Padma is a giant river from Bangladesh. This river is flowing beside several districts in Bangladesh like Rajshahi, Pabna, Kushtia, Faridpur, etc. Since I was in Kushtia and the river was just a few kilometers from the Kuthibari Mela, that’s why I didn’t miss the chance to visit the river again. After the first phase of the Mela at Kuthibari of Shilaidaho, I visited the river Padma. And then returned back to the Mela area for the second phase.
It took only 5 Taka fare for a three-wheeler van ride to reach near the river bank of the Padma. It was during the month of May, at the peak of the summer. The river was very calm and lacked water. In fact at the middle of the river it had several submerged islands which were created due to lack of flow in dry season. Other side of the river is Pabna district. There were several boats at the bank of the river which would sail for that shortly.
A lot of fishing boats were moving in the river to catch fish. This river is famous for the national fish Ilish. Although in current days it is rare to catch Ilish in river Padma. During the dry season this river lost its beauty as well as strength. But still it’s wide enough but there are a noticeable number of islands under the water that can easily be seen where people were standing.
There were a lot of people at the bank of the river for the afternoon shower. The bank was a straight one like a mini beach. Only thing missing was the waves. I had a short swim and bath in the river there. The water was very shallow there. Water level went barely above my chest height. After a long day of hot summer it was really a nice experience to do swimming in a river. Although during the rainy season I wouldn’t dare to do that in the same river as it would be much more ferocious that time.
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
Saturday, 8th May 2010
