House of Poet Jasimuddin – Faridpur

Jasimuddin was (and still is) a famous poet from Bangladesh whose speciality was writing poems related to village life. He was the only poet from the country whose poems depicted the beauty of the villages and the people. That’s why he is known as Palli Kabi. His village name is Ambikapur which is just around 2 kilometers apart from the Faridpur town. Today this place is now open for the visitors so that they could learn about his life. It has a small museum that contains the used day to day items from the poet. Check the Photo gallery of Faridpur for more photos from Ambikapur.

Poet Jasimuddin‘s house is situated by the river Kumar. Inside the house premise you’d find the grave of the poet (actually a family grave for the poet’s family). To enter inside the house premise a visitor would require a ticket that worths 5 Taka per person (as of 2010). Inside the museum you could see some used items of the poet such as a camera, plates, bed, chair, a few photos of the poet, etc.

This poet was born in a needy family. He mentioned that in his many writings. According to his writing his father didn’t have enough money to buy fish and other good food from the market every day, in fact other people from his neighbourhood were in the same stage. He also mentioned whenever his father bought Ilish (national fish of Bangladesh) from the market that day would become a festival in their house. 

You’d find a lot of quotes from the poet (some from speech, some from poems, some from story). You’d love to read those texts from there. Especially the ones that were in your textbook during your childhood education. Jasimuddin was (and is) everyone’s favorite poet in childhood (or adulthood). To kids, his poems are very easy to memorize as they are in good rhythm.

Outside the house premise it has a nice picnic spot. Lot of visitors visit Jasimuddin’s house (especially during the afternoon). The river, and the field beside the river is lovely for enjoying the beauty of the sunset. To add more entertainment, a few cheap street food vendors gather here too. The large field beside the river is now a playing ground for the local young people. They spend their afternoons playing football or other local games.

During the 1st January to 18th January a village fair is held by the authority, which is known as Jasim mela (after the poet’s name). But that Mela unofficially extends for another 2 days. So the total duration for the Jasim mela is actually 20 days. I believe that would be the best time to visit this place.

When I visited the place I became nostalgic. I am a fan of Poet Jasimuddin. I love to read most of his poems. In my childhood his poems were my favorite as they talked about villages, and I always craved to visit my own village. I’ve enjoyed every single moment during my visit. I loved reading the texts and quotes from there. This is one of the places which I’d love to go back to again, especially during the first two weeks of January.

House of poet Jasimuddin,
Ambikapur,
District: Faridpur,
Country: Bangladesh,
GPS Coordinate (23°36’47.5″N, 89°49’11.0″E).

Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com

Saturday, 19th June 2010