Bangladesh Independence Day in America amid cherry blossoms

Last Saturday, on March 26, Bangladeshis in America while celebrating their Independence Day of this year must have been a little more excited with a colourful gift from the nature: 2011 Cherry Blossoms, an annual American festival that has officially been scheduled to be held from March 26 (coinciding with the Independence Day of Bangladesh) till April 10. Each year Washington DC, like many other cities in the United States, becomes a paradise of delight with thousands of cherry trees in their full blooms when hundreds of thousands of tourists throng the capital city to enjoy the soul-snatching panorama of cherry flowers and a myriad of festivals held in Washington DC on the occasion. Washington DC has thus become a bustling centre of beauty and international friendship. The last week of March and the first week of April are two exhilarating weeks when spring arrives merrily and cherry trees bloom profusely. These two weeks are also heartbreaking as the cherry flowers in their fullest blossoms---just at the moment of their greatest beauty---have to part with their trees shedding their petals on the ground. Sudden blooms and swift falls of cherry flowers evoke a poignant feeling reminding us about evanescent life, ephemeral pleasures, transient happiness, temporary powers and fragile love. Each bloom and each fall of each cherry flower is a tale of one story beginning and another ending in the quickest imaginable succession. Cherry blossoms are always poignant to the Japanese as their rejoicing the occasion is also tinged with sadness for the flowers' short-lived beauty and their symbolism to death and separation. This year's cherry blossoms in Japan must be more poignant to the Japanese as they are still grieving the tragedies that have overwhelmed their nation by the recent earthquake and tsunami devastating the north-east Japan and leaving more than 10,000 people dead, some 17,500 missing and about a half-million homeless, and spawning a nuclear disaster. Cherry blossoms this year will also be poignant for the Americans out of their sympathy for their Japanese friends. This year, a prominent theme of Cherry Blossoms would be an appeal for donations to support Japan's relief efforts in their terrible time of tragedy. On the occasion of the current event of Cherry Blossoms Americans' hearts must be going out to the people of Japan who, in fact, about 100 years back helped ornament America with the beauties of cherry flowers. The cherry trees that are found in Washington DC are very old. Back in 1912, when William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913), Helen Herron Taft, the President's wife and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the then Japanese ambassador, two aficionados of beauty of nature and horticulture, had planted the first two cherry trees shipped from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. In the same year, 3,000 cherry trees were gifted by Tokyo's the then mayor, Yukio Ozaki. Over the years, thousands of trees had arrived from Japan and been planted in America. The ones that were planted in 1912 are the ones that turn the Tidal Basin into a cloud of pink each spring. These cherry trees would be there for at least another one hundred years. A well-nurtured cherry tree can survive almost 250 years. On Monday, March 28, Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC organised a reception on Bangladesh Independence Day. I was invited to attend the function that would start at 6 O'clock in the evening. To kill two birds with one stone, I planned a visit to the National Mall at 3:00 in the afternoon to see cherry blossoms before attending the function in our embassy. I was walking and marvelling at the indescribable cherry trees laden with flowers. The cherry trees will be blazing in full blossoms not before the first week of April. Meanwhile, the air of Washington near the famous memorials in the National Mall has already been perfumed with a unique fragrance. I was not sure whether it was the aroma of some flowers or of a magical elixir of nature that is chemically produced at the onset of springtime! Flowers were dancing upon the breeze, some tiny birds were chirping and flocks of wild birds were soaring high above under a sky so blue, so azure! The beauty of the springtime was unfolding before my eyes in incredible hues and sounds! I got tired of walking. But I was refreshed as I was walking near the Tidal Basin across the Jefferson Memorial. Sitting on the steps of Lincoln Memorial as I was viewing the Washington Monument I was remembering what the Lebanese American poet Khalil Gibran said: "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair." I don't have repository of words and phrases to describe my feelings the way a poet can. But, I can only say: "Life is worth living if you have eyes, ears and souls to enjoy spring with so many cherry flowers blooming". At 6:00 in the evening I reached Bangladesh Embassy in International Drive, North West Washington DC, near UDC, to attend the Independence Day reception. His Excellency, Mr Akramul Qader, Bangladesh Ambassador in the United States, in his welcome speech paid his profound tribute and gratitude to those freedom fighters who had laid down their lives so that we could live in peace and happiness. I don't know whether any guest did mark a change in his voice when he was narrating the sacrifices of our freedom fighters; but to my ears his voice sounded a bit laden with grief. Maybe it was so only to my ears as I recently came to know about Mr Akramul Qader's family members and their sacrifices for our liberation. Among his siblings five brothers were freedom fighters: Late Reazul Qader, Serajul Qader Raju, Shaheed Aftabul Qader Iqbal (Bir Uttam), Shaheed Ahsanul Qader and Emdadul Qader Faruq. Perhaps his is the only family in Bangladesh with so many freedom fighters in one single family. Mr. Robert O. Blake, Assistant Secretary of the US State Department on South and Central Asian Affairs, in his speech as a special guest, lauded the role of the present government in fostering a better relationship between Bangladesh and the United States of America. He also praised the roles of Bangladeshi NGOs, especially the roles played by BRAC and Grameen Bank. He commended the role of BRAC in the rehabilitation jobs in Afghanistan and the role of Grameen Bank in introducing microfinance as a model of poverty alleviation. The evening in our embassy was exciting to me. I met many people after many years. I was happy to meet my old friend Swapan Kumar Saha, now Minister (Press) in the Embassy. I got introduced with a number of dignitaries. What amazed me most was my opportunity to meet face to face with Masuma Khatun, broadcaster and editor of Voice of America, for the first time in my life. Masuma Khatun has become a bit mellower under the weight of her age. Masuma Khatun's avuncular voice from the Voice of America has enamoured me for more than 35 years. The writer can be reached at e-mail : maswood@hotmail.com