Chapai Nawabganj, June 2008

A Visit to the "Mango Capital" of the World

06-07 June 2008

The first time I was at Chapai Nawabganj, it was 27-28 May 2000. The mango season was on. The trees were flooded with mangoes. But I couldn’t capture a lot of pictures from those days to bring the memories to life. Since then I was always looking for the opportunity to experience that flood once more. The next opportunity came on 21 April 2007. But this time I was there on an official tour; hardly any time to have a look around. Still, I was able to give one visit to the nearest mango orchard for half an hour. Wasn’t enough to quench the thirst. And moreover, I was just a little too early for the mango season. Most of the trees were not even in full bloom. Whatever mangoes there were, were all green and small. Again I was looking for the opportunity with all my strength. The bad thing about the whole thing is that you have to be there during a specific time of the year. The season reaches its peak in June-July and ends at about August. So, I had to plan the visit within that time. After missing out in 2007, I was looking for the opportunity in 2008. The month of May went by and I was counting days. But not for too long. I had set the date; 05-06 June. But problems erupted at the last moment; so, I had to postpone the journey. Then again, a flicker of hope emerged. I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Finally decided on the tour on the night of the 5th. My heart leaped.

I left Dhaka on 06 June, at 4:00PM from College Gate bus stand. It rained and it was gloomy. More rain was expected. But rain was never a barrier for me as far as touring was concerned. It wasn’t even in my tour plan! Just boarded the bus and hoped for the best. And that best always had some rain in it, though not too heavy and too frequent. Rain always brings the best of the nature. The colours of nature are never more vibrant.

It rained on the way. But once I reached Rajshahi, it was dry and warm. It was 9:45PM when I reached there. The usual time of journey is around five to five-and-a-half hours though. After completing my dinner, I went to sleep with some thoughts for the next day. I decided to wake up early, so that I could get more time to spend at Chapai.

The morning was brisk. Finished my breakfast by 7:20AM and rushed to the nearest bus stand for Chapai buses. A small bus stop near Zero Point had a bus waiting. The Mahanagar bus started exactly at 7:40AM. I was a bit surprised at the punctuality of this lesser known bus service. Anyway, a timely start is the best way to ensure a better journey. The bus people told me that the journey takes exactly one hour. When I asked them about the surety of this timing, he impressed me with a nice philosophical note: “If God doesn’t want otherwise.”


The landscape on the way to Chapai was captivating......

The journey to Chapai was a superb one. The landscape is something to remember. Most of the places I’ve visited in Bangladesh had a lot of similarity in terms of the look of the landscape. But this landscape between Rajshahi and Chapai is something different. The crop lands have a pattern unlike any other in Banglaedsh. Plots of farmlands are divided with aisles, but unlike others, they are at different heights. These plots are at different ground levels; one higher than the other. But in general, the land is flat. Sun was shining through the sparse clouds that tried to keep away the scorching heat. The road also had a lot of mango trees on both sides, which is not a surprise sight in all of Rajshahi.

We reached Chapai at 8:40AM; exactly one hour since we started from Rajshahi. This is one heck of a journey timing. The moment I touched down, I confirmed my return journey. It was time to look for the means to go deep into the “Mango Capital”. The ultimate destination was to reach Choto Sona Mosque (Small Golden Mosque) near the Bangladesh-India border. This ancient mosque alone has the potential to bring people here. And the mango capital is on the way to Sona Mosque. Kansat is a small place under the Shibgabj Upazila of Chapai Nawabganj District. If a place deserves the name of mango capital, this is it.

I reserved a three-wheeler taxi for the whole journey; including staying with me all the time during my sight-seeing. The driver, Abdus Samad, was something of a guide actually. He provided me with a lot more information than I had expected from him. We started off by around 9:20AM from Biswa Road. This is the crossroads with one going into the town and the other leaving for Sona Mosque. Sona Mosque is around 36km from the town of Chapai Nawabganj. My estimate of time was for the overall timing, rather than for the specific time for reaching there or for coming back. Sightseeing was the purpose rather than winning a race. I had my bus ticket reserved for 4:15PM. And I also intended to have my lunch at Chapai. So, 2:00PM was something of a cut-point for me, after which I would consider it an overstay at Sona Mosque.


