The majestic River Padma has always fascinated me since my childhood. It was the fabled river which provided some of the best hilsa fish to a bengali household. It was the recurring theme of many Bengali movies like 'Padma nadir Majhi'. It was the river about which it was said, its an ocean in itself , one bank of the river is not visible from the other bank, it was the river which eroded its banks and anything on it with the hunger of a monster devouring its prey.However these were things I had heard of, the river being spoken of nostalgically by many Bengalis who migrated to India post partition. Stories of the river had acquired a sort of fairy Talesque proportions for me. This became still more vivid when my wife and myself went to dine at a Bengali restaurant in Bangalore. This restaurant had made sincere efforts to introduce its guests to long lost Bengali cuisine. Admist the quaint sounding "Chicken dak bungalow", "Murshidabadi Murgir Rann", we chanced to spot a dish called "Goalondo Steamer Curry". Intrigued by the name, we decided to try it and read the details on the menucard.What I read, seemed to transport me to an era when life was pretty relaxed and slow. It spanned through an era when India was not yet devided into fractions called Pakistan, Bangladesh. The Imperial railways connecting the erstwhile British Capital Calcutta to Eastern Bengal terminated at a small station called Goalondo.Passengers disembarked here , crossed the Mighty Padma in steamers and travelled onwards till the great cities of east bengal like Dhaka and Chittagong.The Padma , as it is now, was then a dreaded river. Mighty and arrogant she had hurled many a steamer in rough weather down to her unfathomable depths. Passengers would offer prayers and board the steamer. It would be an overnight journey for many people. Thus there was a provision for dinner onboard. And this dinner, cooked onboard the steamer, would become a legend in the gastronomic world. Cooked by the boatsmen, it was a simple perparation of Chicken/Mutton curry, a bit hot I guess, accompanied by steaming hot rice. But the effect of this curry was amazing. Many of those who have tasted it long back in the 40's are still alive, they vouch that they have traveled far and wide, but have never come across anything as delicious as this. How? No, they cant answer that? Probably it was the breeze of the Padma that ignited their bellies and aromised the food. Maybe The sound of the water and the song of the Boatsmen and oarsmen also had something to do with it.
Life moved on pretty fast after that evening, however the history of the steamer curry became entrenched in my memory in romantic hues. It was not long after, when my company transferred me to Dhaka,Bangladesh. Strange is the will of the Lord, I came back to the very place from where my grandfather had moved out in the 1960s, to avoid execution by the Pakistan army.In a few days time, I happened to strike a fast friendship with our guesthouse caretaker. Kajol, as he was named, came from a small village in Jessore. Unlettered yet enlightened, small village boy with a global outlook, fond of the Folk songs of baul Lalon Shah, he was a unique person. After getting to know him from close quarters, he became a sort of "Man friday" for me.He regaled me with tales of his village, of his little boy who called him up every morning and demanded he return home with lots of A(bb)les and oranges and Lighting Shoes, of the ferry he had to board to cross the mighty Padma to reach his village, of how every soul on board the steamer quaked when the sky darkened, the winds howled and the Padma began to dance a mad dance of death and destruction.
These stories ignited in me the old urge to cross the Padma and visit Goalondo ghat.So, on one fine Bright Friday morning, we set out of Dhaka...Kajol, his friend named Rab accompanied my wife and myself on this exotic journey. We reached a place called Mawa Ghat. Travellers from Dhaka usually board steamers from here. Arriving at Mawa Ghat, we found it to be a Foodies paradise. Small eateries, lined all along the road catering to the insatiable hunger of a race who probably Lives only to eat..Fresh Hilsa from the river, Prawns, Pangash(A fresh water fish, extremely soft and succulent), U name it, and it was there. I felt like Alice in wonderland...Unmindful of the growing day, we decided to 'Make it Large'.... Food arrived straight from the Hearth(Literally) and we kept on ordering one menu after the other...I literally had to be pulled out of the eatery, otherwise I would have eaten up the shop as well. Now came the best part, crossing the Padma. Here was the great river, The river of many a tale, of many movies, of many a song, Here was the great river, sacred to me as a Hindu, dear to the millions dwelling on its banks, The giver of bounty and the Great destroyer..Ah, There was She...Unfathomable, verily an ocean in itself...Where were her banks, No it was not visible. Sparkling under the morning sun, the emerald waters of the Padma soothed our eyes....We took a Speedboat to reach the other bank. At this moment , a twist takes place in our plans. Kajol says that he hasnt gone home for the last 3 months. His wife who had got to know of our plans has insisted he bring us home....So, for the sake of a Friend and the lure to visit the beautiful villages of 'Sonar Bangla' our plans were changed. We gave up our plans of Trying out 'Goalondo Steamer Curry', and headed towards Jessore ....Wow, this is what Travelling is all about, no set destination, no definite plans...Lets now return to the Padma Crossing...All along the river were islands whose sand was as white as Moonbeamlight.The river was the great Mother, providing a lifeline for the people of Bangladesh. Hundreds of Steamers carrying people and Vehicles plyed its waters. The river eroded its banks and brought rich alluvial soil, blessing the land and people with bountiful harvest..
