Farhad Rahman Munna

The kindness and adoration that reside in the heart of its countrymen make me love Singapore more than I would like to.

The charkha of time never stops. It keeps on weaving dreams and disappointments, successes and failures, love and losses through its intermittent spinning, weaving fate and fortune of a person’s life, all in a day’s work.

MIGRATION runs a storyline all by itself. On one hand, a migrant is faced with the pain of being separated from his loved ones while on the other hand, a foreign country often gifts him friends who soon become his family. The wheel keeps spinning and the life of a migrant is woven in it.

When I first landed here, Singapore with its concrete jungle and glass houses, commercially appealing malls was like a labyrinth that confused me, attracted me as well as scared me. Yet within months, I was mesmerised by it. I found people from different countries, religions and languages existing in perfect harmony in this big cauldron of simmering cultural motifs.

The Singapore I see has structure and poise. It has law and order yet it enables the people to live freely without any inhibitions. Here, with only a ten-dollar note, one can buy the MRT (Ez-Link) Card, which carries you all over this island. Every place is marked with a route map as well as it’s GPS enabled so that even wanderers like me cannot get lost.

Greenery abounds in Bangladesh but in Singapore it’s the exotic beauty of nature that I fall in love with. The nights seem to usher in more beauty than the day for the star filled sky, the calmness in the air, the peace that slowly transcends the city at late hours makes me feel so peaceful and calm.

The city provides one of the best healthcare services in Asia. Doctors as well as Medical Practitioners who are deemed as the best in Asia are found here. Almost two lakh patients from all over the world come to Singapore to cure themselves. That’s a remarkable feat all in itself.

The Cultural milieu of Singapore is as progressive and independent as the people living here. They love and appreciate all forms of literature and have a sense of respect for literati.

Although it was hard to find platform for Bangladeshi poetry and prose in Singapore, with the dedicational efforts of Banglar Kantha and Dibashram who have been working selflessly for the Migrants cause, today a major portion of the Bangladeshi Migrants have a platform due to Banglar Kantha. Banglar Kantha has dedicated a decade of its life championing the Migrant Cause in Singapore.

Singapore has been a bittersweet experience for me. Though in the initial days of my life when I first landed here, I have had to face harsh realities, yet the love and affection of its people, the kindness and adoration that reside in the heart of its countrymen make me love Singapore more than I would like to. And for that I have no regrets.
Farhad Rahman Munna