Hanif Enterprise: Jainul Abedin started with one truck and now the owner of 1200 buses

This persistent and successful person is known to all as ‘Father of Transportation’. This struggling person is now the owner of 1200 buses from one truck. The name of the person is Jainul Abedin. He is the dreamer of Hanif Enterprise.

The beginning of his life was quite rough. He has overcome this through tireless hard work and hard perseverance. He has huge contribution to the transport sector. Country’s transport sector has flourished under his guidance. His role in the public transport is remembered by all with reverence. He is called by the local people as Jainul Mahajan (Mahajan means moneylender or trader). 

Jainul Abedin was born and brought up in Savar, Dhaka. He started with just one truck. Later he started the coach business. He built the transport service provider ‘Hanif Enterprise’ which was named after his youngest son Hanif. He did not have to look back since then. This visionary has also established petrol pump, CNG station, bricks manufacturing, cold storage, beverage and publishing businesses. Afterwards, wherever he has put his hand, he has grown gold.

Jainul Abedin, owner of Hanif Enterprise, has always avoided media. He has revealed the unknown stories of his successes in an unceremonious manner. According to sources, he was born to a respectable Muslim business family at Hizla village in Amin Bazar union of Savar Upazila. He was the fifth of five brothers. When his father was union parishad chairman (Chairman of Union council), Jainul was involved in export-import business; he was especially a successful trader of paddy-rice and leather.

Jainul Abedin first took admission in Amin Bazar Mirpur Mofid-E-Am Junior Madrasa. From there, his father got him admitted to Mirpur Siddhanta High School. For being impish, he was not attentive to his studies. In the meantime, his father took the decision of getting his elder brother married. He fixed the marriage with Mumtaz Begum, daughter of Hazi Nurul Islam of Mirpur. But his elder brother did not agree to the marriage then. So, he was forced into the marriage. Then his age was just 14 years and Mumtaz Begum’s age was only 12 years.

For not being attentive to studies, he started business. At that time, there were not many transports and even there were very few high ways. Either train or waterways were the main medium of transport. In paddy-rice business, he went to Santahar by train from Kamlapur- from there he went to Naogaon by bus- then he went to Mohadevpur by Tom Tom (Horse pulled car)- from there he went to a place named Mahishbathan by walk. People of that locality became astonished to see Tk 3000 with him. They were thinking of how come so much money was in possession of such a young boy.  

A source informed that Jainul Abedin was once saved from untimely death in an accident. It happened many years ago. Once there was shortage of rice in East Pakistan. The supply of rice was less and price was high. So, he went to Jashore on a plane. Revenue collector was with him. He bought 250 maunds of rice. Now, it was time to return. Source said, when the rice-loaded boat that was also carrying him was floating in the Padma River near Munshiganj, it sank because of heavy storm. He survived that time with the help of the fishermen. Returning home, he left the paddy-rice business from his head.

The story of success started after the country’s independence. There was a call for re-constructing the country. Manik Mia Avenue at Sangsad Bhaban (National Parliament House) area was a Boro (one kind of rice) field. He started throwing soil on that field under the sub-contract. He bought a three-ton petrol-run truck with just Tk 14,000. Along with this, he also rented a few trucks. Later he sold the truck and bought a five-ton diesel-run Bedford truck.

Afterwards, he got a work of making a dam on the Matamuhuri River in Feni, also under a sub-contract. The contractor gave him 10 lakh (one million) taka in advance for filling up the lowland with soil. With this money, he bought two Hino coaches. In the name of his youngest child Hanif, he started the journey of ‘Hanif Enterprise.’ First, it was introduced on the Dhaka- Bogura route. Later, the success of one route led to another, thus, increasing the number of routes one by one. In this way, 1200 buses have been added to the convoy in the last four decades. Source also said, at present, because of Hanif Enterprise, around 50,000 people have been employed. Jainul Abedin is the symbol of honesty, loyalty and reliability.  

Source-

http://www.bangladesh24online.com//article/0/72035/index.html

Vinno Rokom Dokan: A shop that runs on trust

It is natural that if you go to a shop, you will buy products with the help of the shopkeeper. But if you go to such a shop and find no shopkeeper then how would you feel? It seems to be an astonishing incident. But yes, there is a shop of this kind at Kumarkhali railway station in Kushtia. Handkerchief, napkin, towel and lungi are neatly stacked in the shop. But there is no seller. Hence, the name of this different type of shop is “Vinno Rokom Dokan” (Different kind of shop).

Each product has price tag attached to them. For collecting the price of the product, there is a box in front of the shop. Customers take their required products and keep the price there. The name of the shop owner is Hamidur Rahman Shipon. He is a hawker by profession. He has been fighting with poverty for long time. One profession is not enough for him to run a family. So, he has been thinking of doing something different for a long time. From that thinking, he gets the idea of ‘Vinno Rokom Dokan’. 

