Many people think that the rivalry between the neighboring countries is probably more in Asia. Such as India-Pakistan, India-Bangladesh, China-India. In European countries, there is probably a so-called love affair.

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But the first few times I went to Europe, I realized that the business is not so much a love affair at all, but that there is enough diplomacy-violence-rivalry inside them like in the G-Bangla serials. But this time I felt better when I went to Stockholm.

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Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Every Eid, when the city of Dhaka is empty for a few days, when the cars are running like horses in the jammed streets of the silent city, everyone in Dhaka thinks at least once, “Oh! If only Dhaka had always been like this!” The first time I set foot in Stockholm I thought Ayen was just such a city. There are big buildings, offices, courts, cars, and horses, but only people. Even if very little. Silent, quiet, clean. The hustle and bustle of cars, the usual yellow buses, and the Metrorail … … that’s all there is to it! From the outside, it looks like the whole city is on vacation. The difference, however, is that they have this holiday season all year round, and we only have one week. But they do not work? Of course, it does. If not, how does the country go! But the magic is, first of all, the efficiency of their work. Sweden’s productivity per hour is one of the highest in the world and about 26 times that of Bangladesh. In other words, every Swedish produces 26 times more per hour than every Bangladeshi! Second, Stockholm is three-thirds-two-thirds of the size of Dhaka city, but the population of Dhaka is one-fifteenth – only one million. So the whole city is secluded and sparsely populated.

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Anyway, I was talking about the rivalry of the neighboring country. When I went to Sweden, I saw that there was a national enemy like them. And he is no more, the neighboring country Denmark! These two Nordic countries of cold-clean-clean air have fought each other not once, not twice, not three times, at least eleven times! The situation was such that whenever a new king ascended the throne in Denmark or Sweden, Khamokhai would attack each other, which would be a great honor. This was followed by a bloody event in 1520, exactly five hundred years ago today, known in history as the ‘Blood Ganges of Stockholm’. Christian the Second, a newcomer to the Danish throne, first occupied Stockholm as usual to enhance his image and proclaimed himself emperor of both Denmark and Sweden. After the capture of Stockholm, on November 7, Sweden’s big businessmen, politicians, army chiefs, and elites were summoned to the fort. Then in three days, about 72 people were killed unarmed. The incident left the bitterness between Denmark and Sweden in a ditch for the rest of its life. Everyone from the general public to the tour guide described the incident with great bitterness when it came to Denmark.

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This time I was sent from the office to take a course on marketing at the famous IHM Business School in Stockholm. Didn’t get too much of a time to turn around under the pressure of the three-day course. Even then, in the afternoon after the class, I took a short walk around the old part of Stockholm, where there are all the churches, castles, palaces, gardens, museums, and old squares that are hundreds of years old. When I set foot in this part of the city, I feel as if I have hurried back to three or four hundred years ago – to get blankets in those old-fashioned buildings, shops, stone streets and cafes, and to drink huge mugs of smoked coffee.

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Stockholm is called the city of the island. Because the whole city is actually made up of fourteen islands. So many canals and lakes flowed through the city, connecting them to the Baltic Sea. Our city of Dhaka also once had many canals and lakes, which connected our city with the Buriganga on one side and the sand-winter lakes on the other. The difference is that we have strangled our canals, lakes, and rivers one by one like cruel stones. And they have guarded every canal, lake, and stream of theirs with absolute compassion, enhanced the beauty of the city, and made it their own, like their relatives.

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Sweden is the coldest country in terms of weather. When I went last month, the night temperature dropped to 2 degrees Celsius, and during the day it was 13-15 degrees Celsius, with cold air. Even when I’m wearing a sweater-jacket and my teeth are sticking out, my colleagues look at me with a smile and say, “It’s cold! It’s a nice spring.” I say,  brother, I am a 38-degree  countryman. For me, 5 degrees means sitting in the fridge. And I have never seen a cheating sun like in Sweden! From the morning it is seen that a bright sun has risen. When you look outside the room, you will see how bright the sun is. But just thinking that if you go out after not wearing warm clothes, then you are dead! With your feet outside you will see where it is hot and where it is! Rather, the teeth will be stuck in the cold!

The sun in that country is a lot like a flashlight – just light, not heat! So don’t be happy to see the sunlight outside or go out for a walk without warm clothes. Although the people of this country are honest and truthful, Suryakhana is cheating enough by playing twelve of their reputations!

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When I left Stockholm for Berlin four days later, it seemed that despite hundreds of years of political animosity, violence, and bitterness, Sweden and Denmark are now working to improve their economy, keeping the rivalry at bay. One

Doing business with each other, using each other’s airports, building roads and bridges, traveling freely without passports, exchanging electricity and fuel, setting up factories in each other’s countries, and even running huge corporations jointly. But after living together as a family for thousands of years in the subcontinent, we became separated only 60 years ago. Since then we have been fighting with each other and pouring poison on each other. At the end of the day, no one is benefiting from this, I stayed behind altogether. Who knows when we will understand when we will push each other forward without pulling back.