“I have heard about Chittagong from my father, its glorious role in anti-British movement and I became very excited when I got the invitation to attend the conference here,” said Aparna Malaviya, a research scholar at the department of Humanities and Social Science of the Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India.
Like Aparna some 20 scholars from different countries came to Chittagong to attend a two-day international seminar on “Changing nature of forced migration: Vulnerability and responsibilities in South and Southeast Asia” at Asian University for Women (AUW) that concluded on Saturday.
Aparna, who was born at Madhya Pradesh in India, said it is her first visit to Bangladesh. “It seems to me as my country and Chittagong like Pashchimbanga,” she said, adding that the natural beauty of Chittagong enthralled her.
Chittagong has given birth to many revolutionists like Masterda Surya Sen, Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Dutta who fought valiantly against the British, she said. And she feels proud to be here in the land of Masterda.
“I also like the Chittagoninan foods, especially, the dry fish,” she said.
“I don't find any difference between Chittagong and Colombo except the language,” said Prof Dr Lakshman Dissanayake of Sri Lanka.
“You people are very nice, amiable and very hospitable,” he said, adding that he had planned to visit Cox's Bazar, the longest sea beach in the world.
Melissa Jean-Brousseau of Canada said the weather of Chittagong is very fine. “Gentle breeze is blowing all the time that has amused me,” she said.
Praising the people of Chittagong, she said, “Although this is my first visit to Chittagong as well as to Bangladesh it seems to me very familiar and I have enjoyed every moment here.”
Shujaat Wasty of Canada said, “It's a great experience for me to attend an international seminar like this.” He said Chittagong is one of the rarest cities in the world where there is a sea in one side and hills in another side, which is very much eye-catching.
Sustarum Thammaboosadee, a teacher of the faculty of International Studies in Prince Songkhla University in Thailand, said he likes the port city. “The people in the city with whom I met so far are very amiable,” he said, adding that the city also posses some nice shopping malls.
Sanders Van Nieker of Holland thanked the AUW authorities for inviting him to the conference that brought an opportunity for him to visit this city that lies in the lap of nature.
Dr Pralip Kumar Narzary, a lecturer Fakir Mohan University, Orissa in India, said the price of the products is very high here in comparison to India as he has visited some shopping malls including 'Sanmar Occean City'.
Except this everything in the port city is very nice, Pralip said, adding that there are many similarities between Chittagong and his native state Asam in India. “The hilly areas of Chittagong feel me as if I were in my own city,” he added.
Dr N Ajith Kumar, director of Centre for Socio-economic & Environmental Studies in Kochi, Kerala, India, said, “Chittagong, so far I have seen, is such a place anybody will fall in love with”.
Muhammad Rafique Wassan of Sindh in Pakistan, said “I have never visited Chittagong earlier but I think I would miss something if I would not come here for attending the conference”.
Francois Gemenne of France, Laxmi Joshi Gyawali and Shodashi R Rayamajhi of Nepal, Dr Vandana Asthana and Rajesh Kharat of India, Rathana Peou Van den Heuvel of Holland, Lutaf Ali Mangrio of Pakistan and Meng Xiangjing of China were also very happy with the amiable behaviour and hospitability of its people.