Today I am coming with my first travel post on Hive. I have been writing this from last day. Finally I finished it. So I am very much excited to share my second post with you.
Yesterday I was very busy all day. From Dhaka to Barisal, there to Pirojpur, then to Bagerhat. Then at night I reached Gopalganj. After a long journey I took a room in a residential hotel for some peace but I could not find any peace there due to the attack of beetles. I have stayed in many hotels but have not been attacked by insects so badly. Hundreds of bugs crawl on the mattress. Sleep was very important tonight for the next day's journey but it didn't happen anymore.
There is a landlord palace here. There were 360 buildings. There were more than fifty ponds. During Durga Puja, there were 60 Durga Pujas together. Wondering right? I myself was surprised to hear this. Everything I say is a historical fact.
I left Hotel Hisam very early in the morning. Our first destination was Tungipara, a town in memory of the great leader of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We left Ghonapara early in the morning. From there I went to Tungipara by CNG. Our plan was to visit Bangabandhu's grave in the morning. But in the morning I saw the main gate of Bangabandhu's tomb locked. Later I came to know that the gate was opened to the public around 9 am. We didn't waste any more time here. We went straight to Gopalganj town.
I had breakfast at Kashful restaurant located next to Gopalganj municipality. Good quality special milk tea is available here which tastes great. There are several old sweet shops at the corner of the municipality and we bought four sweets from the most notable Datta sweets store. This time our destination is Gopalganj Verar Bazar. We drove from town to Verar Bazar.
Traveling is the biggest way to satisfy my mind. I find myself in new places like a newborn baby. Traveling regularly builds me up in new ways. Without social and family obligations, I would have become an Arab Bedouin.
Our auto stopped at Verar Bazar. The river Kaliganga flows past there. We will cross this river and go to the other side. We crossed the Kaliganga river by boat. The place where we are coming across the river is called Arpara. We are running along the banks of Kaliganga river. A neat and tidy village, with a touch of rural nature. The village by the river is a beautiful place.
Our first destination is Munshi Bari in Arpara village. Walking along the river bank, we reached Arpara Munshibari. Arpara Munshibari is not a palace or zamindar's house, it is a house of rich and influential Munshis of Arpara. It is approximately 60 years old. The architecture of the building is eye-catching. The house will look like a Palace. There are thousands of bats hanging on the roof of the house. The atmosphere is a bit haunted by the chirping of the bats. The coating on each wall has fallen off. Parasitic trees are consuming the building. Such a beautiful house but there is no smell of renovation. Its beauty is being destroyed day by day due to extreme negligence. I have no information about who built this house. After visiting Munshibari, it is our turn to say goodbye. We left Munshibari and started walking along the river bank. This time our destination is Ulpur Zamindar Bari.
There has to be a lot of productivity in life. I will be a productive person without chaos. My footsteps cling to everything from the mountains to the plains. I'm not worried about life at all, I'm enjoying it as much as I can. There's no point in stress. Travel has given me a tireless life.
We are walking along the banks of the river Kaliganga. After walking some distance, we crossed the river Kaliganga in a small boat and came to the side of Ulpur. Then I fixed a van in contact up to Ulpur zamindar's house. We never thought about what was waiting for us at Ulpur zamindar's house. On the way to the zamindar's house, we saw an old building with a signboard of Ulpur land office. It is now an abandoned building, once home to the land office. Next to it is a ruined temple on a high place. We saw the two places in the van because we decided to see them on the way back.
As soon as we landed at Ulpur Bazaar, we saw an old building on the right hand side. We went to the building and saw that it was being used as a post office. The construction style of this two storey building is very beautiful. The ground floor of the two-storey building is used as a post office but the upper floor is quite neglected. The stairs to the top are locked with a gate and there are signs later that it has not been used for many years. Concrete has been used in the building so it looks like it was built in the nineteenth century. The doors and windows of this building are still alive and well. With a little touch of renovation, the beauty of this building will come back again. The veranda of this building is very beautiful, the veranda was used in this building.
We saw another building behind this building and we ran towards that building. The name of this three storey building is Deen Dham. The walls around the building have collapsed. Parts of the three-story roof are crumbling. The building is dilapidated all around. Inside the building, there are various tree trunks, the inside is completely satiated. The situation is so bad that there is no way to get inside. There is a huge bash garden at the back of this building.
There is another small building in front of Din Dham building and behind the post office but due to the surrounding area we did not get a chance to enter there. We got out of there and went straight to a temple on the north side of the post office.
After seeing all this, we came back to Aslam Bazaar and suddenly we saw an old building on the right hand side. The name of the building is Dinesh Dham, this two-storey building has the imprint of a royal building. This building is dilapidated in different parasites. I saw some wooden shops on the ground floor and there was no entrance. Only the red bricks can be seen after the coating of the walls has fallen off. Some of the wooden doors and windows still survive, but they are very fragile. Concrete has been used in the windows of this building.
We were standing next to this building when suddenly we met a stranger. I asked him if there were any more old buildings there. He asked where we come from. I replied that we came from Dhaka. Then he said if you go to the front and walk for about five minutes on the left hand side you will find some more old buildings. After walking straight from the market, you will find a few more old buildings near Ulpur PP High School. I was shocked to hear this. He added that there were more buildings here but people were occupying them and building new houses.
