorial to offer our homage, out came Naba Bhai, the ever vigilant escort. He handed over a small tube containing potion that was likely to ward off biting poisonous insects coming out of the grass. It was as if the poisonous effect of the atom bomb was still hanging around!

When I discussed this feeling of mine with the journalists Makato Usuyama of Yomiuri Shimbun, the mass circulated Japanese daily and Takanori Minato of Nisshinippon, regional daily from Kyushu, they simply nodded their heads.

As we started our journey back to Fukuoka, I was praying to myself in silence: may the memorial in the beautiful surrounding remain as a harbinger of eternal peace!