A journey draws a heavenly feeling to our mind but when it is for a great purpose then it seems more interesting than the regular one. An adventurous group tour of The Duke of Edinburgh International Award organized by the Office of the Director of Students’ Affairs, Daffodil International University gives us the same feeling to find our inner self. This award is a global framework for students and learners, which challenges young souls to dream big, celebrate their achievements and call for a changeable good world. As an enthusiastic soul, I also nominated myself to grave this change and be a part of this dignified chance.
Our adventure journey was a part of this award activity. And we selected Tanguar Haor over other places for some very reasons. Tanguar Haor, where water lines blend with the green hills of Meghalaya. The most exciting part to visit a Haor is, we can feel the greeny and watery vibe together. A celestial wetland in the foothill of Seven Sisters. As it is a Ramsar Site, the beauty of sunrise and sunset is the most beautiful sight everyone should feel. The flora of that Haor, birds imposed anyone to fall in love. Almost 30 kinds of migratory birds visited this place every year. As it was an adventure journey; visiting Haor was a perfect decision.
We arrived at the Sylhet railway station at early 4; after a little discussion on our tour plans, we took CNG to start our next journey to direct Sunamganj. After completing a short CNG ride, we finally got a bus which was almost empty. The whole night was leaning into that early morning; sleepless oceanic eyes were tired. Lights were coming with the soft sound of dew, our half-closed eyes witnessed the most beautiful scenario. Red, white water lilies are peeing over the watery sight, and cormorants are gazing at us with their sharp dark look. Every young soul of that bus just wanted to see them, to take a lifetime smile before that epiphanic situation. At 7 am we arrived at our pre-booked Bajra boat ‘Joltorongo’ which means ‘Ripple of Water’. The Sun lately wakes up there and goes to bed very early because the night is the main attraction of that Ramasar site. The whole world is preparing to go to bed, the surroundings are taking a big nap with the musical breezing rhythm and a boy is reciting “Bodh, Camp E” poems on a floating boat. The surrealism of Jibanananda Das is possessing that time.
The watery sight possessed us so blindly as we arrived at that place during the late rainy season. Our Bajra cast the anchor to visit Khorchar Haor, Niladri lake, Hizon Forest, Shimul Bagan, JaduKata river, Barek Tila. Those bluish and greenery places made our adventure tour fulfilled. The owner of our Bajra, Sakib Bhai was a man of joy, his arrangements gave us a royal Haor vibe. From breakfast to dinner, his team served appetizing meals. Different types of sweet water fishes, and dry fishes were on the menu. They also collected Deshi ducks from the local farm. I will never forget the pickle they provided at breakfast. The combination of that pickle and Akhni Polao was one of the best dishes.
The night was full of enjoyment; gaming, singing, gossiping and finally, the feast of BBQ made this journey so soulful. ‘Guess the word’ was a game where awardees had to guess the word from the performance of his/her teammate. Through this adventure journey mostly we got the idea of a team working, no matter what was happening but always we bridged that bonding to fulfil the motive of this journey. Maintaining the chain of command, and raising a helping hand to each other were our best learning experiences. When someone was suffering motion sickness on the boat, others were giving courage, and that was the most beautiful scenario of team management.
We were a group of 25 awardees led by 1 award leader, the Bajra crews were almost 6 people but the positive impact of this adventure journey was not a single person dropped any wastage to the Haor. It is our duty to take care of our mother nature. Most people just visit these places for some aesthetic photos but the aftermath is they do not care about the beauty of the Haor. The instructions of our award leader Nasim Bhai made everything possible to make this journey a neat and clean activity; his leadership was top-notch; and as a leader, his presence was always like a Banayan tree over our head. Any problem to the dept of that problem he just dug up every issue and made a perfect solution which was accepted by everyone.
Without bad experiences, we can not call it an adventure journey. Some mates who belonged to the upper hill area felt motion sickness and that was the most adventurous part for them. But the company of other mates made that bad experience a thrillful journey.
The call of the material world had already arrived. We have to pack our bags and by tearing all the bonding with the bluish greenery. While taking a bath in the Khorchar Haor the whisper of water, and the splashing was mesmerizing. That five minutes free floating on the water, the blue sky is over you, no extra industrial noises, that moment is always special. The departure scene was very pathetic, but by reciting Tagore’s poetry we moved on so easily, “To return there is no path, If ever you see me from the distance, You shall recognize me not, Farewell, my friend”.
Writer: Tuhin Uddin Rony, Student of English Department, Daffodil International University