After a short walk from Ulpur Bazaar, we reached our destination. We arrived at the residence of Pritish Chandra Roy Chowdhury, the founder of Ulpur Zamindar Bari. The first thing to enter the house is the fragment of a building, the founder of Ulpur zamindar house Pritish Chandra Roy Chowdhury used to live in this house. Of all the buildings I've seen so far, this one seems the oldest. As soon as you enter, you see a building. This one-storey building has been built with a brick foundation a little above the ground. The construction style of the building is very beautiful. I have very little idea about the construction style of these historic buildings so I can't go into details about them. There is no concrete touch in this building. It is made of Itsurki. The building is in such a dilapidated condition that it could fall into the hands of the occupier at any moment. There is another two-storey building in front of this building. Occupancy of parasitic trees on the walls. Behind this two-storey building, there are three more buildings. All the buildings are dilapidated. These zamindari houses are losing all their beauty after being captured by the occupiers.
Here I met a student of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib University of Science and Technology. He grew up in this zamindar house. According to his commentary, there were a few more old houses here but they have been demolished. The houses have been demolished and new houses have been built here. Most of the occupation here has been by Muslims. I almost heard these in zamindars and palaces, so they did not hurt me much. We have not been able to preserve our historical heritage. This is very bad news for the people of our country. No local government representative came forward to stop the devastation. Sometimes I suffer so much I regret why we destroyed our history in this way.
After leaving this house, after another old house on the right hand side, it is also the same style of construction. There is a huge pond around these houses. These houses are quite high from the ground.
After walking out of these houses for a while, we reached our next destination. As I was leaving, I saw at least ten ponds. A few houses were visible about 6/7 feet above the ground. I found a total of 5 old buildings here. Of which 4 are single storey and one is two storey building. Of these five buildings, three are abandoned and the other two are still in use. The three-storey building is very dilapidated. These are located at the very front. The remaining one-storey is using a local madrasa and the two-storey building is also in their possession. From this house an old temple can be seen in the paddy field but it is not possible to go there at present. The exterior of the house is made up of three similar carvings. There were more buildings here that the locals are destroying.
On our way back from here, we met a local man, a simple man. At the same time we got into the story. He gave a lot of information. There were 360 buildings in total. He also saw at least 200 buildings. In the course of time, the occupants of this house demolished many old buildings of this zamindar house and built new houses there. The present descendant of this Ulpur zamindar house, Papai Babu still lives here, this Papai Babu is a very powerful man. This papaya babu himself demolished at least seven old two-storied buildings and built new houses there.
We came to the new zamindar's house to talk to this uncle. It is a very annoying environment. The artificial environment is perfect, there is no place for history and tradition. I didn't stay there anymore. We went to Ulpur Bazaar.
I am traveling for myself. The investment I make in travel never disappoints me. I am very happy with this investment. I find myself traveling again. There is a specialty of this novelty.
We had a light breakfast at Ulpur Bazaar. Due to the intense heat of the sun, a lot of sweat is coming out from the body, due to which I am getting weak again and again. This weakness cannot temporarily overwhelm me. This time our destination is Ulpur PP High School. There are a few more old buildings in the vicinity of this high school which are part of Ulpur zamindar house. After walking for a while from the market, a road has left on the left hand side. Ulpur PP High School is located there. Before going to high school, you will see a big pond on the right hand side. There is another part of Ulpur zamindar's house on its bank. Before entering this zamindar's house, we started the story with the meeting of a old man. The old man would be more than 60 years old. He gave us a lot of information that it is my responsibility to share with you. At the time of Durga Puja, 70 Durga Pujas were performed together in this zamindar's house. Uncle wanted to explain to us how big was the perimeter of this zamindar's house. They did not take anything from here, they all left the royal Australia and migrated to India. After independence, the zamindar's house was occupied by Muslims and then the old buildings were demolished. In this Ulpur zamindar's house there were 16 judges together. Everyone in this house was very highly educated. After talking to uncle, we said goodbye to him and entered this part of Ulpur zamindar's house. One of the buildings of this house is called Anand Dham. As soon as you enter the house, you will see a one-storey building in front of your eyes and a two-storey building behind it. This building looks the same as the previous ones
When we met a brother in this house, he showed us around these buildings by himself. We were first taken to the top of a two-story building where we went and saw that even a few years ago someone used to sit there, his impression is still there. We got down from this two-storey building and went to another building next door. Some families live in that building. Another two-storey building next to it also houses people, so I did not enter the buildings. There is another building on the right side of the two storey building. It is one storey. People also live in it. There is a statue of Ganesha on top of a two-storey building here, although its condition is very bad. The name of the house on which there is a statue of Ganesha is Kailash Dham. We saw almost all the houses. After seeing everything, the only regret is why these historical structures were destroyed. Maybe I will never get the answer.
This time it was our turn to say goodbye and we traveled for a long time keeping pace with the scorching sun. I rediscovered myself in a part of history by looking at historical installations. I learned something new. We came out of Ulpur PP High School Road and sat in a tea shop. After sitting for a while, an auto came and we got on it. Our next destination is Taltala.
Hah, finally the journey finished here. I don't think you have much patience to read the full post. By the way, thanks for your valuable time. Hope you will love this to know about some history of Gopalganj.
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