Ancient Garden of a Bengali King

Today was a peaceful day. The rickshaw ride was fairly smooth (minus the heavy bumps on the road). I visited an ancient garden of a former Raja (king). Walking through the garden was splendid. What I found most amazing about this experience was visiting his grave. I set a few flowers from the garden on his grave to pay my respects. There were significant factors that interested me about this particular garden. First, the king’s name was a mixture of Hindu/Christian roots. I was immediately able to notice the colonial history behind this location. The tomb stone stood erect with a cross unlike Islamic tomb stones which rest on the ground. The setting was beautiful. I saw all kinds of plants that were only seen in Bangladesh. The soil was a bright reddish colors, and there were little ponds with lotus leaves all over the garden.

Many couples were spotted sitting shyly next to their significant other. In Bengali culture it is forbidden to be seen in public as a couple, so the Garden is a secret get away where couples could somewhat display their affection. I walked past maybe six different couples in a row. Each couple was different. Some were religious Muslims in traditional garb, and there were others in Indian clothes. The interaction between men and women are very different here compared to the USA. There is a bad association with being affectionate in public. This includes holding hands, hugging, or any form of touching, unless you are clenching for your life on the Rickshaw. I wanted to take a few pictures of these couples. But this was forbidden for their aim was to maintain their relations very private. I saw a couple hiding behind a huge tree, kissing. It was so cute. I felt bad for them. I believe a large reason for the perversion among the males here gawking their eyes ate women, is because of the restrictive culture. I also marked students and teachers of Botany studying the variety of plants existing in the Garden. Many of these plants are very old. I was honored to be part of such an ancient site. I was saddened to hear that the garden were surrounded by palaces, which have all been broken down :( I wish I could have seen what the palaces looked like. Walking through the garden, I was sure that the palaces had to be magnificent.