Living with Father

Ferial Imam Haque

This year in 2015 …

Father’s day is on Sunday, June 21^st

Father! Your Memories are fresh in my heart

 Don’t know how long the pain will last

I pray you can sleep without pain and rest

I was a baby when you were living

So you live only in my memory

You are creation of my imagination only

Inspired by praises from family, your colleagues,

Students, professors and the support stuff

In the Department of Physics

At the University of Dacca, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I have always been so proud of you

And adored your intelligence and wisdom

Thank you for choosing mother as your wife

She was beautiful, intelligent

     And graduated with B.A. Hons., Philosophy

From Calcutta University, British India

Her family was wealthy and well known in British India

Thank you for ensuring mother was financially secured

Because of your Life Insurance we travelled

With mother where ever she went

She travelled to London, England in 1950

As a M.A. in Philosophy student with a scholarship

So we three sisters tagged along with her

Even today, I remember the care free days in London

We enjoyed playing with friends at school

And thank you for your wisdom

You have sown the seed to acquire knowledge

So not only mother but we three sisters

Have pursued education to attain Professional status

In the global society

Our children have also followed our foot steps

To become scientists, educationist, physicians

And career in business

Your praise has not only set a legacy in the family

But also amongst your students & their family

My personal story of being inspired by you

As a scientist, educationist and researcher

You made a great impression in my mind when I was small

This has always motivated me in my difficult times

Whether I was lying in hospital bed in my country or abroad

Or in the Chemistry research lab.

As a little girl my aunt, mother’s sister

Would always tell me the stories of your love for me

Even during the last years in life you would

Pick me up and say you are my Madona

You would brush my hair and comfort me when I cried

In your memory I still part my hair the way you did

My complexion is like yours and not like mother

But I did not care, as I wanted to be wise like you

I used to read your hand written notes

Admire you penmanship and the diagrams

When it was time to choose our career path

We three sisters followed your foot steps

To acquire knowledge and be good students

My older sister choose medicine

Younger sister choose Physics and I choose Chemistry

It was accepted by the Faculty of Science

University of Dacca, East Pakistan now Bangladesh

We have to be scientists and follow your legacy

I graduated with B.Sc. Hons. In Chemistry

I did not stop there but continued

Graduate studies abroad to be awarded with a Ph.D.

I pursued further research to contribute to Science

My interests were in Applied Science and Society

Internationally my contributions are in Forensic Science

My research findings have attracted attention

 In Forensic Laboratories by researchers and technologists

I provided the technical information they needed

Sometimes, I feel so gratified for my achievements

I always was so proud of your academic achievements

And your M.Sc. thesis supervisor Professor S.N. Bose

Connecting us to the Bose-Einstein Theory

This makes me realize the world is so small 

Someone in your field will notice your contributions

However, big or small

Researchers always require a topic to begin creation

We Scientists are never satisfied with our findings