Children swam in its waters and played with it.... Eagles flew over her , circling the sun only to swoop down momentarily for fish....Fishermen oared across the river in small boats ...What a riot of colour and activity was there all around..How munificient the river looked under a Blue sky without a hint of any cloud..I tried to imagine how this gentle river could become a ravaging monster during rough weather...
The boatride took us around 30 minutes. We landed at a Place called "Kaorakandi Ghat ". We would have to journey forward in crammed micro-buses, ride Battery operated Tom Toms, Cross a small river called "Madhumati' in a ferry that had to be pulled till mid river by ropes, ride Rickshaw vans to pass through some of the loveliest countryside I have ever seen. The long day was drawing to an end, the sun was setting in the western horizon, we were still on the way to my Friend's village. It was a lovely little road with trees all around, here and there small huts....Twilight had just set in, it was after a long time that we were witnessing such ethereal beauty , the mystic light and shade effect of twilight heightened by the mystic words of my friend..."Dada, it is such beautiful out here, back there in Dhaka, when the day draws to a close, many thoughts, many memories flood my mind and as if set up a Big Marketplace out there..Oh that Aunty, how much she used to Love me, she loved feeding me, alas she is no longer alive ..And that friend of mine, he is no longer in my life, he would tell me this and that....When such thoughts come, I feel what is the value of life, it is only in doing good and being good...I pray to Allah that he give me the power to serve and help others"....The simplicity and sincerity of his words , the peace and vastness all around transported me to a world beyond the tension of work, of the strife all around, of the failures and troubles I was experiencing. Very Slowly as twilight faded and the night set in, glowworms lit up the road, and the stars gathered in the banquet hall of the night sky...Small stars here on the earth..and those millions up there, I couldnt help echoing Tagore, "In this great universe , through the vastness of time and space, me a puny Human being, traverse through all this wonder struck"...
It was quite late in the evening when we reached my Friend's house.Imagine the excitement of the household, the man of the house was returning after 3 months and with him comes city Foreigners from India. We were immediately surrounded by a motley group of people, curious to see "Foreigners' who had come from the Big city. My wife was taken to the inner chambers , my friend's wife and other family members welcomed her like a sister. Tired and exhausted, i decided to answer the call of nature and have a bath...Well, what a bathroom it was, open air , covered with palm leaves all around , the sky as its roof, water had to be taken along with U in a small pot, use the earth to cleanse your hand...:) But never before I had used a bathroom, whose ceiling was adorned with millions of stars..Ah the beauty of it is past description. Fresh and invigorated, we had our dinner, prepared by the mistress of the house . .. Fish from the pond, rice and green vegetables from the Farm....Fresh, Healthy and warm.....After a long journey and such delicious food, sleep quickly overpowered us, deep sleep was the reward of this most satisfying but long journey.
