Although it was known about the house of world poet Rabindranath Tagore at Sealdah in Kushtia, it was not known that he had a house at Shahjadpur in Sirajganj. One day while scrolling through the newsfeed of Facebook, I suddenly saw that there is a house of Rabindranath Tagore in Shahjadpur of Sirajganj. Where he sat he wrote story poems. Seeing the news aroused a lot of interest. There was also a long-standing desire to see the China Dam on the Jamunatir in Sirajganj. Having a holiday in hand, I thought I would come back. They agreed to call two friends. Busy! I got ready immediately and left the house at 10.30 pm. Destination airport station.

First of all, I need to give the readers some information about Rabindra Kachari Bari. This information has been taken from the board hung in the yard of Kachari house. The zamindari of Tihi Shahjadpur under Tin Tauja was once a part of the zamindari of Rani Bhabani of Natore. When the zamindari of Shahjadpur was auctioned in 1840, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore, the grandfather of the poet Rabindranath Tagore, bought the zamindari for only 13 rupees. Along with the zamindari, the Kachari house in Shahjadpur is also believed to have been taken over by the Tagore family.

Earlier this house was owned by Nilkar Sahibs. From 1990 to 1896, for only six years, the poet Rabindranath Tagore would occasionally visit the zamindari in Shahjadpur and live there temporarily. However, he lived permanently in Sealdah, Kushtia. Probably this is the reason why the house in Kushtia is called Kuthibari and the house in Shahjadpur is called Kacharibari. The house is basically a two-storey building built in imitation of Indo-European architecture.

In 1989, the dilapidated building was declared a preserved antiquities by the Department of Archeology. After making necessary repairs, a memorial museum was set up with photographs based on Rabindra’s biography and furniture found in the house. The Kachari house is open to visitors 7 days a week from 10 am to 6 pm. However, there is a lunch break from 1 pm to 1.30 pm. The Kachari house is closed all day on Sunday and half day on Monday. The entrance fee here is 20 TK per person.

Although the distance from Dhaka to Sirajganj is only 119 km, it takes about 4-5 hours to reach Savar, Gazipur and Tangail by bus due to frequent traffic jams. As a result, it is a bit hasty to leave Sirajganj and Shahjadpur in the morning and return to Dhaka, so we plan to leave for Sirajganj by night train. And so we have not decided to go to Rajshahi-bound Padma Express. Which departs daily from Dhaka’s Kamalapur station at 11:05 pm and from the airport station at 11:45 pm for Rajshahi.

However, on the way, it stops at several stations. One of which is Shaheed M Mansur Ali Station. Which is located in Sirajganj district. Work as planned. Arrived at the airport station at 11:20 pm. I went and booked a ticket and waited for the Padma Express. The train arrived a little late that day. We started our journey from the airport station at 12.15 pm. About three minutes later, when the train reached Joydebpur station, the other two joined me from there.

The train was moving forward with Chand Mama. But after a while, Chand Mama was getting lost behind the trees of Gajari forest. A gust of cold air was blowing coldly on his face. Some of my favorite songs were playing on my headphones. Once I went to see the Jamuna bridge. The sodium lights of the bridge bend along the path. However, there is a big difference between the beauty of Bangabandhu Bridge during the day and the beauty of the night.

In the yellow light of day, the familiar bridge seemed more enchanting. What a strange mind-blowing attraction. Moreover, even though the buses run fast over the bridge, the trains run very slowly. As a result, the beauty of the bridge can be fully enjoyed.

After crossing the bridge, the Padma Express started running at its old speed again. The train dropped us off at Shaheed M Mansur Ali railway station at 2.45 pm. The station literally seemed deserted. There is no one anywhere. The lampposts are standing alone. After walking around the station for a while, I walked to Kaddar turn.

