The lines of men and women in white and black garb moved slowly towards the Shaheed Minar, over the alpana-painted streets of the university campus. The faces of the processionists were sombre as they slowly converged on the Shaheed Minar, towering like bent prison walls over the brick base.
Gradually, the indeterminate hum turned into a sobbing-singing as the words of the dirge, "Ekushey February ami ki bhulite pari, twenty-first February can I forget you," hung over the place, embracing the people and the Shaheed Minar.