The district Rajshahi lies in the Western part of Bangladesh, on the Northern border of the river Padma. This river forms part of the border with India, and standing on the elevated riverbank, you have a beautiful view over the water towards this country, especially when the sun is setting. On the Southern border of Rajshahi, the river moves land inwards and forms the border between Rajshahi and Kulna.

The road towards Rajshahi from Dhaka leads through beautiful rural area's, with "rickshaw paths" alongside the road, which the people here call "lanes for slow transport" but in the Netherlands they would simply be "bicycle paths".
On the left and right side of the road we pass large lakes, sometimes full of green plants. They are not very deep and become even more shallow in the dry period of the year. People say they are not connected to the river, that the only source of water is rain, but I have had no chance to check the truth value of that statement. But beautiful they are, vast, silent and shining, almost like frozen, with an occasional small boat.
There is little motorized traffic, so everywhere you see people with bicycles with huge piles of hay struggling forward, and heavily loaded cars, pulled by oxen. The people are skinny but very muscled and strong.

From the 3rd century, Rajshahi was mainly Buddhist but from the 12th century, more and more Hindus entered the country. The proof of this can be found in the many Hindu temples that are left deserted in the city.
After 1971, when Bangladesh became independent, many Hindus moved to India and Muslims were shifted to Pakistan and Bangladesh. There is still a high concentration of Hindus in this area, though.
In Rajshahi, there is also a rajbari, like in some other places in Bangladesh. That is to say, you need a bit of imagination to be able to recognize the grandeur, that once must have been there, because what is left of it is a dark, stained, moldy pile of bricks which vaguely reminds you of a palace.
In the 18th century, under British influence, the country started producing cotton and sugar; nowadays, the main agricultural products are rice, mangoes and banana; the plantations are everywhere.
Rajshahi city is a university city and it has a pleasant student atmosphere. Until late at night the shops are open, and students, girls as well as boys, are outside shopping and talking.
Rajshahi is also a center of sericulture and from time to time, a caterpillar may land on your stuff in the hotel room. The silk they produce is beautiful, so thin that you can look straight through it. It is machine made however, not hand woven and hand painted like the ikat silk in Ferghana in Uzbekistan, and painting is done outside the factory.

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