Green meadows, tourist-free roads and empty restaurants: The haors of Kishoreganj in spring
The all-weather road to Austagram was mostly empty, other than young Tiktoker Rihan Uddin, who was happily dancing on it. Standing nearby, his equally enthusiastic friend was recording him.
There was no frantic rush of local youths on bikes on the road, as is the case during the water season. Only a few autorickshaws occasionally zoomed past Rihan and his friend.
The 29.73 km road was built to improve communication among Itna, Mithamoin, and Austagram Upazilas of Kishoreganj district.
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A large herd of cows was grazing on meadows on both sides of the road. Some makeshift houses were scattered around them, perhaps to watch over the animals.
Although vast green cropfields encompassed the entire region, the cows were brought to graze near the road - bridges to be more specific, as water collected underneath them.
As this was a haor (wetland) area, you would expect to see water all around. However, when we visited, it was mid-February and water was receding, and the entire landscape was a cropland.
During monsoon, the haor swells with water, but winter and spring give it an entirely different look.
"This looks like Switzerland!", my travel companion exclaimed in awe, while praising the area's beauty. I did not laugh at his comment because I have never been to Switzerland. But from where we were standing, the entire area looked like a green paradise.
But there was no spectator to appreciate it except for Rihan. He was still immersed in his Tiktok dance moves.
Our autorickshaw driver was also working as our guide that day. He often plies this road.
"You will not see a soul here now. But come water season, it will be full of people," he said, adding, "from here till as far as the eye can see, it will all be water."
Traces of the water could be seen here and there. Long bamboo-made shakos (small bridges), for example, stood on the drylands, connecting some of the haor localities with the road.
It may not make sense now, but they are a saviour during the water season.
Compared to the croplands, the localities looked quite high above the ground. But all of these would turn into small islands under constant threat of flood, when the water comes.
I had long held prejudice against the monotonous green landscapes of Bangladesh. It never felt any different anywhere I travelled across the country - the same fields, the same crops, the same colours.
But that perception has perhaps been proven wrong in the Kishoreganj haor. The shades of green were not different from other places, it was the vastness of the area which took me by surprise.
The fresh breeze and friendly locals enhanced our overall experience of visiting the haor area.
On social media, this place has quite the reputation for offering picturesque views during monsoon. In fact, there is a three month window for tourism at that time.
However, we felt most people are actually not aware of the beauty this region has to offer during dry seasons. Perhaps tourists are not attracted to the silence it brings with it when the water dries up.
We found a couple of restaurants near Zero Point in Austagram. All the managers we spoke to said business was not going well. In fact, except for water season, business never really picks up.
But they are worried because the number of tourists last water season was also low.
"There is no customer at all. It is still around five months till the peak season [for tourists] arrives. The next few months will be even tougher to survive. There will be days when we will not sell a dime's worth of food," said Jholok Saha, manager of Food Bank Restaurant.
"We are entirely running on losses. Our main business season is only around three to four months (approximately the months of July, August, September, and October). But last year, we suffered because there were not enough tourists. We have been at loss continuously ever since," he went on.
Café King Special's Ratul Mia said, "It is a seasonal business for us; it runs for roughly three months. But last year the tourist turnout was comparatively low. But we somehow survived."
We asked Mahfuzur Rahman, owner of Niribili Restaurant and Coffee House, why business was dull last water season. "The flood could be a reason, although it didn't affect this area. But still, there were talks of floods, and the water level was high," he replied.
However, President Resort's Operations Manager Gulzar Hossain said their business went quite well. This flamboyant resort was launched in Mithamoin last year.
"We had guests in winter as well – although not like the water season. Some guests come to simply enjoy the greenery," Gulzar said, adding, "however, people have to cross two ferries in Balikhola and Mithamain to get here. It takes up to five hours, which sometimes discourages the tourists from coming here."
But for most other businesses here, tension was evolving around last year's tourist turnout and whether the overall hype with the haor was coming to end.
"The owners are in a dilemma about what to do if that happens. We are now relying on the coming season. If this season works out, enough tourists come and business turns around, only then we will survive. Otherwise, they [owners] will perhaps shut down the restaurant," Jholok Saha said.
The empty tables and chairs reflected their frustration. It was around lunch hour when we were there, but there was no guest. For an admirer of silence like me, however, this could not feel any better.