Kaddar turn is basically a crossroads of Dhaka-Rajshahi highway plus market. Shops are open here almost all night and people stay. And since we will start walking around, it is also dangerous to sit in a deserted station after Fajr. So we decided not to go to the corner. As soon as night falls, a few CNG rickshaws are available outside the station. However, they want more rent. Moreover, we have not decided to walk as the place called Kaddar Mor is not too far away.

At midnight I went to the corner of Kaddar and ate dinner with roasted khichuri. As soon as he took the smoked tea in his hand at the end of the meal, the story started with the shopkeeper’s uncle. Hundreds of stories. The story of his childhood, the story of Sirajganj, the story of his growing up on the river bank.

It seems that the man has found a man to talk to after a long time. And so he has uncovered the stories that are frozen inside him. As soon as I heard the story, I heard the Fajr Azan in a sweet voice from the mosque. I said goodbye to the shopkeeper’s uncle and went to the mosque to offer prayers. The light of dawn has begun to shine all around. With that began a new day, a new story. I took a CNG from Kaddar turn. Destination China Dam. Although the name of this dam is Cross Dam-3, most people know it as China Dam. This dam was built to prevent the erosion of the banks of the river Jamuna.

Our CNG is running along the empty road. It felt cold. After some time, CNG stopped at the gate of China Dam. As soon as you enter the gate

Men and women of different ages were seen. Those who came to walk in the morning tied up. The distance from the gate of the dam to the river is about one and a half kilometers. However, walking this path does not make you feel tired at all. Because the wind that blows from far away blows all over the body. Also the water play on both the right and left sides of the dam is endless, the sound of turbulence.

The beauty of the dam and the river Jamuna was multiplied due to the presence of clouds in the sky. Tired of walking a lot, I lay down on the dam blocks.

Looking to the right, the Jamuna Bridge could be seen in the distance. Boats of various sizes were traveling in the middle of the river. Two fishermen are busy trying to catch some distance. I wanted to sleep forever on the bank of the river Jamuna. I was lying down, looking around and talking to myself.

Suddenly one of us suddenly pushed up and said look what it is in front of us. I was quite shocked. I got up and looked at the front for a while and saw a large fish suddenly floating out of the water. It is not difficult to understand that it is a dolphin. They roam in different rivers of Bangladesh. I stood up after watching the dolphins jump for a while. This time we have to return from China Dam. You have to go to Rabindranath Tagore’s Kachari house in Shahjadpur.

After leaving China Dam, I returned with CNG to Aslam Kaddar. I came to the corner of Kaddar, crossed the highway and took another CNG reserve. As CNG movement was prohibited on the highway, CNG ran through the village. The lush green rural beauty of this island has not attracted the burden of finding these people.

Sometimes green paddy fields, sometimes houses, sometimes our CNG is running across the river. After a while we reached Shahjadpur. As soon as I reached Shahjadpur, I saw a statue of Ravi Tagore in a white robe standing in the middle of four streets.

CNG dropped us off at the main gate of Kachari. I cut the ticket and entered. The tidying up is quite neat. There are several fruit trees standing against the walls. There are many kinds of flowering plants in front of the Kachari house.

A building of the Kachari house is used as an auditorium. The auditorium building has quite a royal feel. There are also several rooms at the back of the auditorium. Which was once used as a kitchen. However, attempts have been made to keep the main building intact. From this building Rabindranath Tagore used to search all around. Zamindari used to see and hear.

Much of the front of the building is covered with grass. Moreover, the surroundings are very clean, fluffy. There is no garbage anywhere. By then it was noon and afternoon. We have to go back. After spending some time in the shade of the huge trees of the Kachari house, we made our way back.

We have to reach Shaheed Mansur Ali station in the afternoon. Because the train from Rajshahi to Dhaka stops at this station in the afternoon. That is why we will return to Dhaka.

We all came to the corner of Kaddar and had lunch in the last afternoon. The train arrived shortly after lunch at the station. We set off for the mechanical city. In that city we have to run in need of life.