Shaon Mahmud, daughter of Altaf Mahmud, the immortal composer of the Ekushey song and a martyred intellectual of 1971, has built a rooftop farm at her home in Eskaton in the capital. She has formed a special bond with flowers, fruit and other plants. On Martyred Intellectuals Day, Shykh Seraj takes viewers to her roof.

Altaf Mahmud composed not only the tune of the immortal song in memory of the language martyrs but also songs that fired Bengali blood in the struggle for independence. In August 1971, Pakistani occupation forces took him from his home, and it is known that he met the same fate as the intellectuals killed on 14 December.

His daughter has built the rooftop farm on 1,500 square feet of her Eskaton home. This household of plants holds laughter, tears, hurt and many stories of life. Another driving force of the garden is Altaf Mahmud's wife, Sara Ara Mahmud. In their pure love for the soil, there is no place at all for chemical fertiliser or pesticide.

The martyr's family gave a message: these silent living plants can offer a different kind of comfort in grief and painful memories.

Source: Shykh Seraj, Chhad Krishi. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.