Lalon Academy and Museum

In Khulna, there is a memorial complex by the name of Rabindranath Tagore. It was his ancestors place in Bangladesh. At that time they were known as "Kushari" instead of Tagore. By and by, the family name became Thakur. However, some descendant of the bloodline still lives here and grow their own business.

A very brief History of Rabindra Tagore’s ancestors:

A descendant of the Kushari Family went near Kolkata (India) to spread his business. At that time in that place he was the only person from the “Brahman” class. That means his family members can do Hindu rituals. During that period, the Brahman class was called “Thakur” by the general people. In course of time, Thakur became their family title.

In that bloodline, the famous noble laurite Rabindranath Tagore was born. On the other hand, the root bloodline of Kushari family remain living in the greater Khulna area.

Kushari: Etymology

It is believed that, Five person came to spread Hinduism in the particular part of Khulna. Their descendants lately became the ruler of “Kush” village and the word Kushari became their family name.

Pithavoge Kushari bari:

After the demolition of the old house, the government of the people’s republic of Bangladesh established a one storied memorial complex in 2007 at Pithavoge where a bust of Tagore is established. There are a lot of photos of historical moments of Rabindranath Tagore to display. The unique thing is, Rabindranath drew a few artworks which are also displayed in here. The most mentionable is the self portrait of Rabindranath Tagore drew by himself.

Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi, the father of India, was the pioneer of the liberation movement of India from the British Empire. He visited Noakhali in 1946 and the place he lived is now turned into a memorial complex situated 25 kilometers away from the Noakhali District.

The very brief history of India: In 1946, just before the liberation of Pakistan from India, there were some social anarchy began in the undivided India. At that time, he decided to visit different places where the massacre started. According to his plan, he visited Noakhali and gave a peace speech. Gandhi was interested to set up a technical training institute at "Joyag" area for the rural uneducated people because he believed that only education can change the mind of a man and keep themselves away from being involved in crimes like killing/looting etc. At that time, a local lawyer, named Hemanta Kumar invited him to stay at his home. Hemanta was believed as the first barrister in this region on that time. He donated his land and building to Gandhiji and Gandhiji was pleased to him too. Gandhi used to drink only goat milk and he always carried a goat with his team. One night, the goat of Gandhi was stolen from the complex. After that he returned to Bihar (India) but willing to come again to continue the activities of the vocational training center. After that, Pakistan got independence from India. In 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by fire and never managed to came back to Noakhali before his death. That was his only visit. In 1971, the east part of Pakistan declared themselves independent and named Bangladesh. Noakhali belongs to Bangladesh now. The Institute is now running autonomously in collaboration with the Bangladesh government.

Current Condition of Gandhi Ashram Trust: After his death, the Pakistani government tried to destroy his memories and work. The Pakistanis always hated Gandhi and all the Hindu people. During the period of 1947-1971, Pakistani people and their supporters forced Hindus to settle in India and destroyed their properties. After 1971, the Independent country Bangladesh began to preserve his history. The Vocational instituted was then named "Gandhi Ashram Trust" and started to serve local rural people. But now after 2000, the training activities started to decline. People are much more interested to move towards to a city now. Now the building is converted into a museum where lots of photos of Gandhi's earlier life is found.

The Ashram Trust is located in Joyag, Sonaimuri, Noakhali district. It is actually situated at Noakhali - Ramganj (Laksmipur) highway. There are some other branches of Gandhi Ashram are established to achieve the mission of Mahatma Gandhi in many different districts of Bangladesh. But actually the historical place where Gandhi resided in Bangladesh is in Noakhali.

Jasim Uddin is the famous poet from Bangladesh, especially for his dedication to write poems about the folklore culture. He is the only poet from the country whose poems depicts the beauty of the villages and people of villages. The house of our beloved poet is situated by the river "Kumar". The river itself is an enchanting for its beauty and environment. Inside the house premise, you'll find the grave of the poet (actually a family grave for poet's family).

To enter inside the house premise, you'll require 5 taka per person. Inside the premise, you can see some used objects of the poet, for example camera, plates, bed, chair, some photos etc. You'll find lots of quotes from the poet (some from speech, some from poem, and some from story). You'll love to read those from there. Especially the ones those were at your text book during your childhood education.

At the outside of the house premise, it’s a nice picnic spot. Lots of visitors used to come to this place to pass the afternoon. The river, and the field beside the river is lovely for enjoying the beauty of the sunset. The large field beside the river is now a playing ground for the local people. They used to pass their afternoon using playing football or other local plays there. It’s also a lovely scene where kids are playing. For visitors, there are benches to sit, under sheds.

During the 1st January to 18th January, there used to be a Mela (Fair) at this ground by the name of the Poet. But the Mela unofficially used to extend for another 2 days. So the total duration is 20 days.

আমাদের লোকসংস্কৃতির উপর কবিতা রচনার জন্য কবি জসীমউদ্দিন খ্যাতি অর্জন করেন। বাংলাদেশে তিনিই একমাত্র কবি যার কবিতায় এদেশের গ্রামের সৌন্দর্য এবং গ্রামের মানুষের জীবনযাত্রা নিখুতভাবে উঠে এসেছে।

আমাদের সকলের প্রিয় এই কবির বাসভবন কুমার নদীর তীরে অবস্থিত। চমৎকার সৌন্দর্য এবং তার চারপাশের মনোরম পরিবেশের কারনে এই নদীটির আলাদা খ্যাতি আছে। বাসার অভ্যন্তরে পারিবারিক কবরস্থানে কবির কবর রয়েছে। কবি জসীমউদ্দিনের বাসায় ঢুকতে আপনাকে পাঁচ টাকা প্রবেশমূল্য দিতে হবে। এখানে আপনি কবির ব্যবহার করা বিভিন্ন জিনিসপত্র দেখতে পাবেন যেমনঃ ক্যামেরা, প্লেট, চেয়ার, খাট, কিছু ছবি ইত্যাদি।

এছাড়া এখানে বিভিন্ন ভাষণ, কবিতা এবং গল্প থেকে কবির নিজস্ব উক্তি দেখতে পাবেন। এসব উক্তির কিছু কিছু আমরা আমাদের পাঠ্য পুস্তকে পড়ে এসেছি তাই এসব পড়ে আপনি আপনার ছেলেবেলায় হারিয়ে যাবেন। কবির বাসার বাইরে একটি চমৎকার পিকনিক স্পট রয়েছে যেখানে বিকালবেলা মানুষজনের সমাগম ঘটে। এখানকার নদী এবং ধানক্ষেত ঘেরা পরিবেশে সূর্যাস্তের অপরূপ দৃশ্য উপভোগ করতে পারবেন।

এখানে নদীর পাশেই অবস্থিত বিশাল মাঠটিতে স্থানীয়রা খেলাধুলা করে থাকে। ছোট বাচ্চাদের ছোটাছুটি দেখে হয়তো আপনি শৈশবে হারিয়ে যাবেন। দর্শনার্থীদের বসার জন্য মাঠের পাশে পৃথক শেডের ব্যবস্থা রয়েছে। প্রতিবছর জানুয়ারি মাসের ১ তারিখ থেকে ১৮ তারিখ এই মাঠে কবির নামে একটি মেলার আয়োজন করা হয়ে থাকে। তবে স্থানীয়দের অনুরোধে মেলার মেয়াদ দুইদিন বৃদ্ধি করা হয়ে থাকে।