The River Mahananda was almost dry.........


Boats on the Mahananda.........


People had to cross the dried-out river bed to reach water.........


The Beershreshtha Shaheed Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Bridge across the Mahananda...


A common local transport...........

The journey first crosses the Beershreshtha Shaheed Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Bridge over the River Mahananda; not too far from the town of Chapai. As I had done during my last visit there a year back, I paused around the bridge. Bridges are points of attraction for me. The river and the bridge offer some sightseeing opportunities that are hard to find anywhere else. This time of the year is now a dull time for the Mahananda. Most of the river was devoid of water. The dry areas were under cultivation; mostly rice. Some boats were basking in the morning sun on the narrow channel of flowing river. People were performing their daily activities by the flowing water channel, at the end of the long stretch of dried river bed. Pied Kingfishers (Maachhranga) were busy above water, so were other birds of various kinds. Soon I had to realise that I had some way to go. I called it a day and boarded the vehicle once more. I took no chances with the weather. The sky had clouds and there was rain all over the country. So, rather than throwing my luck at the return journey, I finished my sightseeing and snapping at the bridge during my way in.


Mangoes travelling to Kansat, the "Mango Capital".......


Mango market on the road.......


Mangoes.......


More mangoes.........


Man and mangoes, going together........

And we were on the road again. The ride never looked like a repeat of my May 2000 tour. My short memories helped me out with this. Everything looked more-or-less new to me. The road was full of rickshaw vans, locally designed three-wheeled motor vehicles and bicycles; all carrying mangoes. Loaded or overloaded, they were carrying mangoes. The green gold was ever present all throughout the way. The road-sides were full of mango orchards, showing off their beautiful green fruits. Some were big; some small; and some, well, in between. As we neared Kansat, under Shibganj Upazila, the mango flood became a reality. The main mango market is right on the road. All the types of vehicles I was talking about jammed into this single place with their green loads. There was no way to move on or off the road. We were floating like a leaf on a sea of mangoes! The driver was a local of Kansat. He somehow managed to take the vehicle off the main road and into a parallel lane. We bypassed the main road and the mango market. I had the plan to spend some time at the market on my way back. Seeing the traffic jam at the market, I began to worry a bit about my journey timing. So, didn’t take any chances during the way in. I rather weighed my luck on the return journey.

When I reached the Choto Sona Mosque, it was around 10:45AM. And the Sona Mosque Checkpoint was still ahead. I weighed the mosque more than the checkpoint. So, I decided to finish off my tour of the mosque.


The stone arch........


The legendary Choto Sona Mosque.........


The inside of the Choto Sona Mosque..........


Stone carvings on the outside........


Designs on stone were eye-catching indeed......


From the north-east corner........


Graceful appearance..........


The ancient tombs outside the mosque complex..........

What an amazing thing this mosque is. Most of the other archaeological sites I had visited within Bangladesh were made of brick and mud. There’s no source of stones in the country. So, you don’t expect to get stone structures around here. And naturally, brick structures don’t last as long as stone. And on top of that, there’s tropical weather to cope with here. As a result, even a hundred year old brick structure looks like a 500-year old one. But this mosque, the Choto Sona Mosque, is made of stone and bricks. The outside of the mosque has a layer of stones around a brick structure. The stones are not flat. There are intricate carvings all over the stone layers of the wall. There’s terracotta designs on the corners too. The whole mosque is surrounded by a shallow wall and big empty space lies between the mosque and the wall. The wall has a big stone arch at the front, providing entrance to the mosque complex. There are quite a few ancient graves just outside the stone arch. No markings are there to inform the visitor though. The mosque complex also houses the tomb of two freedom fighters. They sacrificed their lives during the War of Liberation in 1971 and took their place right by the side of this ancient religious symbol. One of the souls resting there is of Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir. He’s lying there with the title of Beershreshtha, the highest award for valour, which had been bestowed upon only seven people so far; all during the War of Liberation.


