July seemed to be the longest month ever. In the first week, my maternal aunt and educationist cum artist and socialite Ms Asma Abbasi passed away. Then came the student protests over the quota system in government jobs, resulting in the mindless loss of young lives in the streets of Dhaka and the rampage and destruction that engulfed the capital. Then on July 22, a flower, about to blossom to its full beauty and fragrance, fell off prematurely. The person I am writing about is Orpita Oysharja, a bright young professional. I came to know her when she was a student in my class during her undergraduate years at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka. She was from the BBA 19th batch and after her graduation, she joined the Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG), that I founded and led since then.

What made Orpita stand out in IBA was her lively presence and warm personality with which she carried herself within and beyond the campus. She was bright, intelligent and never hesitated to express her thoughts and opinions in class. She was among the few in business school who were both culturally and academically accomplished. She excelled in classical music and dance and was a well-educated, highly cultured, and progressive young woman of her generation. After graduation, when most of her peers opted for the lure and lustre of the corporate world, she chose to be different. She wanted to make an impact on issues that mattered—from poverty alleviation to climate change, from good governance to civil liberties and so on.

When she expressed her interest in working at IPAG, I was a little sceptical as most IBA degree holders seek jobs at MNCs, banks, and local corporates. However, she was able to convince me of the seriousness of her intent and I was pleased to offer her a position at IPAG in which she excelled. She then went to China on an exchange program and later she started her family life in Beijing. After spending about half a decade in Beijing, she returned home and joined IPAG again in a senior and leadership role. Despite the challenges and struggles of life, she retained her warmth, spontaneity, and eagerness to advance her goals in life, both personal and professional. To her office colleagues, she was the much-liked, loved, and adored "Orpita Apu" who would never miss a chance to share her joy with her colleagues.  

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Remembering an educationist, artist, and socialite from the yester generation

Given her intellectual proficiency and sociable nature, I felt that she would excel in the teaching profession and encouraged her to think of a career switch. So, when she was made the offer to join IBA as a lecturer a few months ago, I was quite happy. I believed she had all the elements to become a good and popular teacher. She shared the wonderful news with me and brought along gajor er halwa (a sweet delicacy made from carrot) that she herself made. Excited about the new job and career, she started buying sarees, her favourite outfit, in anticipation of the classes she would start taking soon at IBA. Had it not been for the recent student movement and the resulting closure of universities, she probably would have been in the class already, buoyed up with the excitement of being a teacher at the same institute, where she was a student not so long ago.

When one of my office colleagues called me in the early morning hours of July 22, informing me that Orpita was no longer with us, I could not believe it and was shell shocked. It was one of those moments of numbness when you neither know what to make out of this tragedy nor are you ready to accept that such a bright young soul full of life and enthusiasm, love and affection, intellect and culture, character and charisma would evaporate so quickly into the thin air of eternity. She was supposed to drop by to share her plans and vision about beginning her journey as an academician in one of the most prestigious institutes of learning in the country.

Orpita could have brought so much to life through her blissful presence, within and beyond the campus. She would have become one of the most loved and respected teachers of IBA. The academic community lost a bright star who was a well-qualified young professional and an adorable human being. A beautiful flower fell off in the garden of goodness before it could blossom to emit the fragrance of love and affection, compassion and kindness which she embodied so gracefully. May the gentle breeze of tranquillity in the garden of heaven give Orpita the peace and comfort that she deserves eternally.

Prof Syed Munir Khasru is chairman of the Institute for Policy, Advocacy, and Governance (IPAG), an international think tank.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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