His memories are part of my becoming who I am for he played a critical part in my life which triggered a massive shift in my life track, a change that has deeply influenced my life. Right after my MA exams when I was desperately looking for a job, I found out through my friend Morshed Shafiul Hasan that a vacancy existed in the 1971 History writing project.

My other friend Abrar Chowdhury took me to the residence of Mahfuzullah bhai in Mohammadpur. We were all part of the "Bichitra Brigade" as Mahfuz bhai would say. The next day Mahfuz bhai took me to the History Writing Project office of Poet Hasan Hafizur Rahman.

He didn't exactly make a request on my behalf, he held Hasan Bhai's hands and said, "You have to give him a job. "No please consider him for a job, he is a good student etc. Not a request or a recommendation but pleading for me and Hasan bhai despite his reluctance.

I joined the next day and that job changed my life. from an aspiring archaeologist I wanted to become a "historian of 1971". It is the prime identity of my life now. Without that triggering incident of holding his hands and pleading for me, my life would have been very different. I remember both Hasan bhai and Mahfuz bhai that way, my life changers.

Bichitra days

The weekly Bichitra, a by-product of Dainik Bangla -now defunct - was not just a magazine but a cultural and social showcase of the immediate post 70s world. It was headed by Shahdat Chowdhury bhai an FF who was not a DU product but an arts College graduate, an unusual alma mater for an armed activist.

He gathered around himself a team that was incredible. Of those Mahfuzullah bhai was one, Shahriar bhai was another. Chandan Sarker, poet Sazzzad Qadir, Chinmoy Mutsuddi, Alamgir Hossain and others were the stalwarts who produced a magazine that reflected the urban value structure of post 1971 Bangladesh and certainly Dhaka.

Bichitra was a leader of a new set of values which was also politically charged. A lot of that was due to the fact that most were lefties of the pro-Peking group. That meant no government or AL supporter was part of the team. Both Mahfuzullah bhai and Shahriyar bhai were linked to political groups directly and we as the young "groupies" of the team were also nurtured in that environment. One was 1971 and the other was anti-establishment values.

In many ways that defined all of us who walked the more activist corridors of the time. Mahfuz bhai was very much part of that.

Zia days

As it happened in the post 1975 days, many drifted to a more activist and involved role and so did Bichitra. He of course felt closer to his old political colleague who had rallied behind Zia and his party. Soon, He had too and one day we heard he had taken a diplomatic posting as a press person in the Bangladesh Embassy in Kolkata.

It was a decent job but not media work and was a useful but not a successful stint. By the 80s he was back in the Bangladesh media world and was active on the burgeoning TV scene and soon joined a paper as its in-charge-Dainik Janata. I was then working for an English monthly -Bangladesh Today- and we would occasionally meet. He remained the same enthusiastic, interested journalist as he had always been.

Beyond media

He also had his social activism, particularly health issue and his role in promoting the public image of a Bichitra friend Dr. Zafarullah Chowdhury was enormous and together initiated the "Health for All" advocacy group. I was also part of it and saw his work reach decent heights. Later I moved on to Unicef and a new phase of co-operation began.

He set up a media advocacy organization and Unicef and his outfit co-operated in the areas of information, media advocacy and public mobilization of issues. He was also involved in a critical research work that led to the granting of free time on TV to air Public Interest commercials supporting child rights and related issues. By the time I left the UN in the early 90s he was set.

I returned to journalism and then drifted on to the development sector again and we would meet regularly though not working together. The relationship remained the same as it was decades back. I remember that in one of the most traumatizing days of my life -1984- when I heard the death news of Hasan Hafizur Rahman, I went and sat in front of Mahfuz bhai's Bichitra office without saying a word. He understood my grief and said, "the roof over the head is never permanent. I have lost my father and you have to learn to live too."

I am all too aware of mortality with my increasing years and declining health. I remember we would meet more on TV talk shows and both would express concern about each other's health issues. His possible death never crossed my mind because immortality is something we all take for granted with our near and dear ones. None of us are.

Farewell Mahfuz bhai, best wishes till we meet again in the old Bichitra office in the celestial space.