Faridpur, Dhaka
The family home of the poet Jasimuddin on the Kumar river, with his grave under the pomegranate tree he wrote about and a small museum.
The Jasim Palli Mela in January is the district’s biggest cultural event, with folk songs, jatra, nakshi kantha and other crafts, and village food.
Jasimuddin (1903–1976) grew up in this house by the Kumar river. He became the Palli Kabi, the poet of rural Bengal, writing in a simple, musical language about farmers, boatmen, village lovers and loss. Nakshi Kanthar Math and the poem Kabar are among the best-known works in Bangla.
The family home has been preserved, with the old tin-roofed houses, the courtyard and a museum of his belongings, letters and photographs. The poet is buried here, beside the pomegranate tree that recalls his poem Kabar, as he wished.
Every January, around his birthday, the Jasim Palli Mela fills the riverbank with folk music, crafts and food.
Ride from Faridpur town to the poet’s house.
See the family houses, the museum and the poet’s grave.
Walk by the river that runs through his poems.
Back in town, visit the shrine of the saint who gave Faridpur its name.
November to February; January for the Jasim Palli Mela. Check the museum’s opening days locally.
At Ambikapur (Gobindapur), a few kilometres from Faridpur town. Take a rickshaw, battery auto-rickshaw or CNG from the town, around 15–20 minutes.
