To arrive in Kurigram from Dhaka, you have to cross the wide Jamuna river, the same river that is known under the name Brahmaputra, and later you also cross the river Tisla, to turn back to the Jamuna river, on the borders of which the capital (sadar) of Kurigram can be found. Kurigram is known as one of the poorest districts of Bangladesh, A large part of the area consists of water, even more so when the wet season and flooding have arrived. To the east the char area's can be found, the riverine islands and sand bars in the enormous river. However temporary those place may be, the poorest people live on them, they are called char dwellers. Their house and land are disappearing with the seasons, the land re-emerges elsewhere, the house is lost forever.

The district is poor but also beautiful and buzzing with activity. There are hardly any cars or machines, everything is done by hand. Driving over the small village roads, you see lots of agricultural activity. Cows, goats, chickens and even pigs are walking freely around or are herded; people are working in the rice fields or catching fish. Sometimes women on the side of the roads are making mats. Jute is harvested; the leaves are used to make different kinds of articles, for instance carpets, which are sold in the richer Dhaka. The jute sticks are dried in the sun and used as fuel.
There is so much water, that sometimes you have to wade through the water to get to a hut, or use the boat to cross the sudden lake. People live everywhere, every small patch of land is occupied. When you live in the country with the highest population density of the world, you have to use every available square centimeter of land.

In Kurigram, there are no remnants of older times. Maybe the area was not inhabitable before, because of all the water, and even if it was, the water may have destroyed everything that was left by now. In Rangpur, however, a district on the way between Dhaka and Kurigram, there are traces left of history. One of them is Tajhat Palace, a beautiful enormous rajbari. In the 1990s it was used by the Bangladesh' High Court, but now it is deserted. Inside, you can find some historical and Hindu artifacts, but the place is devoid of tourists or government staff members. In the mid 19th century the place was built by Manna Lal Ray, a rich Hindu jeweler, who also got the title of raj. It is so empty inside, that you can use your own imagination and fill the huge rooms with well dressed dancing guests, probably wearing the exquisite jewelry, designed by their host.
Another beautiful building is the Kali temple. Eight Hindu goddesses are hanging on the outside, and since they are naked from the waist upwards, it is a miracle they have not been damaged. Most probably this is the case because hardly any of the inhabitants of Rangpur knows the place exists. I was greeted by a toothless man, who guarded the temple and was obviously happy at last somebody had come to visit his goddess Kali. The place looked completely deserted but everything was, even though dirty, in good shape.