The next morning, we woke up to the sound of roosters call and chirby children. My Friend, not more than 35 years of age, has three kids , the eldest one being 10+ years and the youngest one being 3 years old..These kids were staring at us, as the liliputs would have looked at Gulliver all brought in ropes...Kajol quickly sent the eldest one with me to carry the water mug and towel, while I performed the morning ablutions. Bathing was performed in open paddy fields, under a irrigation well with the village folk enjoying the discomfort of the Country Sahib...All fresh and raring to go , we went out for a tour of Kajol's farm..The paddy fields, the coconut trees, the little cottages surrounded by ample shady trees, wow , it was a feast for the eyes...Kajol got his son to climb up a coconut tree and bring Tender coconut for us. There was something very interesting which I noticed, Bangladesh is a high-demand low Power supply country. The current estimate in the demand and supply gap is around 1650 Kw.Cities donot have power for hours at a stretch, villages are severely hit. Thus Bangladesh villages have gone all out for Solar power. Nobel Prize winner Dr.Younus's organization Grameen Group is carrying out yeomans service in rural electrification. I found even my friend was using Solar Powered lamps at his house. He informed me that Solar Power works well even during the Peak Monsoon season...Wonder if policy makers in Power starved Emerging Economies are listening?
The day was growing, the sun was climbing up the staircase of the heavens, it was time for us to leave. We bid farewell to our kind hosts, thanked them for the love and care they have showered on us. Kajol's wife was aggrieved that her Husband was going away so soon...The youngest child ran up to him and said that his Lighting shoes was out of order, that his "Father from Dhaka" (Thats how he adresses his Father when he is away from home and at Dhaka...:) ) should get him a new pair of shoes, more a(bb)les and oranges next time around..He should also tell his elder brother not to beat him...We all assured him suitably, only then could we leave....The long dreary trip to Dhaka was on, the next day would be another "Day at the office" filled with strifes, struggles, achievments and failures, but the peace that I was carrying back would probably help me sail Through all this...But there was one question that was haunting me, What is more preferable, a life filled with money and luxuries and the accompanying tensions or a simple life spent under the blue skies and bright sunshine filled with the fresh air of the countryside..I could hear Denver in the background, "Country roads take me home...To the place i belong...." Probably this is a question best left Unanswered...
Life moved on pretty fast after that evening, however the history of the steamer curry became entrenched in my memory in romantic hues. It was not long after, when my company transferred me to Dhaka,Bangladesh. Strange is the will of the Lord, I came back to the very place from where my grandfather had moved out in the 1960s, to avoid execution by the Pakistan army.In a few days time, I happened to strike a fast friendship with our guesthouse caretaker. Kajol, as he was named, came from a small village in Jessore. Unlettered yet enlightened, small village boy with a global outlook, fond of the Folk songs of baul Lalon Shah, he was a unique person. After getting to know him from close quarters, he became a sort of "Man friday" for me.He regaled me with tales of his village, of his little boy who called him up every morning and demanded he return home with lots of A(bb)les and oranges and Lighting Shoes, of the ferry he had to board to cross the mighty Padma to reach his village, of how every soul on board the steamer quaked when the sky darkened, the winds howled and the Padma began to dance a mad dance of death and destruction.
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| Colourful Fruit Bazars adorn the Mawa Ghat... |
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| Fresh Catch from the River!! |
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| The Mighty Padma regularly erodes its banks.. |
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| Crossing the Madhumati- A Small tributary of the Padma!!! |
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| Taare Zameen Par!!! |
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| Kajol and his youngest Son Ramzan!! |
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| Sujalang Sufalang Malayaja Shitalang!!! |
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| Wife!! |
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| Now thats deff not a colgate smile...Few things on earth can bring such precious smile. |
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| Nibir ati timir maya kunja!!! |
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| Rural Electrification - Many Villages in Bangladesh are turning to solar power as a source of clean and cheap power |
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| Ah to be a "Padma Nadir Majhi"...:) |
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| Food!!! @ Mawa Ghat |
Children swam in its waters and played with it.... Eagles flew over her , circling the sun only to swoop down momentarily for fish....Fishermen oared across the river in small boats ...What a riot of colour and activity was there all around..How munificient the river looked under a Blue sky without a hint of any cloud..I tried to imagine how this gentle river could become a ravaging monster during rough weather...
