Dear Local Guides!
To be a part of global celebrations of Local Guides 10th anniversary, recently I have organized a meet-up called Sherpur Geo and Photo Walk—LG10 Meet-up. Today, I’m going to share my experience with all of you.
On January 24, 2025, I visited Sherpur district to conduct my meet-up. During this meetup, my wife was a meet-up partner for the entirety of the event. At first, we went to Jhenaigati Upazila (Sherpur) from the Mohakhali Bus Terminal (Dhaka). As this is a Geo- and Photowalk meet-up, we have decided to go to Nakugaon Land Port first.
Early in the morning, we reached there. This land port is located in the Nalitabari Upazila of the Sherpur district, bordering the Indian state of Meghalaya. Nakugaon is not just a place of trade; it is a piece of beauty on the border. This land port is the pride of our country. Let us all come forward for the development of this port.
From Nakugaon Land Port, we directly came to Sherpur’s main town and completed our breakfast at Hotel Shahjahan, which is a very popular restaurant in this area. Then we went to GK Pilot High School. Landlords ruled this district town in the past. In order to educate them and the young children of the area, the then landlord of Sherpur district, Gobinda Kumar Chowdhury, built the entire school in his preferred design in 1919 and named it “G.K. Pilot High School” after him.
Built in the British style, this century-old educational institution has many rooms, three tall buildings, and wide windows for teaching. A unique feature of the school is that its construction style is consistent from all sides.
History shows that in the past, this school had a library of lakhs of books. Even today, this educational institution is considered one of the best schools in the district.
As that day was Friday, we completed our Jummah prayer from Sherpur Sadar Model Mosque. In this mosque, there are separate arrangements for males and females for the prayer. After completing our Jummah prayer, we finished our lunch from Hotel Mannan. Among other specialties in this restaurant is Kala Bhuna, a beef meat curry.
Then together we visited Pone Tin Ani Jomidar Bari. This is a heritage site in this district. The Greek architectural style of this house sets it apart from other landlord houses. The beautifully designed and beautiful pillars of the landlord house still carry the tradition of the landlord period. The quadrangular pillars incorporate a square form.
In addition, the architectural style of the Rangmahal in the southeast corner of the landlord house, with vines, leaves, and flowers, captures the seriousness and aesthetics of the landlord. Currently, the house is on the verge of destruction, and it is said that people should not enter it because it is said that there are snakes and insects inside.
After exploring the Pone Tin Ani Jomidar Bari, we went to Mai Saheba Jame Masjid. This is the biggest mosque in this district. The Mymensingh division can confidently claim this as its largest mosque.
One of the ancient monuments of Sherpur district, this mosque shows the use of curved arches and modern changes in architecture. The mosque is located in the heart of Sherpur city, on the south side of Sherpur Government College.
The mosque is three stories. About 9,000 Muslims can pray in congregation at a time. Every Friday, thousands of Muslims from Sherpur and neighboring districts come to offer Friday prayers in congregation. There are two separate places for ablution, on the south side and the north side of the mosque.
There is a popular theory about the naming of the mosque—
The Tin Ani Zamindar of Sherpur invited the Zamindar of Muktagacha. Accepting the invitation, the zamindar of Muktagacha asked for a place in Sherpur, where he would rest. At that time, the zamindar of Sherpur had another house next to the one he designated for rent collection. And he decided to give this house to the zamindar of Muktagacha and to demolish it with an elephant.
When the elephant approached the house to demolish it, the elephant immediately welcomed it and sat down. Hearing this news, the zamindar of Tin Ani came and saw a woman inside the house engaged in worship of Allah. The zamindar understood the matter and went back, apologizing. The name of that pious woman was Mai Sahiba, and after her death, the Zamindar built a mosque here and named it Mai Saheba Jame Masjid.
Even today, this mosque is known as a symbol of Sherpur’s heritage and religious inspiration.
Explore the Sherpur New Market Area and Taste the Dessert Items:
After visiting these significant places, I have explored this district’s new market area and tasted some delicious food. As always, I try to taste popular food while I’m traveling to a specific district. There are two Geographical Indication (GI) products of Sherpur district: one is Tulshimala Rice, and the other is Chanar Payesh.
Tulshimala Rice: Tulshimala Rice is cultivated in different parts of the Sherpur district. It is a fine and fragrant type of rice. This rice yields exceptionally tasty results. There is a huge demand for this fragrant rice, which is especially suitable for pulao and biryani. Currently, Tulsimala rice is also exported abroad.
Chanar Payesh: The traditional Chanar Payesh of Sherpur district is one of the famous sweets of various districts of Bangladesh. This dessert has an ancient tradition. Ghoshpatti in the district is known to have first made this dessert about 100 years ago. The landlords of that time used to take Chanar Payesh from here to Kolkata in a special way.
Malai Chop: Malai Chop of Sherpur is a famous dessert all over Bangladesh. Bengalis have a very old relationship with this Malai Chop. Coming to Sherpur for work or vacation, you won’t forget this dessert.
Meet-up Activities:
During this meet-up, we also took numerous photos and videos from various locations, which we then uploaded to Google Maps. Also, we tried to improve Google Maps through editing and updating some places. We tried to find out hidden gems and landmarks in Sherpur district.
Google Photos Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/c6t8NSEH1m4eMzjz7
At the end of the meet-up recap, I would like to thank @NareshDarji and all the Local Guides who are celebrating the anniversary of Local Guides and Google Maps from every corner of the world.
Tag: @KashifMisidia @JaneBurunina
Let’s unite as local guides to celebrate this milestone anniversary and make a lasting impact on Google Maps!
#LetsGuide #LocalGuides #10YearsofLocalGuides #LocalGuides10
