Beautiful and Bountiful Bangladesh

Our member Ms D. Sanyal was brought up in Bangladesh. To revive those memories, she revisited Bangladesh recently and described her journey to us.
We started for Petrapole-Benapole India Bangladesh border on 19th Feb’23 at 5.00 a.m. by bus from Kolkata. We crossed the border and went to Jashore by car. There we saw Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s house a well-known poet of Bengal from an affluent family. A surprising fact was his connection to Leander Paes the lawn tennis player from his daughter’s side. The place was wonderful with the river flowing by.
From Jashore to Dhaka it was a wonderful journey. I saw the home of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the first President of Bangladesh, Dhanmondi 32 residence where he was assassinated. The spot where his blood drops had fallen has been preserved till date. No one is allowed to enter this house. Through the glass windows the inside of the house was clearly visible, even the kitchen where his wife used to cook.
We also visited the mausoleum of Kazi Nazrul Islam. From there we went to Ramkrishna Math and Mission which has a fantastic architecture and looked fabulous. Both Hindu and Muslim students study there. Being Sri Ramkrishna’s birthday, all students were wearing the traditional dhuti panjabi. Songs were being played dedicated to Sri Ramkrishna which apart from us even the Muslim ladies present there enjoyed.
Our next point, Cox Bazar was a beautiful place in Chittagong where we stayed for 2 days and visited the sea, the Chatteshwari temple and the European Club. We went to Moheshkhali, the biggest island there. I saw the Adinath Temple from far as it was impossible for me to climb 300 steps. The Buddha monastery is a fantastic tourist attraction, which is big and beautiful. A new temple is also being built out of marble there. It seemed to be a Hindu dominated area with the existence of the Ramkrishna plot, Ramthakur plot andIskon temple.
From there we went ahead to Khulna and Ranga Mati. Ranga Mati is situated in the Chittagong hills near Karnaphuli river. They have created an artificial lake to build the Kaptai Dam for Hydro-electric power, which we explored on a speed boat for nearly 2 to 2 ½ hours. We had to take permit due to the existence of the Chakma tribe, an ethnic group, who are Buddhists. The Sunderbans extends to the Khulna area of Bangladesh.
From there we went to Sitakunda which is famous for the Chandranath Temple and Hindus temple. There is a hot water spring too. We next visited the Rabindranath Thakur’s residence-Shilaidaha Kuthibari, the structural elegance of which was worth seeing.
Fakir Lalon Shah’s Mazaar, is yet another beautiful structure and the last spot we visited. We enjoyed his songs there. The Mazaar was made of white marble. I found people there very hospitable and caring. The roadways are fantastic, broad and smooth. Places are absolutely clean and well maintained. It was an emotional visit for me.