The reporter talked to Hamidur Rahman Shipon about ‘Vinno Rokom Dokan’. The summary of the story is given below-

Reporter: What is the reason behind this different plan?

Hamidur: Actually, I have been planning for something like this for one and half year. It is because I am a peddler. I buy cloths and then cut and sew them by myself and then sell them. However, it was not possible for me to run my family by doing this job. And it is also not possible for me to do two jobs together at the same time. So, I came up with this plan. I have written the price on each product. Customers purchase products of their need and put the money inside the box.

Reporter: Do you find any irregularities in the amount after the end of the day?

Hamidur: With the blessings of everyone, so far the shop did not have any problem. It has been seven months that I am running this shop. At the end of the day, I come to the shop to collect the money and check the daily account. But till now, I have never found any irregularities.

Reporter: What kind of support are you getting from those living near the shop?

Hamidur: There is a library next to my shop. The person who runs the library looks after my shop as much as possible. But he has his own work too. It is not possible for him to keep an eye on my shop all day. But I am not facing any problem. It is going well.

Reporter: Do you leave the shop empty all day long, or do you sit at the shop at a certain time?

Hamidur: No, I do not get time to sit at the shop. I open the shop at 9 O’clock in the morning and then go for hawking. I sell handkerchief in Kushtia, Rajbari and Pangsha regions. Though I come back to the shop by the afternoon, I do not stay there. I close the shop at around 10 to 10:30 p.m.

Reporter: How much do you sell every day?

Hamidur: Daily I earn 600-800 taka and after all the expenses I make decent profit.

Reporter: Is your family financially solvent now?

Hamidur: We are now a bit more financially solvent. I am satisfied with the present condition. I hope that prosperity will come back to my family if the condition of the shop becomes much better. 

 

Source-

http://www.ittefaq.com.bd/print-edition/vino-chikhe/2016/04/02/111573.html

Epiphany in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

James Joyce is celebrated as one of the great literary pioneers of the twentieth century. He was one of the first writers to make extensive and convincing use of stream of consciousness. It is a stylistic form where the writer presents the characters inner thoughts and perceptions instead of depicting them from an objective, external perspective. Epiphany is one of the major techniques used by Joyce to represent the characters’ thoughts and perceptions. The word ‘Epiphany’ means ‘manifestation, showing forth’. It is a religious terms that refers to the three men of wisdom who saw more than a baby. This baby was actually the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

Joyce was raised a Catholic and he used many religious ideas in his novels but they had no connection with religion. In the context of this novel,   epiphany can be defined as a moment in which a character makes a sudden, profound realization. This can happened due to external event or a sudden rush of thoughts in one’s mind. The new idea arise thus change the character’s perception about the world.

In the first chapter we see the baffling impressions of young Stephen Dedalus. There is a conflict between his implicit faith in the authority of his elders and his feeling of insecurity. During Christmas, he listens to a heated argument between his father, John Casey and Dante, their governess on Catholic church and Charles Parnell. When the poet talks about Clongowes Wood College, we see this conflict again. The ‘smuggling’ incident, the stealing wine from the school’s sacristy and the Prefect “Pandying” him for no reason. There is a difference between what the young Stephen expects and what happens in real life.

In the second chapter, there are some more interesting examples of epiphanies. Stephen was very happy when he complained to Father Conmee. He thought that justice triumphed when Father Conmee told him that he would look into the matter. To his shock, he found out that Father Conmee never took the matter seriously. He and Simon were laughing over this matter. In Belvedere College, Stephen again faced this conflict. For expressing his ideas, Mr Tate, the English master, found “Heresy” in his essay. His friends- Heron, Boland and Nash thrashed him with cane and cabbage stamp for defending Byron, the “Heretic.” Stephen’s desire for beauty and purity and the reality of the world resulted in his escape to brothel. He knew he was sinned when he had sex with a whore but he enjoys it.

The best example of Epiphany in this novel is seen in the last part of Chapter 4 when Stephen comes to the beach after decides not to become a priest. Before leaving for university, he goes to the beach. There he sees a young girl wading at the beach, which strikes him with the sudden realization that an appreciation for beauty can be truly good.

This technique of Joyce makes the novel a bit difficult to reading but also gives its unique nature. If the reader becomes patient and read the entire novel then he or she would find that the seemingly jumbled perceptions of stream of consciousness can crystallize into a coherent and sophisticated portrayal of a character's experience.

Change of Stephen Dedalus as shown in five chapters

James Joyce is one of the most important figures of modernist literature. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is one of his important works. This novel actually shows the growth of Stephen Dedalus as an artist.