The Muazzin has spent virtually his entire life at the mosque.......


The inside of the domes.........


Terracotta inside the domes........

On the door of the mosque standing was the Muazzin of the mosque, who had been here with this ancient marvel for more than 30 years. He mentioned that this mosque had been out of focus for most of the time, and only in recent times did it gain some importance. That limelight helped the mosque to gain some badly-needed restoration. People from far away countries paid visit there and took a lot of interest in it. There’s a rest house of sorts by the mosque, which sometimes gives shelter to the guests; but its not a regular phenomenon unfortunately. The inside of the mosque is more amazing that I thought. And most interestingly, it hardly represents the outside. There’s nothing unusual about the pillars, but the inside of the domes are a sight to see. They are full of beautiful and intricate terracotta designs. These designs are way up in the domes and a lot of people may even miss them completely, especially in the ambient light inside the mosque. The Mimbar of the mosque is again of solid stone. There are Arabic inscriptions of the stones. But as far as I’ve read, there’s no dates marked on these inscriptions. Probably these dates were in someone’s memories, but time wiped out those memories. But as estimated by the Department of Archaeology, it was built by Sultan Wali Muhammad son of Ali during the reign of Sultan Hossain Shah (1493-1519). It has fifteen gilded domes including three chauchala domes in the middle row. Chief attractions of the Mosque are its intricate stone carvings and decoration.


The massive Balia Dighi..........


Monument remembering the mass graves of those killed in 1971........


Indian trucks at Sona Mosque checkpoint.....


The last sign in the west......

After spending some time photographing this marvel, it was time to move on. It was around 11:40AM. We turned towards the Sona Mosque Checkpoint, the border with India and an important land port. The checkpoint is just a couple of kilometres from the mosque. On the way, I saw a mass grave of innocent civilians killed by the Pakistani soldiers during the War of Liberation. The place is marked by a small monument today. On the other side of the monument lies a massive man-made water tank, the Balia Dighi. Haven’t found any sources so far that can confirm the date when it was dug. But in one word, this is one of the biggest water-tanks I’ve seen in Bangladesh; and I’ve seen quite a few, including Ramsagar, Sukhsagar (Dinajpur), Khanjeli Dighi, Ghora Dighi (Bagerhat), Bijoysingh Dighi (Feni) to name a few. My driver was claiming a lot about the size of the tank, but I needed to be sure. Anyway, we reached the Sona Mosque Checkpoint. The place doesn’t contain anything extraordinary, but it does give a feeling of reaching the western limit of the country. A Bangladesh flag marked the last point of territory. Trucks from India were moving in regularly with their loads. Truck drivers were very much interested to show their faces in front of the camera. After a brief stay over there, I decided to look for another mosque that I knew was there.


The mango orchard at Khania Dighi............


Mango farmer guarding mangoes.......


The massive Khania Dighi.........


The small, but beautiful Khania Dighi Mosque.......


Intricate terracotta details outside the mosque........


Terracotta........


Terracotta.........


And yet more terracotta.....


Seen from the south-east corner.......


The inside of the single dome was a difficult target to shoot........


The eastern main gate, seen from the inside......


The Imam has been with this mosque for around 15 years.......

