A glimpse of '52 in Gulshan 2

Rest assured, none of my prior visits to the Justice Shahabuddin Park in Gulshan 2 were anything like the one on 20 February at Nymphea Publication's Open Air Photo Exhibition to commemorate the language movement martyrs. While most of the visits were limited to grabbing a cup of coffee and walking by the bookshelves at Bookworm; that evening, I took a walk down memory lane.

It truly was a "walk down memory lane" for me because growing up, it was impossible to advance through school without immersing in countless chapters about the language movement and the Liberation War in our 'Amar Bangla Boi' and Social Science textbooks.

However, that may not be the case for everyone and certainly not the case when it comes to children of current and future generations. As a matter of fact, that is exactly what factored into the equation when founder and CEO of Nymphea Publication, Karunangshu Barua, decided to host this open-for-all exhibition.

"Our objectives are twofold. Firstly, we want to spread the ethos of Ekush from generation to generation. Secondly, we want the foreigners who reside in Bangladesh to get a glimpse of our language movement, of our pride," said Barua.

Photo: Mehedi Hasan

The event partnered with UNESCO Bangladesh and Bangladesh Foreign Service Association and was attended by esteemed guests such as the Officer-in-Charge of UNESCO Dhaka.

The exhibition perfectly matched Barua's vision, and surprisingly, the 'ribbon cutting' was not done by famous people or big names. A group of school kids had the special role of inaugurating the event, showing a clear wish: to make sure young people and future generations learn about the deep history of our language movement. 

This decision really showed what the event was all about, making sure its important message would be carried on by those who will come after us. The exhibition was set up in a quite compact area; you could essentially see all the photos at a glance without pausing to read the history behind them, taking roughly five minutes or so. 

Most of the photographs on display were chosen from one of Nymphea's own published books from 2008 titled, 'Ekush: A Photographic History of Language Movement (1947-1956)'.

Photo: Mehedi Hasan

The photographs were curated in chronological order, starting from the events of 1948 and leading up to some events even in the 21st century. Being someone who works in a newspaper myself, it was quite fun for me to read through the photographs of the paper cuttings from back in the day. 

An excerpt of The Daily Azad's publication on 21 February, 1952 regarding the countrywide imposition of section 144, really stood out to me.

There were a few more interesting segments to the exhibition other than just the photographs. One section was specifically dedicated to showcasing cartoons and caricatures by various artists, depicting various events and figures associated with the language movement and the Liberation War.

Photo: Mehedi Hasan

The exhibition also took visitors on a journey back to the 1940s with an impressive display of postal memorabilia. Drawing from Nymphea Publication's 'Philatelic Ekush,' one section featured an extensive array of commemorative stamps and special postmarks, all issued by the Bangladesh Post Office. 

This unique collection added another layer of historical depth to the event, showcasing the rich philatelic heritage linked to Bangladesh's past.

Last but not least, there were two entire walls (made out of cardboard of course) dedicated to the language martyrs. Yes, the ever-known names and portraits of Salam, Rafiq, Jabbar, and Barkat were there on one wall. The other wall had a very detailed list of names and photos of a plethora of martyrs and individuals who were related to the language movement.

Nymphea Publication's Open Air Photo Exhibition will be open for visitors at Justice Shahabuddin Park till 23 February from 7 AM to 9 PM.