The boatride took us around 30 minutes. We landed at a Place called "Kaorakandi Ghat ". We would have to journey forward in crammed micro-buses, ride Battery operated Tom Toms, Cross a small river called "Madhumati' in a ferry that had to be pulled till mid river by ropes, ride Rickshaw vans to pass through some of the loveliest countryside I have ever seen. The long day was drawing to an end, the sun was setting in the western horizon, we were still on the way to my Friend's village. It was a lovely little road with trees all around, here and there small huts....Twilight had just set in, it was after a long time that we were witnessing such ethereal beauty , the mystic light and shade effect of twilight heightened by the mystic words of my friend..."Dada, it is such beautiful out here, back there in Dhaka, when the day draws to a close, many thoughts, many memories flood my mind and as if set up a Big Marketplace out there..Oh that Aunty, how much she used to Love me, she loved feeding me, alas she is no longer alive ..And that friend of mine, he is no longer in my life, he would tell me this and that....When such thoughts come, I feel what is the value of life, it is only in doing good and being good...I pray to Allah that he give me the power to serve and help others"....The simplicity and sincerity of his words , the peace and vastness all around transported me to a world beyond the tension of work, of the strife all around, of the failures and troubles I was experiencing. Very Slowly as twilight faded and the night set in, glowworms lit up the road, and the stars gathered in the banquet hall of the night sky...Small stars here on the earth..and those millions up there, I couldnt help echoing Tagore, "In this great universe , through the vastness of time and space, me a puny Human being, traverse through all this wonder struck"...
It was quite late in the evening when we reached my Friend's house.Imagine the excitement of the household, the man of the house was returning after 3 months and with him comes city Foreigners from India. We were immediately surrounded by a motley group of people, curious to see "Foreigners' who had come from the Big city. My wife was taken to the inner chambers , my friend's wife and other family members welcomed her like a sister. Tired and exhausted, i decided to answer the call of nature and have a bath...Well, what a bathroom it was, open air , covered with palm leaves all around , the sky as its roof, water had to be taken along with U in a small pot, use the earth to cleanse your hand...:) But never before I had used a bathroom, whose ceiling was adorned with millions of stars..Ah the beauty of it is past description. Fresh and invigorated, we had our dinner, prepared by the mistress of the house . .. Fish from the pond, rice and green vegetables from the Farm....Fresh, Healthy and warm.....After a long journey and such delicious food, sleep quickly overpowered us, deep sleep was the reward of this most satisfying but long journey.
The next morning, we woke up to the sound of roosters call and chirby children. My Friend, not more than 35 years of age, has three kids , the eldest one being 10+ years and the youngest one being 3 years old..These kids were staring at us, as the liliputs would have looked at Gulliver all brought in ropes...Kajol quickly sent the eldest one with me to carry the water mug and towel, while I performed the morning ablutions. Bathing was performed in open paddy fields, under a irrigation well with the village folk enjoying the discomfort of the Country Sahib...All fresh and raring to go , we went out for a tour of Kajol's farm..The paddy fields, the coconut trees, the little cottages surrounded by ample shady trees, wow , it was a feast for the eyes...Kajol got his son to climb up a coconut tree and bring Tender coconut for us. There was something very interesting which I noticed, Bangladesh is a high-demand low Power supply country. The current estimate in the demand and supply gap is around 1650 Kw.Cities donot have power for hours at a stretch, villages are severely hit. Thus Bangladesh villages have gone all out for Solar power. Nobel Prize winner Dr.Younus's organization Grameen Group is carrying out yeomans service in rural electrification. I found even my friend was using Solar Powered lamps at his house. He informed me that Solar Power works well even during the Peak Monsoon season...Wonder if policy makers in Power starved Emerging Economies are listening?
The day was growing, the sun was climbing up the staircase of the heavens, it was time for us to leave. We bid farewell to our kind hosts, thanked them for the love and care they have showered on us. Kajol's wife was aggrieved that her Husband was going away so soon...The youngest child ran up to him and said that his Lighting shoes was out of order, that his "Father from Dhaka" (Thats how he adresses his Father when he is away from home and at Dhaka...:) ) should get him a new pair of shoes, more a(bb)les and oranges next time around..He should also tell his elder brother not to beat him...We all assured him suitably, only then could we leave....The long dreary trip to Dhaka was on, the next day would be another "Day at the office" filled with strifes, struggles, achievments and failures, but the peace that I was carrying back would probably help me sail Through all this...But there was one question that was haunting me, What is more preferable, a life filled with money and luxuries and the accompanying tensions or a simple life spent under the blue skies and bright sunshine filled with the fresh air of the countryside..I could hear Denver in the background, "Country roads take me home...To the place i belong...." Probably this is a question best left Unanswered...
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