Finding a launch cabin from Dhaka to Barisal on the eve of any kind of holiday is an exceptional event. Since I am a normal citizen eating rice and pulses, the sofa was my “feasible option” instead of a cabin. According to the trip on 15th December, I booked a ticket online through Sahaj.com and also arranged another ticket for my colleague Tawfiq Bhai.
I went to the launch on time and saw a group of young women in Tawfiq Bhai’s seat preparing for the boat trip with a lot of confidence and joy. Seeing that the seat was about to be lost, I told one of the staff members of the “conductor” group of the launch to find the sofa for the young women. They are happy too, we are happy too. Exactly what is called ‘win-win situation’. I felt relieved to have regained my lost seat.

But after a few minutes, things took a new turn. A gentleman came with his son and took a seat in Tawfiq Bhai’s seat. He also booked a sofa ticket, probably forgetting the ticket counter and his booking was not successful. Meanwhile the launch has left.

Such a situation is not at all pleasant when a baby boy who is going to get up in class four in January comes on a launch trip on a winter night. The gentleman became quite upset. He could not solve the mystery of ticket booking even after calling different places. The ticket checker also failed to find any empty seats.

We told the gentleman, “Uncle, don’t stress, we will give you this seat if you can’t find one.” He said, “But can you two go on one sofa? You will suffer. ” We said, “No problem, it’s only a matter of 5-6 hours.”

The gentleman was reassured. In the evening he came to the sofa as formally as possible and took his seat. But due to ticket complications, he faced a lot of harassment and started sweating. In the end we left a sofa because we couldn’t arrange a ticket checker.

There is a huge flask full of tea in the sofa area of ​​the launch. But there is no cup left. As soon as he asked for tea from the cabin boy, he made it clear that it was not possible to give tea as there was no cup. I said then put the tea in the glass of water here. The cabin boy fell to the ground as if listening to me. Feeling we have ‘Run out of gas’ emotionally.

However, floating on a launch on the banks of the Meghna River, Cabin Boy washed the glass with tea and gave me tea in that glass, setting a shining example of the proverb ‘Koi fried in oil’. I was soaking the cake in milk and tea in a tall glass. Eating biscuits soaked in tea is seen as somewhat ‘less-standard’ in ‘society’. As such, eating cakes in this way is a bit of a violation of the standard. The boy who was going to get up from Three is looking at my ‘soaking the cake in tea’ with a slightly surprised look. I can understand that when someone close to me looks at me. Her eyes are closing in her sleep.

I said, “Hey baby, will you eat chips?” I had three packets of Mr. Twist chips from Bombay Suites. Her father said, “We ate rice a little while ago.”

It is not right to eat something given by a stranger on the way.

I asked the boy, “Do you stay in Dhaka?”

“Yes”

“Which class do you go to?”

“Class three. I will rise from three to four. ”

“Which school?”

(He said the name of the school)

“Good. What does your father do? ”

“He works in a bank.”

“Which bank?”

(He mentioned the name of the bank)

“Is your uncle’s house in Barisal?”

“Yes”

I guessed whether it was his uncle’s house in Barisal. She seemed a bit amused by the type of question I was asking.

The father and son are now busy arranging for sleep. Meanwhile, another group of passengers is spreading the mattress on the floor and making the bed. The banker’s uncle said, “I could sleep on the floor, flat bed.”

Those who have the habit and preparation to call the launch are different. That journey is not “thrilling” at all. Unexpectedly a father would bother with his child on the floor in the winter and we would continue to chat on messenger with headphones in our ears, it could not happen. We made the right decision.

Brother Tawfiq is asleep on half of my sofa. He has made room for me. I told him, “You go to sleep, I will spend the night reading PDF books on my mobile. He also took such an attempt, but soon fell asleep. Fifteen minutes of sitting and sleeping, that experience is not much better. Then I ate the remaining one packet of chips and saw that it was dawn.

The sound of the launch engine was drowned out by the snoring of the sleeping passengers. This can be called the unwelcome defeat of the machine to man. The instrument is regaining its lost glory (people are starting to wake up).

I made a failed attempt to wake Tawfiq brother. In the meantime, the father and son of the next seat have started the day’s activities with brush and paste. The sun is rising. The launch has arrived in Barisal. The work of daily life has started in the heart of Kirtankhola.