The driver took me to a mango orchard and told me that I should look for it inside the orchard. The orchard had different types of mangoes in the trees. The Ashwini and Fazli types would be there in the trees for some time to come. Talked a little with the owner of the orchard who was sitting under a tree with his son. There was a big water-tank inside the orchard, this is the Khania Dighi. It may not be as big as the Balia Dighi, but its big enough. The tank is on the western end of the mosque, the Khania Dighi Mosque, also called Rajbibi Mosque. This mosque, in one word, is beautiful. Its small, but it has the potential to catch the eye. It has beautiful terracotta designs all over its body. This is not similar to the Choto Sona Mosque. This is a brick mosque. Haven’t seen a lot of stones here other than those near the Mimbar. The Imam of the mosque mentioned that Friday prayers are regular here, but not daily prayers. He’s been Imam here for around 15 years. But he surprised me by not being able to tell the exact name of the mosque. He told me a name of this mosque that I hadn’t found anywhere and he also had given me a date that I couldn’t confirm. Chand Bibi Mosque is a name which, unfortunately, I couldn’t find anywhere. And the date of construction of the mosque, as he told me, was 1407. But as far as I’ve known, the mosque is not dated by any inscription although there is an epigraph over the central Mihrab containing only verses from the Quran. But on stylistic ground it has been assigned to the later Ilyas Shahi period, say around 1480 AD. The Imam also mentioned that the inscriptions on the Mihrab mentioned the 1407 date. The old man seems to have lesser knowledge than I had imagined. Anyway, the mosque has a single dome. And the inside wasn’t too cool, as I had found in some other brick mosques at Bagerhat. The low light inside the mosque didn’t allow a closer inspection of the terracotta inside. I struggled to take some decent photographs without a tripod. I also found a few young visitors coming in. Its nice to see younger generations taking interest in heritage.

I came out of the Khania Dighi Mosque and its adjacent orchard by around 12:30PM. But unknown to me, I actually missed another mosque, the Darasbari Mosque. This is one mosque that I had read about, but somehow managed to miss after the visit to Khania Dighi Mosque. Without having any doubt at that time, I turned towards Chapai. Another fact that constantly kept me worried was the weather. I could see clouds that didn’t look particularly interested to all me a free ride. As we started our journey towards Chapai, the rain began to hit us; until near Kansat it became heavy. I had to forget any dreams to stopping at Kansat mango market. All the mangoes were covered in polythene. Roads were no longer clogged up. The party was spoiled. But this journey through rain was as pleasant as anything. First of all, it was a warm day; so, a refreshing rain was welcome. And then when I saw children playing on the road in rainwater, it was like finding heaven. The mangoes all began to glitter; all dust cleaned away. And then came the Mahananda River. Was I lucky snapping at the bridge during the way in? There was a rain-mist hanging over the entire river. The rain was extremely heavy and I was itching to bring my camera out. Somehow sanity prevailed and I was content with saving the memory in my mind.

When I reached Chapai, it was already around 2:00PM. I took my lunch at a local restaurant. Was decent enough. But the rain continued. It finally came to a halt at around quarter to three. I decided to have a look around the town before it was time to board the bus for Dhaka. Took a rickshaw and went to Sadar Ghat, by the River Mahananda. It was more of a small market than a river port. I could hardly find a few boats over there. I hoped to see boats loaded with mangoes, but I was disappointed. May be the timing was wrong.


Mangoes waiting at Chapai railway station......


Children at Chapai Nawabganj Railway Station.......














I can still see Chapai through those eyes.........

Again, concern for the weather brought me back to the bus stop at Station Road. But it was still only around 3:15PM. I decided to spend some time at the railway station. Saw packs of mangoes waiting for the train at the station. A bunch of children showed up; curious to see my photo-gears. Couldn’t stop myself from capturing their expressions. They were all very happy seeing their faces in the camera LCD. A guy showed up all on a sudden, claiming to be the officer-in-charge of the local police station. Had to convince him about my purpose. As a man of law enforcing agency, he seemed to have doubts over anyone’s activities. Anyway, conversation with him took time beyond 4:00PM and I rushed to the bus station. Alas! The bus was delayed, supposedly due to bad weather.

We started off no sooner than 4:45PM, half-an-hour late. I was counting time. I knew that it would be late reaching home. The journey back wasn’t too dramatic though. There was rain all around us. The dusk came in quicker because of that. So, I had more to sleep than sight-seeing. I was tired and fell asleep soon.

And as predicted, it was around 11:30PM when I reached Dhaka. A tiring day alright, but a journey worth every penny.