Two big boats were moving along the crystal blue water of Sari River. There were about 30 people who filled the boats and it was the annual outing of Maavoi Abritti Samsad, an organisation dedicated to poetry recitation at Shahajalal University of Science and Technology (SUST). Every person on board the boats had excitement and joy in their eyes. It was the elation of enjoying the stunning beauty and fantasy of the blue water.

“Like every year, Maavoi Abritti Samsad arranged this picnic as part of our regular activities for entertainment and reconnecting to nature,” said Nikhilesh Debnath, president of the organisation. “Our trip had two parts. One was a bus journey and the other was a boat ride. On the whole trip, we had fun, sang songs, played games and enjoyed the scenic beauty of mountains, tea estate and green waters of Lalakhal. Over all, the picnic was delightful and brought us all together.”

For the outing, we went to Lalakhal, Lalakhal Tea Estate and Citrus Centre of Sylhet. There, we created some magnificent memories of boat riding, swimming, roaming tea gardens in rain, and enjoying the beauty of the mountains from the Citrus Centre.

Lalakhal is located at Jaintapur upazila near the Bangladesh-India border, about 40km from Sylhet. We went there by bus and boat. When we were on the boat, we looked down at the blue water of the Sari River. The water was crystal clear and undulating.

We visited Lalakhal Tea Estate. It is a tea-growing and harvesting area, covered in hillocks and unparallel natural beauty. We played games and had our lunch on the bank of Sari River, beside the tea estate. We visited Citrus Research Centre, one of the divisions of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), at Jaintapur. The centre, on 120 acres of land, was established in 1961 for researching and developing citrus varieties like mandarin, malta, pomelo, lemons, shatkora (satkara), etc. The centre collects various citrus fruits and researches their adaptability to the local climate with the help of modern technology. It also serves as a nursery.

Sharing his experience of the picnic, Maaroof  Ul Alam, the newest member of Maavoi, said: “It was my first trip with Maavoi and to be honest, the experience was too good. I enjoyed the boat journey most. It was so satisfying. From the roof of the boat, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Lalakhal, the light and dark composition of hilly tracks, the weather, and the calm and fresh nature of Sari River.  We swam in the river, played kaabadi on the bank and had our lunch on the boat. There is another great thing I must mention. Almost every member of Maavoi is a nightingale! We can all sing well. And for that, the whole journey was just awesome. I enjoyed both the boat and  bus trips.”

The writer is a student of Department of Sociology, SUST.

Photos: Courtesy.