First Memories
I can still remember that when I was a child my mother used to read out to me. My first language is Bangla and so I was taught Bangla first but English being the second language in my country, I was taught the letters of English almost simultaneously. My mother was a home maker and she used to remain busy in the day time. Therefore, she used to read to me every day after the evening when her household tasks were done. I learned to read and write both in English and Bangla by my mother at home. When I was 3, I was sent to a nearby Pathshala (a small arrangement for kid’s pre-schooling system). However, I was not willing to go to read and write in the Pathshala because I wanted to go to big schools where my two elder brothers used to go. Anyway, at the age of five, we shifted to nearby town called Mongla where I started my primary school. There were no libraries in that area where we used to live. However, my parents bought me some interesting story books which I used to read at home. The first book that I read on my own was a story book presented to me by my youngest uncle for standing first in the class.
I remember that my mother used to teach me how to write the letters in Bangla as well as in English. She also taught me how to write the letters on the Slate (a flat stone made board for beginners’ writing). It took much time for me to learn how to write the letters in Bangla and in English. When I learned the letters both in Bangla and English, I was taught how to write sentences in both the languages. I used to write nursery rhymes at home as a part of my pre-school requirements. When I grew a little bigger, I used to keep a diary for myself. In that dairy, I used to write about my days how it went and about the special events if there was any. I have preserved that dairy which I used t0 use during my childhood and even now, I feel proud to see that how good I was at narrating the everyday events! I went to Saint Paul’s High School and the first school writing I can remember was a story in English. My English teacher sister Cathrine became very delighted to see my writing in English. I got good grade on that piece of writing.