After a long and busy working life, former finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith now keeps himself busy in retirement with reading and writing. A gifted lover of culture, he played a unique role in the growth of Bangladesh's culture through the national budget.

The former finance minister has always had a special attachment to culture. Even at over eighty, he stayed up all night to enjoy the Bengal Classical Music Festival.

He was on his way to Natore to take part, for the tenth time, in 'Krishi Budget Krishoker Budget', organised by Channel i's Hridoye Mati O Manush. On the train, he talked about the budget, sport, culture and the vast world of his thoughts.

He said he has never been hesitant in expressing his thoughts, and never held back from giving his opinion.

He has always been a devotee of Rabindranath, and he still immerses himself in the lake of Rabindranath's thought.

He has never thought about what he did or did not achieve, nor is there any particular dream that has eluded him. Yet in the course of the conversation, a faint note of something left unfinished came through in his voice.

The unfulfilled wishes of this gifted man, who spent his whole life in the pursuit of knowledge and in busy work, will surely be fulfilled one day.

Source: Shykh Seraj, Hridoye Mati O Manush. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.