Sylhet Diary (3)

April 10
One. All three of them—Sunil, Shakti, and Sandipan—were fond of Minakshi, the elder daughter of the literary couple Buddhadeb and Pratibha. A subtle rivalry ran between them over her. To prevent anyone from visiting that household, one of them had spread word that animal-lover Pratibha Basu kept a gigantic, ferocious-looking dog that was terrifying and would viciously bite any visitor. One day Sunil went to Buddhadeb Basu's house on some errand. As soon as the door opened, that enormous dog came out. Sunil Gangopadhyay writes: where was this terrifying, fearsome creature? This was actually a rather bashful, poet-like face on a large dog!

When I reached Habiganj, it was half past twelve at night. The Rotaract Club here had organized a career talk for me, which was the largest student gathering in Habiganj's history for such a long duration. The credit belonged almost entirely to the club. I saw up close how much effort organizers must put in to make such a program beautiful. At that time, a spiritual bond formed between me and everyone in the club—a relationship that still exists. That time we all went together to Rema-Kalenga Forest, stayed at Dibakar da's place, who was then "unmarried, thus living in hardship." Da is now "married, thus dead in happiness." I'll remember the hospitality of everyone at da's house. Whenever Habiganj comes to mind, the town somehow feels dear and familiar. In provincial towns like this, I find a human warmth that's simply unforgettable. It's the pull of that love that makes me rush back.
Robin Singh had already arranged a room at the Circuit House. He works in my department, an officer from the batch after mine. For some unknown reason, he's quite fond of me. Since my office car suddenly broke down, I came by bus from Sylhet. After reaching here with Gias, I told the rickshaw puller to take us to the Circuit House. (Gias was working as Assistant Revenue Officer in our department, later joined Sylhet Government Women's College as a lecturer in Economics in the BCS Education cadre. Gias was an exceptionally talented person who had come second in both honors and masters from SUST's Economics department. About a year ago, he passed away from some incurable disease.) When I came here briefly last time, I didn't explore much inside the town. Today, riding in the rickshaw, I saw a residential premises right next to the DC's residence and thought, "Wow! Quite well-organized! Wouldn't be bad to live here." I didn't know yet that the DC's residence, SP's residence, Circuit House—they're all side by side. And from the side where "District Commissioner's Residence" was written, the "Circuit House" sign wasn't visible. A little later I discovered that where I hadn't even thought of staying just moments ago, that's exactly where arrangements had been made for me. Life is like that. What you think you won't get, you'll find has already found its way to you.
Hearing news of my arrival, many from the Rotaract Club contacted me. I also received calls from Moulvibazar and Sreemangal. Sumi is an Assistant Commissioner in charge of VAT in Moulvibazar. She's already arranged sightseeing for tomorrow and the day after. Many said, "Dada, when are you coming? We're waiting to see you." This is a great blessing. Tomorrow we'll all go touring together.
At 1 AM, Shaon da came to the Circuit House to meet me. He was the club's president last time. I must mention two aspects of his character—quite warm and hardworking. Good thing is, he and his wife sing quite well. I can bet that anyone, even the most tone-deaf person, would be smitten hearing boudi's voice. Gias, Shaon da and I were standing in front of my room on the second floor of the Circuit House, chatting, when a very large dog came up the stairs from the ground floor. Seeing this extremely wise and dignified-looking dog, I remembered Sunil's description of the Basu family's poet-faced dog. It seemed like if it could just find some paper and pen, it would sit down to write poetry right away! The dog stood right next to us. Kept sniffing something. Its way of looking was exactly like the dog in the movie 'Hachi: A Dog's Tale.' When it sat with its ears drooping down, it looked like a dog I'd read about in some story in 'Radiant Way' during childhood—a dog that would lie on its master's grave all night after his death. The dog simply wouldn't leave me alone; it would have entered my room if it could! This giant, affectionate dog is now sitting right outside my room door. I feel a kind of tenderness for it—the kind that draws you close yet won't let you come near.
(Please don't request anyone to take and post selfies with the dog.)
Two. Why is the Habiganj-Sreemangal road through Rashidpur so beautiful? Tea gardens and rubber gardens on both sides. Taking a long drive down the road between them. Feeling wonderful. Now we're all standing under the sculpture reading "Welcome to Tea Country" taking pictures together. A mood-lifting, sparkling day. Is today somehow different?
Three. Dense forest on both sides. The tireless call of crickets, birds chirping. A road down the middle. Going to Madhavpur Lake.
Feeling Tarzan Tarzan... Missing Jane... Who wanna be my Jane?
Four. Ah! If you stay alive, you get to see a Madhavpur Lake like this!
Five. At Lawachara Forest... Python coiled around the neck, giving the tiger a kiss on the lips and taking a selfie! Where are you, my brave ones?!
