No sea, hills or forests, but they have a rich history and a bus service to experience it
A tour bus in Naogaon seems to offer the perfect “tourist” experience - take you places and let you build relationships with strangers
When I got off the night coach in Naogaon, I only had 30 minutes to find a hotel, freshen up and get on the tourist bus. The district administration launched the bus service to offer passengers a seamless trip through Naogaon to see its historical monuments and natural beauty.
Tour bus operator Rana was anxious if I could reach on time. And luckily it turned out that finding a hotel in Naogaon was not difficult.
I checked in at Neel Sagor, a hotel located on the bank of the Chhoto Jamuna river. It took me about five minutes to reach the bus stop in the nick of time.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Contrary to what I thought, there were only 15 tourists in total on the bus, so I had the front two seats to myself and I got a clear view of the road ahead. And in no time, the intoxicating greenery tranquilised my city soul. But sudden loneliness was getting the better of me. It was my first solo tour in months. So I had to dig out of my comfort zone in the midst of this team – I craved company.
Everyone else was travelling as a team. They were friends and families happily chatting away the minutes. In such a setting, it is not always easy to quickly secure a part in the group.
But, Siddikur Rahman, a college teacher, warmly welcomed me into his group. And thanks to the hospitality of everyone else, I never felt left out or alone on the Naogaon tour.
Manik Uddin, a representative of the district bus owners' association, was on the bus that day as our guide with his daughter. "Usually no seats go empty on the tourist bus since it was launched after Eid ul Fitr. But it is the rice harvesting season so most people are busy in the paddy fields," explained Manik.
Siddikur Rahman and his team were exuberant about the bus service. They live in Naogaon, but this district is huge, and it is not easy to go see more than one tourist spot in a day because they are sparsely located across the different upazilas.
For example, if you travel to Kusumba Mosque, and want to see Dibor Dighi on the same day, it may not be possible because the distance in between is over 50 km. Kusumba Mosque is situated in Manda upazila whereas Dibor Dighi lies on the border of Santahar upazila. Besides, transportation is also an issue.
The tour bus generally operates twice a week covering six tourist spots – on Friday and Saturday. However, due to the harvest season and since the initial enthusiasm withered a bit, the bus currently operates once a week and usually covers three tourist spots.
A schedule on the district administration's Facebook page is available. But on most days the largest group of passengers determine where the bus would go.
The day I travelled, Siddkur Rahman's group asked to travel to Kusumba Mosque in Manda, Dibor Dighi in Santahar and Ghugu Danga in Niamatpur upazila. It means I missed out on Paharpur Buddha Bihar in Badalgachi upazila, but fortunately, I had already visited it in the past.
If you want to travel to Naogaon from far, like Dhaka for example, you should contact the tour operators in advance to know the details like the bus schedule. You can always request to customise the bus itinerary.
The Friday itinerary
We reached Kusumba Mosque before the Friday Jumma prayer time. And the guide asked us to get back to the bus within an hour. One hour is not nearly long enough to properly explore the site, but still, it is manageable.
The site becomes a little crowded on Fridays. Thus any other day of the week will be better suited for exploration.
The serene environment of the mosque would take you somewhere else. The massive pond before the mosque, the large trees shadowing it, the old design of the mosque, colourful prayer mats, and the place for Qadhi (judge) within the mosque – for a first time visitor, there are many wonderful things to see here.
Osman Goni, a tea seller near the main gate of the mosque said that he set up his shop around 15 years ago in front of the mosque. "More tourists are coming than before. So more shops are being set up nearby," Osman said. "My son has also set up a shop here. He sells showpieces, toys and other fancy products to the tourists."
Back on the bus, Sentu Ansari, a retired government officer, brought us sweets and litchis from the shops around Kusumba mosque. At this point, we were heading to Ghughudanga in Niamatpur. It was roughly 20 km away from Manda.
On the way to Niamatpur, I saw lines and lines of pure mud houses where villagers live. I had never seen so many before. One of the friends later told me that the name of their upazila, Sapahar, has a connection with the nuisance of snakes that try to coexist with humans in the mud houses.
Meanwhile, on the bus, I saw people from different age groups getting along and building beautiful bonds. They were chatting, telling jokes and sharing their life stories. The journey soon turned into an adda as we reached the famous Ghughudanga. And contrary to its namesake, Ghughudanga was not about exploring dove nests as the name suggests.
It was a beautiful line of palm trees across a mile road in the field. As far as your eyes can see, the rows of palm trees stood in hundreds, if not thousands. And they have beautifully coloured these trees at the bottom.
As we were exploring the areas, I was taking photos of the street from different angles. Tired at some point, I sat under a mango tree in the nearby field.
An elderly man on our team, a freedom fighter named Sirajul Islam, who mostly remained silent called me back to the street and initiated a conversation.
First I thought it was going to be a lonely day. Then I got to know these friendly people and it became difficult to have a moment alone. And there were so many stories to listen to.
We had our lunch in Dibor Dighi a little late and explored the marvel of a thousand years – the shape of an octagonal granite pillar associated with Kaivarta chief Dibya – while Siddikur Rahman kindly taught me the historical essence of the granite pillar, and explained how this area was Bangla's first-ever proper independent land.
"Dibya was Bangla's common people's representative," Siddikur Rahman said. "By killing Mahipal [Mahipala II] he led the first successful independence struggle of this land."
At some point when I was being a bad student and struggling to cope with all the historical facts enthusiastically shared by Siddikur sir, our Manik Uddin's response to his daughter's question of why Dibor Dighi was named so – relieved me. "Search on Google.
Can I remember so many things? You can find everything on the internet," Manik promptly replied.
We laughed and laughed more as we spent a serene day far away from home and made new friends – some young, and some with grey hair.
I don't know how long the tourist bus will survive but Naogaon will always have its enriched history and beautiful people - a marvel for all who travel there.
