News Desk: In spite of being a small boy, Sheikh Russel, the youngest child of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was a big-hearted human being as well as used to help people passionately.
“Russel was very passionate to help people. He had great love in his heart for general people,” his house tutor Geetali Chakrabarty (Dasgupta) said.
On the eve of Russel’s birthday, Chakrabarty reminisced her memory with the little boy in a telephone interview with BSS.
She tutored Russel from August 1972 to 14 August 1975.
When Chakrabarty was a faculty of Begum Badrunnesa College in the capital, Bangabandhu’s younger daughter Sheikh Rehana and his son Sheikh Jamal’s wife Rosy (1974) were also her students. Currently, she is living in Sydney, Australia, along with other family members.

She retired from her teaching career in 2005 after working at different colleges in Bangladesh.

On August 15’s black night of 1975, 11-year-old Sheikh Russel was killed along with Bangabandhu and other family members.

On that fateful night, shattered Russel requested the assassins (for God’s sake) not to kill him but they killed the child in cool-brain along with his other family members.

Geetali Chakrabarty taught Russel on that night as well. She fondly called Russel as Buchu. Russel used to call his tutor as ‘Apa’, ‘Apu’ and later on ‘Apumoni’. She stayed at Bangabandhu Bhaban on road number 32 till 11:30pm on August 14.

She was very close to Bangabandhu, Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib and other family members specially her loving student Buchu (Sheikh Russel).

Talking to BSS over telephone, she shared her different memories with Russel.

About the first day of tutoring, Chakrabarty said it was July or August in 1972, she went to teach child Russel at their Dhanmondi 32’s residence. She taught him for some days at Ganabhaban as well.

The then Awami League’s treasurer Md Mohsin (former MP, Khulna) and his wife Rawshan Ara Mohsin brought Geetali Chakrabarty to Bangabandhu’s residence. She used to teach at Mohsin’s residence too. They placed the proposal to Bangabandhu’s family to choose Chakrabarty as house tutor for Russel. At that period, Chakrabarty was a second year master’s student of Bangla Department at Dhaka University.

Recalling the first day’s experience as a house tutor of Russel, she said: “On that day, I waited sometimes at the first floor. Later, Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, mother of Sheikh Russel, came. I became astonished seeing her simple attire and appearance. She was wearing a light cream-colored handloom sharee. No luxury could touch her.”

“After few moments, Russel came in smiling face along with Rama (long time house help of Bangabandhu’s family). He was around 6 or 6 and half years old. He was in sky-colored night dress and short haired,” Chakrabarty recalled.

She said: “Russel sat beside me on chair after coming there. Rama was holding a schoolbag. Rama kept the bag on T-table and stayed standing in curious eyes. She might want to understand the condition of new student and new teacher.”

“I took the books out of the bag and saw those. I asked few questions to him like name, class, and what he liked etc, etc. After 10-20 minutes, I left him. He went inside the residence in smiling face. Meantime, respectable Fazilatunnesa Mujib told Russel to give ‘salam’ to teacher. He gave me salam and went inside,” she said.

The relations between child Russel and Geetali Chakrabarty did not remain limited to only student-teacher. Crossing the student-teacher relations, Chakrabarty appeared as motherly to Russel.

While recalling the memories, Chakrabarty was sometimes being driven by emotion, and the matter of fact, it was understandable that she was trying to control her tears while her voice was shaking with strong affection for Russel.

Russel used to talk with Geetali Chakrabarty in different matters apart from study. He used to share different incidents of his family with his loving teacher. However, he sometimes became upset on his teacher as well.

Sharing an incident, she said one day she gave Buchu to solve five questions of mathematics.

“But Buchu (Russel) had very apathy in mathematics. After giving him five questions (in home work), he solved one question out of five by taking help. So, I gave him one more question to be solved. Getting upset, Russel went inside and returned to the reading room with his mother,” she said.

She added “Entering the room, Kakima (Bangamata), goggled at me with a meaningful look and asked why I gave Russel one more question. After telling that, Kakima gave an eye gesture to me (which means this look was a joke). She asked me not to do that again. I also told okay, giving a meaningful upset gesture.”

Chakrabarty said when Russel didn’t want to read, he told her not to come to their house from tomorrow.

“I also used to tell him that okay I won’t come from tomorrow.