Rupganj through google's eye!

It was last year when I had decided to blog my travel/tour stories—no matter how (apparently) insignificant places I visit to. The reason was tri-fold: 1. to practice travel-writing—something I want to excel in; 2. to immortalize the travel experience (since I believe any new experience is enriching and worth making transcendent) and 3. to make the little/small places of Bangladesh available to anybody who searches them in the world wide web.

But like most of my thoughts, it never materialized. The procrastinator me had never really started blogging; even though I did visit a lot of interesting places around Dhaka and Bangladesh. I had even forgotten the name of the blog I opened for this purpose. However, a few days back, I suddenly stumbled across a write-up that I had written for that blog and the old decision that had submerged to the subconscious level of my memory crawled up to the conscious level of my brain.

So, today, I’m writing to describe the research (beloved google being my only source) I have done to visit Rupganj. Rupganj would be the first place outside Dhaka that I’d visit in this year 2010. We’re going to a picnic organized by JICA Alumni Association to which my father is a member. The picnic-spot’s name is Jindah Park; but to nourish my traveling frenzy, I tried to find more information about the place so that we can add to our experience visiting some other places besides the picnic spot.

I was pleased to find information about Rupganj just through simple google search. It was indeed more than I expected. So, this blog contains the information I have compiled. Tomorrow, if we make an interesting trip and IF I don’t fall prey to procrastination, I’d write about my real-visit.

Rupganj is an upazila in Narayanganj district, around 12 km from Dhaka. As the map shows, the river Shitalakshya River flows right through Rupganj. Turned to a jilla in 1983, this place has several tourist attractions:

·        Picnic spots like Ponds Garden and Jindah Park.

·        Jamdani Palli at Tarabo,

·        some famous jute industries,

·        The beautiful sites of the River Shitallaxma and a bridge on the river named "Kanchan Bridge".

·        The ancient “Murapara Jamidarbari”

Murapara Jomidarbari

The Murapara Jomidarbari/Palace sounds interesting to me. According to my research says: The base structure of the Palace was established by the founder of the Murapara Raj family named Ramratan Banerjee. He was appointed as treasurer of the Natore estate and rose to a high position and acquired large properties by dint of his honesty. One source[i] says it was Ramratan Banarjee who constructed the palace in 1889 but the other source[ii] says he just established the basement of the structure. It was Protap Chandra Banarjee( a close friend to Poet Rabidranath Tagor's grandfather Prince Dwarkanath Tagore) who left his old traditional house and made new palace behind the old one in 1889.

 In 1909, Jagadish Chandra Banerjee completed the structure and became a landlord. Jagadish Chandra Banerjee was very famous because he was twice elected at Delhi Council of State. Landlord Jagadish Chandra Banerjee established many things for the tenants in his territory but on the other hand was also very vulgar towards his tenant. Overall he was very powerful, brutal and vigorous landlord of the Murapara. In his ruling period he torched and cutoff his tenants hair when they didn't pay their tax. In 1947, Jagadish Banarjee went to Kolkata (Calcutta). In 1966, he established a high school and college there. At present, it is familiar to everybody as Murapara Degree College.

While googling Murapara jomidarbari, I also found a Daily Star Article on the descendents of this family. Interesting read at: http://www.thedailystar.net/lifestyle/2007/05/03/page04.htm

I just hope, if we do get to go there, the palace doesn’t disappoint me!

Jamdani Palli at Tarabo :

I’m really interested to visit the Jamdani Palli, probably because I totally love Jamdani Sari. Googling this gives the following information:[iii]

Rupganj, under Tarabo pourashava of Rupganj Thana, Naraynganj District is very popular and traditional area of Bangladesh. That area is known as a BISIC Nagari. That nagari is the big area for jamdani Shari all over Bangladesh. After crossing the Kanchpur Bridge, by the way of shylhet road, after 3 km. the jamdani palli is situated. The name of that area is noapara under Tarabo pouroshava of Rupganj Thana.

River Shitolokkha and "Kanchan Bridge":

According to Banglapedia [iv]:Shitalakshya River  originates from the old brahmaputra and bifurcates into two courses at Toke in Gazipur district. One of the courses named the banar flows southwest and at Lakpur is renamed as the Shitalakshya. It then flows east of Narayanganj town. The Shitalakshya falls into the dhaleshwari near Kalagachhiya.

I was looking for the origin of the name Shitolokkha, but didn’t find anything. Although I’d have loved to, I don’t think we’d get to squeeze in a river cruise at River Shitolokkha within our picnic schedule. But, while googling, found some tour guides that caters river cruise at Shitolokkha—that’d be a nice information for future plans. About Kanchan Bridge, I presume it’s like any other bridge in Bangladesh and will not be anything spectacular.

So, that’s my Rupganj pre-visit research compilation! Let’s see how the real tour turn out to be! The secondary sources seem to prophesy that I’d be interesting! Don’t I love google!

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[i] (http://www.silverwavetours.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124&Itemid=69)

[ii] http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/08/29/news0153.htm

[iii] http://www.amrasobai.com/user/blogs/view/name_Stethoscope/id_4440/title_micro-credit-for-the-development-of-%22jamdani/

[iv] http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/S_0353.HTM

Other references:

http://himtarif.blogspot.com/2008/11/make-rupgonj-tourist-spot.html

http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/R_0267.HTM