মঙ্গলবার, ৫ জানুয়ারী, ২০১০

Down on the Chameleon River-Abu sadat

The boatman, Chacha, named it- The Chameleon River. You know Chameleon is a little reptile which changes its colors. The old boatman’s eye, however, viewed the mysterious little river as a Chameleon. The locals know it as Shaari. It is a river I am talking about less explored by the tourists. If you wish to spend your holiday in a place far away from everyday hassle, I think it’ll be a splendid choice. So did we on a bright October morning of 2008 heading towards Jaintapur, 35 kilometers north-east from Sylhet. After a ninety minute’s trip, started from Sylhet, the tired-old-bus made a stop at Shaari Ghat. (I am sure that you will choose your personal/rented automobile to travel on, which will take no more than forty minutes to get over there). We, then, hired an engine-boat and jumped onboard. The boatman, chacha, began to propel his boat slowly. Chameleon River welcomed us with cool splashes of her crystal-blue water. The gentle October wind will make music in your mouth and the River Shaari will begin to unfold her mystery to you slowly in the way it did to us. The green scenery of both the riverbank was wonderful, as it always is. The cloud race up above in the sky was amazing too. When we turned our eyes back onto the river, surprisingly we found it turned jade. The blue ripples were disappeared. Soon we realized it happened because we took a left turn earlier. So the angle of sunlight seemed to us to be the opposite relative to its earlier direction. The little river took hundreds of turns to make its way through. She will elude you with her ever changing color display. You may see people standing on the banks, leaving all their routine tasks for a moment, waving their hands to you. The tranquil environment all around made us silent. Soon the boatman, chacha, raised his finger pointing to the Laalakhal Bazar. On reaching there we were dined and headed towards the Magnolia tea garden. The lush green scenery of the tea garden is awesome, you know. You will enjoy watching the hillocks covered with tea plants. We did walk for 4 miles and reached to a dead-end of the tea garden. There the air was thickly filled with wild floral fragrance. All we could hear was the wild birds chirping from up above the treetops. It’s quite amazing indeed. This place seemed to me like a kept-secret. The age old river knows all of it. Silently she has been flowing on since time immemorial. We turned back to Laalakhal Bazar and found chachca waiting for us. The evening sky then reflected on shaari turning it into a silver sheet. The rippling waves will thank you for your visit to her. I know I’ll be there again to watch this Chameleon River and someday you too. Adios for now.

The Port of Mystery

Imagine you are now on a business trip in Chittagong. On a bright sunny afternoon you have got nothing to do but staring down at the traffics from the rooftop restaurant of the local five-star hotel. What will you do then? Are you thinking to go for a nap? Or go outside on shopping that you hate most? After the tiresome business sessions you are planning to enjoy some time in solitude. Here you are. Fasten your seatbelt and drive your car towards the Port of Mystery. You can’t even imagine this 15 minutes’ drive is going to take you to such a place that can only match with a fairyland. Yes, it is indeed. It is Sagarika Sea Beach, just 7 kilometers away from the Chittagong Metropolitan’s hub GEC moor. The beach itself does not have any formal name though. One of my friends once named it The Port of Mystery. This is not like an ordinary beach and it will rather remind you some wild, unexplored sea beach which is yet not dressed well to elude the tourists to pour in. The scenic coast line, the wide open seascape, the deserted sea beach along with other mind-blowing features will lift your mood up, for sure. Well, if you will come here, the first thing that will catch your site of is the coastal mangrove forest. I hope you’ll not miss the chance of having a walk across the forest. Take off your shoes and roll up your pant. You’ll enjoy walking barefooted on the soft marine grass. Soon you’ll get yourself at the end of the forest. Right before you there’ll be nothing but the vast expanse of the silver sea. The sun is about to set in the shimmering horizon. Your mind will be engulfed with an invisible sea of an eerie silence. The distant birds’ chirping and the soft crushing noise of the rolling waves will make the silence more sacred. Your feet will be washed by the gentle waves. You may see some fishing boats’ smoke and they are coming back to the shore. I’ll request you to walk a bit further. Now you’ll see the mangrove forest as a green backdrop behind you. Of course you will be a lone wanderer on the deserted beach. You will see the crabs trying to climb up the mangrove roots. The stars will soon start to blink up in the sky and you’ll hardly believe that you are only 5/6 kilometers away from the metropolis. The fresh air of the forest will fill your lungs with spirit. You can stay there as long as you want. You can enjoy the moon rising high up above the forest. You’ll see the well-lit vessels anchored in the deep seaport like some floating cities. Then the hour of departure will arrive and you’ll wash your mud stained feet. On your way back to the city, I am sure; you’ll turn your face back and will try to fill your eyes with that mysterious beauty. You’ll come back soon, I know.