Six. At Boddhovumi 71
... (Here our brothers lie sleeping)
Seven. After non-stop touring all day, now at Rabindra's house like last time, we're 20-25 people in a musical gathering. Rabindra and boudi are so happy to have us all! This centuries-old domestic emotion of harmonium and tabla will never go out of style. Songs continue one after another, along with adda, eating and drinking. Clapping until both hands are red, shouting and trying to match pitch until my voice is about to break, shaking my head until it's about to fall off! A heartfelt atmosphere fills the entire room.
Dear Manna-Lata-Kishore-Sandhya, the evening wouldn't have been so sweet without you. Folk songs are also playing. Lalon, Hason Raja, Radharaman, Shah Abdul Karim. Soon traditional Dhamail from the Sylhet region will begin. It happened last time too. Dancing together to this music is such fun!
I come to each town, and people take such joy in all this effort! It's because these good people exist that life still seems beautiful. Small towns are better for living. The people here are genuinely warm. They don't yet seek all of life's meaning in livelihood alone. Simple life is life indeed! Ah, if I could live a simple life! Father managed to. I envy father for this alone.
April 11
One. Rows of trees bow on both sides in greeting. Beyond the trees stretch vast green fields, almost touchable to the eye. In the distance, green parrots dart through gaps in the arranged banana groves. Above them, sun-soaked cloud-rafts drift. Peaceful, serene sky. Beyond the sky, near the feet of mist-covered hills, gray villages. All around, various arrangements of green; I've counted 9 different shades of green so far. Through all this, a lovingly paved road.
Sushanta, keep loving these roads, rivers and hills, trees and birds, sea and sky for now. Look at Al Mahmud. Even if you keep loving like this for another fifty years, nothing much will happen, my dear! Some people survive just eating puffed rice, don't they?
I toured around Habiganj Industrial Park a bit. This massive plant belongs to Pran RFL Group. Our poor people work here. They're the ones who've kept us alive... Now on the way to Shahjibazar Fruits Valley... with Rabindra da, Saiful bhai, Gias, Shaon da, Suprajit, Krishna. Each one a good person, warm-hearted. Touring with good people is fun on another level!
Two. I toured the Shahjibazar rubber garden. A very beautiful place, an absolutely natural shooting spot. Pictures come out wonderfully here. If I knew how to make movies, I would have thought of making an 'Aranyer Din Ratri' here. Let me give you some information. Sunil Gangopadhyay was actually meant to remain a poet; he wasn't supposed to become a novelist. After Satyajit made 'Aranyer Din Ratri' into a movie, it became very popular. Requests kept coming from magazines—we need novels, novels! Even if short ones... Besides, novels have more commercial value than poetry. This is how Sunil of poetry also became Sunil of novels. Thanks to Satyajit. This Ray family gave a lot to Bengalis. All of Satyajit's writings are good, all movies good, all drawings good. Doesn't it feel good to think about this? God gave everything to this six-and-a-half-foot-tall, handsome man. A rare combination of brain and beauty!!! Salute, boss!
This garden has about 240,000 rubber trees spread across 2,040 acres. Whichever way I look, there's green. You can travel 20 kilometers by four-wheeler. Here rubber is prepared for sale. The acrid smell of latex is hard to bear. There's a furnace room where solidified rubber is dried. Next to it is the furnace below. A little distance away, some harmless goats graze. Seeing them, the first thought that came to my mind was: catching one of these and barbecuing it wouldn't be bad! A night barbecue party in this forest would really be great! (Humans are truly a cruel species. Why did I have to become human! Anjan Dutta has a travel show called 'Chalo Anjan.' (All episodes are available on YouTube, you can search and watch.) There he or some guest (probably Kabir Suman) says Bengalis as a race have one problem. When they see any beautiful animal or bird, the first thing that comes to mind is: can this be eaten? You won't find another race with such lifelong eat-eat mentality anywhere in the world.) An officer showed us around everything and hosted us too. The gentleman was quite cordial.
A dream-touched road. A four-wheeler. Some vagabond souls. Destination: Deundi Tea Garden. Thanks to Rabindra. Without him, we couldn't have toured so easily with all this protocol. Without Shaon da, I would never have realized that I too am this handsome—I mean, he was our photographer today. Without a DSLR, the touring wouldn't have been so sweet... Written on the back of the CNG ahead: Life is full of work, death brings rest.
Three. My realization these few days: reading Samaresh-Buddhadeb gives you very little understanding of tea gardens. In stories and movies, at best you can be lost in tea gardens, nothing more. To see tea gardens, you have to see tea gardens—there's no other way. It's hard not to love tea gardens. The more I see, the more I just want to keep loving them.
Coming to Deundi Tea Garden, I first came to the manager saheb's bungalow. I can bet that if you got such a beautiful place to live, you'd desperately want this very job. What doesn't the tea garden manager's bungalow have? All the beautiful trees of the world are scattered around it.
In a beautiful house close to nature, with everything pleasant for body and mind that you could possibly imagine, you'll find it all here. You'll keep feeling — life is here, life is here! I instantly thought, let me quit my job and become a tea garden manager. This is a country of abundance. And what a vast kingdom it is! There's no shortage of servants and attendants either. You don't even need to reach out — everything appears before you! Just one problem: you'd have to wear shorts!
