Summary

Rubaiyat Rahman recounts his academic journey from Bangladesh to international graduate studies, emphasizing the influence of his parents' values, the importance of reading and learning, and the enriching experiences gained from diverse cultural interactions and academic environments.

Abstract

Rubaiyat Rahman, a Bengali middle-class family member, details his educational trajectory, which was significantly shaped by his parents' emphasis on academic sincerity. He attended prestigious institutions in Bangladesh, including St. Joseph High School, Notre Dame College, and Dhaka University, before pursuing graduate studies in India and the USA. His experiences abroad, marked by newfound freedom, cultural diversity, and intellectual growth, have been pivotal in his understanding of international perspectives. Rahman reflects on the transformative impact of his global academic life, from the camaraderie with peers from various countries to the insights gained from discussions with faculty and think-tanks. He also shares his appreciation for the cultural diversity he encountered, particularly through his culinary adventures and visits to libraries, which have broadened his horizons and deepened his appreciation for the quest for knowledge.

Opinions

Rubaiyat's parents instilled in him the belief that there are no shortcuts to success and that reading and academic excellence are crucial for contributing to human civilization.
The author values the freedom and self-reliance he gained during his graduate studies, which allowed him to explore and learn independently.
He acknowledges the significance of mealtime discussions as a source of international perspectives and learning.
Rubaiyat expresses gratitude for the opportunities to engage with diverse cultures, which he believes have enriched his academic and personal life.
The libraries in the various cities he lived in are considered stepping-stones that brought knowledge closer to him, facilitating his research and writing.
He emphasizes the importance of simplicity, appreciation, and tolerance of different opinions in the pursuit of knowledge and virtue.
Rubaiyat's experiences have led him to understand that embracing cultural diversity and engaging in cross-cultural interactions are essential components of his educational journey.

About Me — Rubaiyat Rahman

My Graduate Life and Quest for Knowledge

An International Graduate Student’s Perceptions

In-flight study life (Singapore Airlines). Photo Credit: Author

I belong to a Bengali middle-class family where my erudite, bookish and ‘very sincere’ parents always endeavor to make me comprehend that without a ‘sincere’ academic life, I cannot achieve the desired aims in my life.

My efforts, in tandem with their die-hard sincerity, paved me to enroll in the best academic institutions of Bangladesh.

I spent my school life in St. Joseph High School; college life in Notre Dame College and completed my undergraduate from Dhaka University. The interesting feature in common about these educational institutions is that they all are the elite learning hub in Bangladesh, my country of birth, which is located in the northern tip of the Bay of Bengal.

The admission tests of those academic institutions were very hard as well as challenging. I would never forget that innocent and celestial smiles of my parents when I got admission to those institutions through the grueling as well as nerve-wrecking admission tests.

Till my undergraduate life at Dhaka University, it was a routine matter for me to brief my parents during lunch or dinner meal time as to the contents and summary of the attended class lectures.

Each of such ‘meal-time briefings’ used to end by their very common but gilt-edged advice,

‘there are no shortcuts to real success and achievement’ ; ‘read a lot and you will learn a lot’ and ‘be academically good if you really want to contribute to human civilization’.

Location: Singapore Airlines flight to Seoul. Photo Credit: Author.

Their ambitions about my aim in life eventually had made them tirelessly ‘vigilant’ about my welfare and daily life activities.

Their efforts, no doubt, safeguarded me from the shackles of misguidance.

Till now, I think that their sincere efforts have not yet lost in vein, least it has helped me to delve into the romantic affair of ‘reading and writing’.

Place: Somewhere in the Midwest of Texas. Photo: Author

Place: Chanakyapuri, New Delhi (2014). Photo Credit: Author.

But things have changed after the completion of my undergraduate degree. My graduate study endeavors in India and the USA have paved a new thoroughfare in my academic life.

It is still a vibrant wisp in my memory that the very day when my father handed me the air ticket of ‘Dhaka to New Delhi’, it ignited a unique sense of freedom into me.

A new feeling of elation had sparked through my mind that in the following graduate academic life in India, I would be the sole guardian of myself and I have got the freedom to lead myself to quench the zeal of learning! I am thankful and respectful to my parents to allow me the honor of freedom.

Place: At a rural airport in Texas. Photo Credit: Author.

Place: In front of my apartment in Texas. Photo: Author

Resident life in abroad gifts me one of the treasured experiences in my life. Companions from different countries of South Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and Australia have staged a new perspective of learning.

I have realized that, ‘before or after dinner mealtime’ would be a great source of learning the dynamics of international perspectives. I must acknowledge that such brainstorming sessions before and after the mealtime had provided me a great lesson that an issue or topic may also conceive motley of perspective.

Place: JNU, New Delhi. Photo Credit: Author.

I think I am really privileged and fortunate with having such vibe in my resident life in abroad.

Furthermore, various discussion sessions with faculty, government officials and legendary think-tanks have provided me a lucid and far reaching understanding and impetus to delve myself with more concentration in international perspective.

Place: New Oreleans. Photo Credit: Author.

My study life in abroad would be incomplete without those gourmet adventures and visits to libraries during staying in places including but not limited to New Delhi, Kathmandu, Seoul, Singapore, New Orleans, Portland, Florida, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Antonio and Texas.

Breakfast Meal at Rajdhani Express (2013) Photo Credit: Author.

To put in simple words, I would have to admit that my spicy gourmet adventures in abroad had paved me a new thoroughfare of learning.

Those ‘foodie’ adventures have taught me to accept and appreciate the diversity; and, which is no way the least, to get familiar with motley diversity of cultures.

Place: Little India, Singapore. Photo Credit: Author.

Location: Little India, Singapore. Photo: Author.

The libraries of those foreign locations have widened a new horizon in my life. Those libraries had just brought the knowledge hub very near to me, which had been a distant foghorn to me for the preceding years in Bangladesh.

These knowledge temples had appeared to me as stepping-stones to turn my readings, researches and writings complement to each other.

Truly speaking, those libraries have availed me the opportunity to delve into the iffy and abysmal issues of International Affairs.

I am always grateful to these knowledge hubs where I have learned that simplicity, appreciation and tolerance of other opinions would be the embellished ornament of human being, who has been wading across the universe in quest for knowledge and virtue.