Ratna and her untouched dreams

Many years ago, I met Reshma Nahar Ratna at a BMTC (Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club) monthly meeting.

Other friends introduced her to me as an enthusiastic new member who loved nature and loved being outdoors.

She was also a school teacher and adored her pupils.I requested her to help us organise a bird fair at her school on behalf of Bangladesh Bird Club. She instantly agreed.

With time, I found Ratna to be a very generous, helpful, and confident person. She was quiet in nature; she was more of a listener and loved to learn by observing.

She was selected in an all-women's hiking team to Keukradong.

With her hardworking and helping nature, she earned the respect of her teammates and especially that of the Everest summiteer MA Muhit during the trip.  

Later she was selected in a team of five female mountaineers to attend the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering for their Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC). 

From her fellow mountaineers we learned that although she worked really hard, she could not get a proper grade due to an accidental leg injury.

Ratna was not just a dreamer; she made sacrifices and worked hard to realise her dreams. 

She went back to the institute and successfully completed the basic course; she even completed the Advance Mountaineering Course (AMC). 

She climbed Stok Kangri, the 6000M peak in Ladakh, and later went to scale Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, the two highest peaks in Africa.

She easily climbed Mount Kenya, but for Mount Kilimanjaro, she was not allowed to enter Tanzania due to some visa problem.

But she remained hopeful and often asked me about climbing Aconcagua in Latin America or Elburz in Europe.

Ratna was a true adventurer. At one point, she started running. She completed few national and international half-marathons and was getting ready for a full marathon. 

She used to roam around Dhaka city on her pink bike. I remember her warm presence in every team gathering as she was a good guitar player and a singer. 

She loved to take photographs and was an avid reader. She was an active member of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro for long time. All these interesting hobbies made her popular among us.

Yesterday my runner friend Syed Akhterruzzaman called me in the morning to let me know about Ratna's death. 

His voice was heavy with sadness when he told me that she was killed in a road accident while she was on her pink bike.

They were waiting for Ratna to show up after completing their morning walk and drinking homemade tea. They set aside a cup for her. But she did not come to meet them.

Perhaps she was heading home after finishing her exercise.  What her friends did not know was that Ratna was hit by a fast moving vehicle.

She was lying on the road, lifeless.

The news of her death was so shocking for us that we could not believe it at first. 

I vividly remember how many times Ratna had told me about her dream to climb the Mount Everest and other mountains of the world.

She dreamt of a better world, safer roads and was always vocal about women's empowerment.

At the age of only 33, full of enthusiasm and energy, Ratna had to leave the world. She left behind many untouched dreams.

But she was able to plant those dreams in her pupils and her friends. 

We will always remember her courage and her spirit.