Living amidst the green. In tea gardens, you get nature's entire green essence all at once. Hills, lakes, mountain paths, enchanting rows of trees, your own car. Spending a sweet sun-kissed afternoon or a rain-washed lazy noon, or washing your entire body and soul in the soft moonlight of a moonlit night. Every bird you can imagine comes calling from time to time. The magpie-robin, the dove, the cuckoo, the oriental magpie-robin, the myna, the common myna, the red-vented bulbul, the munias, the bulbuls! What isn't here! Days pass beautifully to the continuous chorus of insects. You're driving at night when suddenly an owl appears in front of you, snatches up an insect, or a few white rabbits dash right across your headlights! Jackals frighten you with their distant shrieks and howls. Seeing and thinking about all this makes you desperately want to live with just these things.
The manager of Deundi Tea Garden is a very good man. He received us warmly. The assistant manager showed us around the entire estate. A cheerful, wonderful gentleman. The tea gardens are customs stakeholders. Perhaps that's why. But that's not everything. Impressive behavior, impressive conduct — that's what matters! I keep looking and thinking, I'm really quite well off. Thank God! Work gives so much! Understanding life along with livelihood. You just need to know the technique, understand the art. Thanks to Rabindra for arranging all this. Shaon-da, do you know that if you hadn't picked up the camera, this afternoon wouldn't have taken on such a sweet color? Saiful bhai, how do so many ideas keep buzzing in your head?
There are some wonderful Bengali movies about tea gardens. Watching them makes you want to go there and stay for a few days during the monsoon, or to walk hand in hand with someone in the fading evening. Friends, let me see you name some such movies. I'll start: Uttam Kumar's 'Dhonraj Tamang'.
Four. I'm touring The Palace Resort & Spa. They've built something absolutely mind-blowing! You could get married just to honeymoon here! Too awesome, way too awesome!!
April 12
Today I saw the work of an NGO. Shimantik. They do various kinds of work. Health, education, maternity, and many other sectors. The NGO runs on donations from various foreign organizations. Those who work here, or receive services, have strange stories of their lives. They also provide various kinds of training. They have different counseling cells too.
Let me tell you about one training. Midwifery training. The girls taking this training have passed their HSC. We asked various questions and saw that they're learning well. They sing quite well too. They draw pictures, know sewing, and so much more! The training has also boosted their confidence. They now believe they can do something. They're learning to make decisions, learning to respect themselves. Learning to respect yourself is a very important art. They're learning to master this art. From talking to them I learned that this batch is Bangladesh's first batch. They're taking this training under BRAC University. Most of them come from absolutely marginalized families. Maybe their HSC results weren't that good, admission to good places was difficult, so jobs were uncertain too. They're doing this course with the determination to become self-reliant. Completing the course will get them a job. This will reduce unemployment and also decrease maternal mortality rates. Good! Not everyone will become a rocket engineer, brother! No need either. Doing the best thing is not what matters, doing the best thing you can is the only thing that matters.
Even a completely hopeless student can do some work very well. That needs to be discovered. She needs to be made excellent at that work. What would these girls have done if they couldn't do something? Their families would have forcibly married them off, surely. They still will. But their respect will be much higher at the time of marriage. When girls from these poor families become employable, they face less oppression in their in-laws' homes after marriage, their opinions have some value. Whether they work after marriage or not, the knowledge they've learned will surely come in handy sometime. Nothing learned in life goes to waste... These days girls aren't sitting idle, they're all doing something. It feels very good to see. We want our girls to walk with their heads held high, we don't want the papers filled with news of their suffering.
I know there are different opinions too. NGOs are becoming bloated like banana trees with foreign money. They will! This is business, isn't it? Rural development is happening alongside it. If they work properly alongside government institutions, positive changes can be brought to many underdeveloped or less-explored sectors of the country. Government institutions have various limitations, you know! The question is, is foreign donation being spent properly? To understand this, their monitoring needs to be increased. Who will increase it? Why isn't it increasing? We're responsible for this too. You can't just keep shouting that thieves are stealing. We need to see if the guards are also getting a share of the theft. Whether the guards are more worried about the thief's success than the thief himself. It's not just thieves who want the stealing to continue. If I were in business, I would also try to steal. The fundamental principle of business theft is — stop me if you can! Haven't you seen the movie 'Catch Me If You Can'? Business is like that too. Why would you tell the thief religious stories? Or does telling religious stories benefit you more? Let it be, I'll drop it. If I keep talking, it'll just keep going, keep growing. I won't get into such analysis. Broadly speaking, I'll just say this — discard the NGOs, close your eyes. Think, will everything run smoothly in the remotest villages? I don't think so. If you keep making noise saying NGOs should be shut down, that won't work. If you can, come up with alternative solutions.
The nature of these NGOs' work is very diverse. They do so many novel things that you couldn't even imagine such things were possible without seeing them with your own eyes. If you roam around and see their work, talk to the people there, you'll gather plenty of material for writing life stories. Ah! I could have spent some time roaming around with them! Not continuously, but at least occasionally...