Kuakata - the land of sun

I witnessed the play 'Ghosts'by Henrik Ibsen on the stage at Experimental Theatre Hall in Dhaka a couple of days ago.The play was produced by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA)on the occasion of the International seminar on Henrik Ibsen, the famous Norwegian dramatist and his works.
The Bangla version of the play known as 'Adrishya Paap'far from being just a mere verbatim reproduction,has captured the essence of Ibsen.In this play the playwright has shown how immoral and illicit relationship can doom a family.
The adaptation of 'Ghosts' focusses on the protagonist Amena Begum who is married to a wealthy and influential man called Mahtab.Amena discovers that her husband is a debauched and lascivious person keeping a secret relation with their maid servant Sakhina.Amena sends her son Usman to a city for his education.In the mean time,Mahtab impregnates Sakhina.Sakhina gives birth to a female child called Rezia who grows up in their family without getting any parental recognition.Mahtab marries Sakhina off to another person. Days later Mahtab dies.After herhusband's death, Amina has the impression that her husband's property and fortune were built on sins.So she makes up her mind to donate all the property to build an orphanage.
A few years later, Usman returns home and falls in love with Rezia.Seeing their intimacy,Amena reveals the truth to Rezia. Rezia leaves the house for an unknown destination.Several years later,Usman also succumbs to his deadly disease.The orphanage is too gutted by fire.Here the curtain falls.
The Department of Drama,BSA has been instrumental in the development of indigenous drama forms.The various theatre groups and drama troupes have also made remarkable contributions to enrich our contemporary drama.

Kuakata,18 km long and 3 km wide, is one of the biggest sea beaches in Bangladesh from where one can get the rare opportunity to see the sunrise and the sunset standing at the same place.It draws capacity crowd from different parts of the world all round the year.The beach was discovered by the Rakhain community almost two centuries ago.The Rakhains built a deep well to meet their demand for drinking water.In vernacular the 'well'is known as 'Kua'- hence the name of the place is Kuakata.
Near the well was built a Buddhist temple on a platform,few feet above the ground level.Upengya, a Buddhist monk built this historical temple which dates back to the 18th century.This beautiful temple was made of wood and tin following the Indo-Chinese archhitectural patterns.A statue made of eight alloys weighing about1500 kg was placed on the altar inside the temple.This is popularly known as 'Shima' temple.
Rakhain market is located just beside the Shima temple from where the tourists buy 'Saree', 'Lungi', bed sheets, beads and other local products from the women sellers.But the oldest and the biggest Statue of Lord Buddha lies at Misripara,8 km away from Kuakata.
The cocoanut forest covering 200 acres of land standing on the shore of the Bay of Bengal has added beauty to this spot.As the Mangrove forest is just round the corner, one can find Kewa, Shundori,Goran and Golpata trees.One can have a taste of the greatest mangrove forest of the world 'The Sundarban'by visiting the vast green forests in the vicinity.
The Kuakata beach has now link with the capital city Dhaka.Launches or buses can take you all the way to the tourist spot. A number of hotels and motels have been built there for the tourists.The expenxes are nominal and within the reach of the middle class people. So welcome and visit this beautiful place on earth.