A Helpless Pen Seller Wants Your Sympathy

Kalam means pens in Bengali. In our country, one who earns his livelihood by selling pens is called a pen seller and if she looks a grandfather or grandmother, we call him or her 'Kalam Dadi/Dada.'

Such a kalam dadi we see in our university sell pens. Buying pens from her and writing with them in the examinations many have become judges, barristers, administrators of the state including magistrates, but none looks after her. ‘Dear, will you need pens?’ Using such a polite sentence, she sells pens to the students of different universities and colleges.

Her name has not been described. She is Nasera Begum. At present she is very much ill. The life of ailing Nasera Begum is immersed in danger due to money crisis. Nasera Begum aged 70 has been selling pens in Dhaka University by walking up the whole campus for last twenty years, but she is a graduate also. It is her belief that if the rich including the Prime Minister advance, she can pass her next years without difficulty.

The history of life of self-confident Nasera Begum is surprising. She is a higher educated woman. She lost her husband including her established household during the liberation war. She completed her Honors and Masters in Bengali from Rajshahi University; but it is a matter of sorrow that she had to be a simple pen seller of the most famous university of the country. She has not lost the en kindled consciousness of her fighting dream. She has chosen it as an ideal profession. But the woman is ill enough now. She can not be admitted to any good hospital on account of having no money. Her skin describes that she has been much older. When she sits, her hands and feet shake due to her old age. The doctor has said that she will have to be admitted to hospital as soon as possible; but how? She has no enough money. She still comes to sell pens to campus everyday. After selling the pens, she clear house rent off, buys necessary medicines with how much she earns and starves often. She was asked how many days she wanted to sell pens for. In reply, she told me that she would sell pens as long as she could. She also added with cry that may be she might not sell pens any more. She thinks she will pass away soon.

Nasera Begum was born in the village of Kandivita under Rajshahi division. When she was eight years old, she lost her parents and was brought up by her uncle. From then her struggle of life started, which is still going on. She got scholarship in class five and eight while staying with her uncle. She passed S.S.C from Natore Girls School. Then she was admitted to Nawab Sirajuddaullah College. She passed H.S.C from there. She got a chance to be admitted to Rajshahi University in 1966.From there she took Honors and Masters. She started her professional carrier as the headmaster of a school. She was married to a man named Chan Mia. He was in a bank. He was the branch manager. Her household was going on well.

The liberation war started in 1971.One day he started for office, but never returned home. It was on 5 April, 1971.She had no issues. Losing her husband, she became speechless. Later she did not marry anybody. She was leading her life well. She used to be busy teaching in school all day. In 1983 she joined Khulna Memorial High School as the Headmaster. In 1985 the doctors found that one of the bulbs of her heart was damaged. She left her job in 1987. Then she returned to Dhaka again and joined a kinder-garten school. After that the struggle to live started. In 1989 she started selling pens in Dhaka University,Jahangirnagar University, and many other universities. She was getting old. Besides, her strength was decreasing at an alarming rate.

Now she can't move anywhere like before. So she sells pens only in Dhaka University. But she is still confident. She comes to campus early in the morning to sell pens. Doctors have requested her to take a rest for a long time. Yet she is restless. She does not know what to do in future.