The village is very dear to me. Those who know me are well aware of how much I love natural surroundings. Nowadays, with the development of roads and better transportation, I can visit my village whenever I have the time and feel like it. But I still remember how, in my childhood, my sister and I used to count down the days to visit our village. Back then, the only way to get home was by waterway, we had to travel by launch. It used to take at least twelve hours to reach home.
So even if we had the time or the desire, we had to wait for the two Eids to visit our village. I still remember how, as soon as Ramadan started, my sister and I would pack our bags and mark the date of our departure on the calendar. We couldn’t sleep at night, overjoyed thinking about all the fun we’d have at the village.
Now I visit the village a few times a year, but the joy isn’t quite the same as it was in childhood. My village is deep in the Barisal district of Bangladesh. The name of the village is Selimpur. You could even call it an island, as this little village is surrounded by the Arial Khan and Jayanti rivers. Even now, you can’t reach the house without crossing the rivers.
The picture shows the beauty of my village in winter , dried-up crop fields, paddy laid out in the sun to dry, mustard flowers, and something else. One of the most famous winter greens in southern Bangladesh is "Kolai Shaak" (black gram greens). In the picture, it may look like grass, but if you look closely, you’ll see it’s not grass , it’s actually a leafy vegetable.
These days, I take a lot of photos when I visit, but back then we didn’t have phones. I got my first phone when I entered college. The camera quality wasn’t very good, but the memories from those times are still vivid in my mind.
Today, I bring you a glimpse of my village during my teenage years, as I saw it. I don’t know if the days of warming up in the winter sun after walking down the dirt roads are over now, but these days walking barefoot on the dew-covered grass hurts, something that never happened when I was a child. The photos were taken just after I got my phone, so the angles aren’t perfect and the resolution is low, but to me, the most beautiful village I’ve ever seen is my village, Selimpur.