This Christian cemetery is a different kind of place which wasn’t in my list during visiting Kushtia. After returning from the Jhaudia Shahi Mosque I found this christian cemetery just before the Mojompur bus stoppage. I like to be around the old graves. So I decided to peep inside for a while. I don’t know much about this cemetery.
The main entrance of the cemetery was locked from inside. There was a small house inside the cemetery premise where the caretaker lived with his family (my guess). I saw a lady aged 20-22 was inside the house. She came out when I knocked on the door. I requested her to allow me to enter inside the cemetery. At first she wasn’t interested to do so, but couldn’t resist my persistent request.
This Christin cemetery is not that large, but still this one is profound with some collections of old graves. For example a grave of Jone Elizabeth Cowley, which is around 106 years old. There are two graves where two young men are buried. One of them died at the age of 25, around 140 years back, and another one died at 36, which is around 125 years back. There was nice writing on the epitaph of those graves which are really heart touching. People left their beloved person here, and don’t know what would happen a few hundred years after. Will there be anyone who would put a bunch of flowers over the grave then? I don’t know. No one knows.
Christian Cemetery,
Kushtia Sadar,
District: Kushtia,
Country: Bangladesh,
GPS coordinate (23°54’21.4″N, 89°07’12.8″E).
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
Sunday, 9th May 2010
Thank you, and when you go to Kushtia again or find any info you can please inform me. I will appreciate it. My email is webmaster AT oldcottonians DOT org
in spite of Bishop's misfortune(and god's wish), we are happy to know that such a great man landed at our part of the world.
i am not sure whether the christian society still knows about this incident or not. but so far I know, these people(christian) are well organized, and they must have some documents or similar things on Bishop's visit. if I go there again, i'll try to cull this info. specially by talking with the father of the church.
I am the webmaster of the Old Cottonians Association and while doing an internet search/research on the Founder of Bishop Cotton School; I came across you reference to the Christian Cemetery at Kushtia. Apparently, Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton died at Kushtia 6th October 1866 at the age of 53. His body swept away in the river, never to be found.
I wonder if there is any record existing at Kushtia which documents Bishop Cotton's visit to Kushtia and his subsequent death there?
The above facts can be read in this document online: http://oldcottonians.org/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/History-of-BCS-by-Raaja-Bhasin-and-Wendy-Dewan.pdf