Noor Dhaka, 1987

No, Amma, I am not being reckless. There will be thousands of us on the streets today. We need to act. How long can things go on this way?

It's not just for the politicians, the professors. It's up to me, too. All we are asking is fresh, fair elections and a neutral, caretaker government. Military rule was not meant to last.

It isn't enough that your brothers fought for this country sixteen years ago; we have to do it again today.

Don't say that, Amma. It does matter.

We live in fear everyday. Everyday you wonder whether Abba will reach home. Everyday you wake up scared of arrests.

It shouldn't be that way, Amma.

Fear should not be the language you speak. Not in your land, the land you helped build.

Look around, Amma. It is a time for beginnings. Look: around us earth rises again, green and ripe and firm.

The Buriganga becomes younger; all the rivers return, tame – the monsoon is over. Even the flowers dare to bloom. It is autumn, Amma. In our country, autumn belongs to the youth.

We will win. If not tomorrow, soon.

Now, go home before the protests begin. Allah Hafiz.

*First published by Sadler's Wells (UK), Noor was one of the six narrative strands that composed Akram Khan's solo DESH. In DESH, this sequence plays out against chant and animation and movement. It was a homage to Noor Hossain, an imagined account of his last meeting with his mother.