The Miracle

Shabana Chowdhury Ahmed, Belgium

The Bayazid Bostami Mazar is a famous shrine located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is dedicated to the renowned 9th century Persian Sufi Saint Bayazid Bostami. The shrine is a major spiritual site featuring a tomb,a mosque and a large pond. The tomb, a brick structure, housing the symbolic resting place of the saint. 

The pond is home to Boa Kachhin an extremely rare and critically endangered species of soft shell turtles known as Mazari. Folklore says that the turtles are descendents of evil spirits or jinns turned into reptiles as punishment for their arrogance. 

The story teller tells her tale.  

Mehmood Chowdhury was a rich merchant of fabrics. His factory was located in the Agrabab Commercial Area. Fabrics were produced and shipped out from the Chittagong port to different parts of the world. 

He was a married man and had a son and a daughter. The son named Imran was a student of Chittagong Commerce College and the daughter named Sharmeen was a student of Women's College Chittagong. 

Imran was a very sociable young man.Every Friday after Jumma prayers he would bring home his friends for lunch. He also invited his Christian and Hindu friends for lunch. His mother would prepare a delicious lunch for Imran's friends. Sharmeen would serve the lunch to her brother's friends.

Imran was a broad minded person, so he allowed Sharmeen to talk to his friends. A hindu boy named Arjun fell in love with Sharmeen and he wrote a love letter to her expressing his feelings. Sharmeen replied by saying that she also has some feelings for him but they belonged to different religions and her family would never approve of this relationship. 

They began meeting in secret at the Bayazid Bostami Mazar. Sharmeen would tell her mother that she was going to the Bayazid Bostami Mazar to offer prayers. Her mother allowed her to go everyday thinking that her daughter was being religious. One day an aunt of Sharmeen went to the mazar and saw Sharmeen sitting with Arjun, who had his arms around her. The aunt knew that Arjun was a hindu friend of Imran. The aunt went to Mehmood's house and told the family what she saw.

At once Mehmood and Imran went to the Mazar. They saw Sharmeen in Arjun's arms. Mehmood always carried a licensed gun in his pocket. In anger he shot Sharmeen and Arjun, who both died and fell into the pond. The police arrested Mehmood and Imran and they were sentenced to life imprisonment. 

The bodies of Sharmeen and Arjun were never found as their dead bodies were eaten by the giant turtles. 

The spirits of Arjun and Sharmeen were free from the bonds of human life.