When the novel opens, we are in the mind of a child; fragmented lines from a nursery story are intertwined with sensations and associations of feeling, touching, hearing, and smelling. 

The author then switches to Clongowes Wood College where Stephen studied. Stephen was small and weak, and suffered from poor vision and painful homesickness. Stephen did not like the school. He never complaint to his teachers about his classmates and he had a very strong sense of right and wrong. When Father Dolan, the Prefect of Clongowes, punished him for no reason, he complained to Father Conmee. For the first time, Stephen was introduced to the idea of conflict between nationalism and Catholicism. During Christmas, Stephen was allowed to sit with adults in the dinner table where he heard an argument between Mr. John Casey and Simon Dedalus, Stephen’s father, and Dante, their governess over the Church condemning Charles Parnell, an Irish Nationalist, for his marital infidelity.

The second chapter deals with the Dedalus’ changing fortune and how Stephen adopted himself and formation of his own ideas. The chapter opens up describing Stephen spending summer in Blackrock, Dublin with his family. His father did not send him to Clongowes for his financial difficulty. However, Stephen did not feel sad. He rather enjoyed his summer. In this chapter, we see Stephen’s imagination and restlessness. He enjoys reading The Count Of Monte Cristo and thinks of adventure. The family then moves to Dublin where Stephen discovers a new world. He sees things in his own way. We also see a Stephen growing up and forming his thoughts about the world, about literature about everything. His rebel nature becomes visible in this chapter when he defends Byron and gets beaten for it.

Chapter three and four mainly shows Stephen’s inner conflicts and accepting himself with all his sins and failures. He finds religion meaningless and considers church going people hypocrites. He likes food, sex and wandering around. He starts visiting prostitutes. Although he is known as a good student and performs religious rituals in his school but he does not believe in them. He thinks about sex most of the time. If he is not thinking about sex, he works in complex religious matter. Life takes an unexpected turn when he hears the fiery sermons of Father Arnall. He becomes very afraid and starts to perform various religious rituals seriously. Seeing his dedication, the college director approaches him if he is interested to become a Jesuit. This brings back the memories of Clongowes. He understands that the life of a Jesuit would not suit him. He accepts his life the way it is and finds immense joy in it.

The final chapter we see Stephen going to University and talking with people from different social background. University has provided crucial intellectual material for Stephen's growth. His aesthetic theory, very sophisticated for a college student, is deeply indebted to Aristotle and Aquinas. Stephen gradually understands that the Irish establishment is the main impediment on his path to creativity. So, he finally decides to leave Ireland.

Art and artist in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

James Joyce is an Irish novelist. He is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the early 20^th century. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the first novel of Irish writer James Joyce. In this novel, the writer shares his concepts about arts and artists. Through Stephen Dedalus, he presents his own opinion. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man details events which closely correspond with those of Joyce's first twenty years. 

This novel is the story of the growth of Stephen from creature to a creator. It shows the development of the child into a young man ready to take up his mission as an artist. He wants to pursue the talent of an artist. It is his believe that he can do it only if he is free of all commitments. He is tied by family, religion, and country but he arranges to get himself freed from all these ties. He wants to be loyal to his art. He throws off the shackles of his mind. He struggles to free himself from all bonds. Even he leaves his family, his country, and goes into exile.

According to Stephen, art is the human disposition of sensible or intelligible matter for an esthetic end. It seems Stephen believes that true art stands alone. It is separate from morality. Stephen’s approach to art is formalistic. He believes in the theory of art for art’s sake. There is no difference between beauty and truth. Stephen thinks that the job of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. He is influenced by Aquinas. According to Aquinas, we can call that beautiful which pleases the sight. Stephen has pointed out that Aquinas has given three conditions for the apprehension of beauty- wholeness, harmony, and radiance. He imagines that the loveliness that has not yet come into the worlds’ is to be found in his own soul. The earth is gross, and what it brings forth is cow dung. Sound and shape and color are the prison gates of our soul; and beauty is something mysteriously gestated within.

Stephen compares the artist with God. He says that an artist is just like God in his creation. However, such analogies should be considered only analogies, not identifications. Stephen is just elaborating his aesthetic principles. We should not think that he is trying to elevate the human artist to the place of God in his comparison of the autonomy of art and artist to the autonomy of God.  

Though Stephen wants to be a priest, he feels that he would not be able to fulfill his mission in life which was to become an artist. His destiny is not to get entangled with religions and social orders. He must be free of all loyalties and attachments if he wants to be a true artist.

Stephen's thoughts, associations, feelings, and language serve as the primary vehicles by which the reader shares with Stephen the pain and pleasures of adolescence, as well as the exhilarating experiences of intellectual, sexual, and spiritual discoveries. He has worked hard and dedicated his life because he wants to be an artist who owes loyalty to nothing but his art.