ABSTRACT
The earliest memories 1 that I have of my childhood are of Noakhali 2 , hazy and indistinct, because I could not have been more than five or six years old. Some incidents have remained imprinted on my mind, as they made a break in the daily routine of life that we youngsters led. I vaguely remember Noakhali as a land of violent storms and wide, turbulent rivers, with the sea close by, tall casuarina [Casuarina equisetifolia] trees, the sad sighing and moaning sound the wind made as it blew through them, lulled one to sleep at night. Noakhali was a small district, perhaps there were no more than half a dozen officers, so I do not remember my parents leading a very social life, nor do I recollect my elder brothers 3 . My youngest brother, Willie and I were too small for them to take much notice of us. They attended the local zila [district] school and played games in the evenings in the school grounds.
