Just like the poems of the poet Rabindranath Tagore, the village will keep pacifying our minds forever. Such a reality is especially evident at this time of brick-and-mortar all around. Nowadays people are tired of urban life and want to run away from the hustle and bustle to lose themselves amidst nature. There are lots of arrangements as well for bringing people closer to nature. One such facility is the resorts. Resort means you all get everything in one place. Although different resorts have different purposes, the Meghmati resort located in Bhaluka of Mymensingh is completely different. This is a wonderful combination of nature and modernity. Let's find out more about Meghmati from Md Abdullah Al Kafi, the owner of this village resort. 

Tell the readers a little bit about Meghmati...

In 2010, we first planned to build the resort on 16 bighas of land. The resort is located in a very rural setting. The most interesting thing is that people have to cross about half a kilometre of unpaved road to reach Meghmati, which instils a feeling of traditional villages. Guests from home and abroad enjoy moving around through this unpaved road here.

What is the speciality of Meghmati?

The food that is served to the guests here is mostly organic. Most of the food is sourced from the resort's internal sources. For example – fresh fish from the pond, rice from the adjacent field, milk from the barn and fruits from the trees are collected and served in front of the guests. On one side, it has playgrounds, fishing ponds, mud houses and on the other side, there are swimming pools, air-conditioned rooms. The whole resort is surrounded by an ambience created by soothing shades of trees. The chirping of the birds will keep you mesmerized all the time.

Where did you get the idea of developing such a resort almost a decade ago?

I have travelled to many countries of the world. All countries encourage the habit of travelling while protecting the environment and nature. Eco-friendly resorts are becoming popular in the country now. The country's economy is growing. Massive infrastructural improvements are also underway. I'm pretty sure people will run towards the lost charm of villages in near future. Driven by such an idea, I made plans to develop a resort-like Meghmati in the lap of nature. However, standing at this stage today, it seems that my idea was not wrong at all.

Who are the guests of Meghmati?

In a word, those who like village, village people, nature, food etc. are our guests. Meghmati has a large number of frequent visitors, those who have come back time and again after visiting this place once. This has been possible only by winning the hearts of the people with good service. And on social media, our guest reviews are rated 5 out of 5, which has been achieved by very few resorts. A number of new services are also going to be introduced at Meghmati.

Cost and others?

That is why there is always a limited range of guests. In all, we attend only 25-30 guests at a time. Family, business or corporate organizations visit Meghmati the most. Package costs include a round trip from Dhaka to Meghmati with our own vehicles, location option, food and drink as per preference. The bigger the team, the lower the cost. Local Baul folk music accompanied by the delicious food cooked in the clay pots will delight everyone. 

How much time is needed to reach Meghmati? and What is the booking procedure to go to this resort from Dhaka?

Our resort is 72 km away from Dhaka Airport. Usually, you have to book in advance. For the booking procedure and necessary information, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meghmati. At the same time, there is also an arrangement to pick you up from home and drive the visitors around the resort and then, drive them back to home. 

Where is our tourism sector in Bangladesh headed towards?

Personally, I have been involved in the tourism business for a long time. I have represented the country in a foreign land. I have branded Bangladesh. I can say for sure that our tourism sector is growing day by day. People travel more now than ever before. Though coronavirus brought the tourism sector to a halt, everything is slowly returning to normal. People were under lockdowns during the pandemic. In between, people have tried to travel around whenever they have got a chance. As long as there is a ban on international travel, domestic tourism will keep thriving day by day. 

BK