Prapti

The Beginning

It was December 2009. In north Bengal, it's colder than other divisions of Bangladesh. There was a small village called Pairaband in Rangpur district in Rajshahi division.

Pairaband is a well-known village in Bangladesh because of Begum Rokeya (1880-1932) who was a feminist thinker, educator, and political activist from (present-day ). She is widely regarded as a pioneer of women's liberation in South Asia. In Bangladesh, women can hold their heads high because of her. That's why, on December 9, her birthday and death anniversary is celebrated in Pairaband, her birthplace.

In 2011, it was the same. On 9 December, the village people held a cultural program and a festival. A girl went to watch the program with her school friends just like others. She was only 13 and was studying in a government school. She was a beautiful teenager who was an all-rounder. She was not only a good student but also a part of a cultural committee in her school. She was used to dancing, singing, and performing on stage in cultural programs. Because of that, she was well known not only in her school but also in the whole village. Her name was Rezwana Sharmin Prapti.

Prapti wore a sweater and wrapped a shawl over her body. When she went out with her friends, her younger sister tagged along. Soon, they reached the venue where the cultural program would be held. When the program started, they began to enjoy it. After some time, Prapti noticed that someone was talking to her younger sister. That person was sitting behind them. She turned around to see who that person was and found out that it was a boy around 16 or 17 years old. That boy was saying, "I like your sister very much." Upon hearing that the younger sister laughed. She found it very funny.

Prapti frowned. She didn't like the way that boy talked to her sister. She asked, "What do you think you are doing?"

The boy looked up to see her. His eyes were smiling at her as he said, "You are Prapti, aren't you?"

"I am. How do you know?" she interrogated him.

He smiled. "How can I not know? We are fated."

She crossed her arms and said, "Hey, don't spout nonsense."

The boy shrugged. "I didn't say anything wrong. I do like you a lot. It's love at first sight."

Prapti stomped her foot and said, "If you dare to say something like this again, I will complain about you to my father." Saying that she grabbed her sister's hand and left the venue without paying any attention to the boy calling out to her.

Prapti's father was a member of the Union Parishad of Pairaband. He was well respected in the village. She immediately told her father about that boy. Her father got angry and he decided to look for that boy. However, that boy wasn't from their village, so he couldn't find him anywhere.