Sylhet—Bangladesh

Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal Sylhet Bangladesh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

sylhet railway station (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Surma River, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Bangladesh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sylhet forest village scene (Photo credit: bongo vongo)

Hill’s in Sylhet, Bangladesh (Photo credit: – Ariful H Bhuiyan -)

Tea Gardens of Srimongol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My friends:  Alphie,Susan and their son Gepetto wanted to see Sylhet. I therefore thought it will be a terrific idea.We made up our mind that the best way would be to take the train. It was a unanimous decision. We considered it would be a valuable experience. Travelling by train would help us to view the scenic beauty of the country. We were not disappointed, the train journey helped us to see all the little places we would not have been able to appreciate,if we went by airplane.

From my research I was able to find out a lot about the area.My friends were eager to know everything, I found out about it. Here is the knowledge I gathered from my research.

It is a major city in North-Eastern Bangladesh.It is the main city of Sylhet division and district.In March 2009 it was granted metropolitan status. It is located on the banks of Surma valley and is surrounded by the Jaintia ,Khasi  and Tripura  hills. It is well-known for its tea gardens and tropical forests.

The city is described as a city of saints.There is a mausoleum of Hazrat Shah Jalal.He brought Islam to Bengal in the 14th century. After the partition of India in  1947,it became a part of Pakistan.

The 14th century marked the beginning of Islamic influence. As the early forms of Islam originated in 7th century Arabia, the early forms of Muslim cultures were predominantly Arab .With the rapid expansion of the Islamic empires, Muslim culture has influenced and assimilated much from the Persian.Bangladeshi Turkic,Pakistanis, Mongol,Chinese,Indian,Egyptian,Indonesian,Filipino,Greek Roman,Byzantine,Spanish,Sicilian,Balkanic and western cultures.

The climate of Sylhet is humid subtropical with a predominantly hot and humid summer and a relatively cool winter.It is within the monsoon climatic zone, with annual average highest temperatures of 23°C(August to October) and average lower temperature of seven degrees celsius(January).Nearly 80% of the annual average rainfall is 3,334 mm,occurs between May and September.

The city is located within the region where there are hills and basins which constitute one of the most distinctive regions in Bangladesh.the Geosystem of Sylhet consists mainly of hill soils encompassing a few large depression known locally as “beels” which can be mainly classified as oxbow lakes,caused by tectonic subsidence primarily due to the earth quakes of 1762.

This is all for today from ,Alphie,Susan, Gepetto and the guide. Thank you for giving us the opportunity, to present to you the city of Sylhet in Bangladesh.

Good day and God bless you to all our respected friends,thank you very much!

March 2009 (Photo credit: Vanessa (EY))

Comilla My Hometown

Maharaja (Photo credit: Nina Klein)

Kazi Nazrul Islam, the revolutionary Bengali Muslim who is now the National Poet of Bangladesh (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Comilla Bypass. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Comilla Cadet College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Comilla Medical College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Comilla Maynamoti Bihar বাংলা: কুমিল্লা ময়নামতি বিহার (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Comilla Victoria College academic building (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Comilla Maynamoti Bihar (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Susan,Alphie and Gepetto,before I begin today,I would like to share a poem written by my favourite poet,Rabindranath Tagore.He has written numerous poems in his lifetime. My mind tells me to pick this one.

Closed Path

I thought my voyage had come to its end

at the last limit of my power,—-that path before me was closed.

that provisions were exhausted

and the time has come to take shelter in a silent obscurity.

But I find that thy will knows no end in me.

And when old words die out on the tongue.

new melodies break forth from the heart

And where the old tracks are lost,

new country is revealed with wonders.     Rabindranath Tagore

I would like to take you back to the year 1905.A communal tension spread when a Muslim was shot during the partition of Bengal in 1905.On 21st November 1921. Kazi Nazrul Islam , a very famous poet of Bengal composed patriotic songs and tried to awaken the people of the town to protest the visit of  Prince of Wales in India.There were other major incidences,when a sizable number of people were killed.There is nothing strange about that. What we  the citizens of the 21st century, must try to stop wars,they just bring out the evil nature of human beings.

Comilla covers a total area of 11.47 square kilometers.It is bounded by Burchiganj and Tripura on the North,Laksham and Chauddagram  on the south, and Barura on the west.The major rivers that pass through Comilla are Gumti and Little Feni.Comilla is a hub of road communication for the eastern part of Bangladesh.One of the oldest highways of the Indian sub-continent ,the Grand Trunk road passes through the city.At present the most important Dhaka-Chittagong highway by-passes the city from the cantonment to Podua Bazaar.

“Gepetto,there are a lot of names which will sound strange to you,I would like you to make a note of them.When you are back in school you can give your friends a quiz,see how many of them they can pronounce.It will be a good exercise for the brain.” Gepetto was on his feet searching for his notebook, “What a neat idea,he thought.”

Tourism

Comilla has a number of tourist attractions.There are various archaeological relics discovered in the district.They are preserved in the Mainamati museum.There is a red soil rock ,it is named Lalmai Pahar.It has an ancient Chandi temple on the summit.Another temple, the Jagannath temple built by Maharaja of Tripura is a tourist attraction as well.

My father told my mother that we should settle in Comilla.My Mom liked the idea,her home in the village was near it.  My brother Shams bought a house.We moved into the house from our Grandpa’s home in the village.My younger siblings went to ,”Our Lady of Fatima Convent School.” Two of my brothers went to Comilla Zilla School. It was a very good school.The headmaster told me,my father was a student of this school as well. When I gave him a puzzled look.He described my father ‘wasn’t he tall and thin’.I knew then he was right.

Comilla was a small and quiet town when we lived there.at that time they had a few schools and two colleges. Now there are a lot more people.And they have a lot of schools and colleges and universities.When I went for a visit,I was surprised to see how much it is developed.

For me it was fun to be there even if it was for a short while.I remembered going to college near my home.I could hear my professor telling us about Civics.I grew up in a large family,making fun of people was what we thrived on.Karim Sir would pick up his book,he wore a large  round pair of glasses, get up on the platform to go to his desk and would look from side to side making sure we were not up to any kind of mischief. Then his daily routine would start, Civics from the Western point of view there was always a very loud emphasis on the words,  “western point.” ,then I had the Urdu Professor,who used his eyes not his tongue, to speak. I would come home and act it out.My mom would be furious,she said,” bad tameez,you should respect your teachers.” Now at my age ,sixteen will not come again,when I laughed and joked about my Profs.who certainly taught me what I know. I sometimes go back to my childhood to make sure everyone including Gepetto knows how evil I can be.

Okay my good friends Gepetto looks tired,Susan wants to learn more about my little town, Alphie hasn’t opened his mouth yet,I am afraid to ask.It has been quite a pleasant ride.We thank God and all His supreme creation for putting up with me,Ranu the guide extraordinaire and her little friends,Alphie,Susan and Gepetto,So long,till we meet again!

Comilla (Photo credit: Wikipedia)