It is exactly 12 past 12 at night. The minibus left me and two of my younger brothers in front of ‘Alam Restaurant’, Jatrabari and went out of our sight gradually over the ‘Mayor Hanif flyover. I carried a DSLR camera bag on my left shoulder and another bag loaded with clothes and other belongings on my right shoulder. We are on our way to ‘Saidabad Bus-Terminal’. The surroundings near the fly-over seemed dark and silent when we reached there. A dramatic silence was in the air. Two boys were caught in our sight puffing cigarettes nearby (nicotine is injurious to health) and gossiping. I suddenly feel craving for nicotine also. There was a slight tremor all over my body. Lighting a cigarette, I, with my companions, joined them and started to gossip until the arrival of our bus. We had to go a little forward to be at the exact location. After walking some more steps we arrived at the main pick-up point. We were the last passenger of the last bus, this time the destination is Sitakunda. The bus started for the journey and Elton John also started humming in my mind:
So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society how
You can’t plant me in your penthouse
I’m going back to my plough
5:25 in the morning. As soon as I got off the bus and set foot on the ground, the fatigue and sadness of the night disappeared and my body became alive and vibrant at once seeing the small town just across the street Sitakunda city. And there is a huge hill over the city, Chandranath hill. It seems that a painter has mixed the sweetness of the mind and painted this whole region. We got quite excited. Why or why not, the top of the mountain is pulling us closer like a magnet. We stayed at a low-cost residential hotel in the city center. We immediately got ready and hopped into the auto-van. The destination is the peak of the hill, the peak of Chandranath.
Arriving at the foot of the hill we took our necessary elements (bamboo, water bottle, bag, tracking shoe). We have to climb 1152 feet. Chandranath greeted us with a downpour. The mountain road was muddy and had rainwater all over it. We realized very well that our journey would not be convenient at all. After 20 minutes of tracking, Chandranath changed its look. The sun spread its light all over Chandranath by making the eyes of the clouds red. The higher I climbed, the more the beauty of nature grew. Eyes were closing in the obsession with soft air. Authorities here have set up benches to rest on Chandranath’s street. We continued to climb to the top while enjoying the natural beauty around us. Small shops will be seen one after another on the hill road.
The merchants here bought the goods from the city and brought them to Chandranath on their backs. They sell different types of sherbet, hill fruits, and famous hill furniture. The number of hill tribes is very small. This community is very hospitable and innocent.
At the top of the hill, you will see a temple, “Birupaksha Mandir”. The temple is very old and has not been renovated. We set off for the summit after taking a little rest. This time, two dogs took part in our journey. Surprisingly, the two dogs continued to lead us on our way to the summit. Reaching the summit, the two dogs began to return to their former destination. The names of the two dogs were not known as there was no local. I climbed to the top of Chandranath and rediscovered myself. Everything from above seemed very petty. It seems that the bigger the view, the smaller everything seems to be. “Chandranath Temple” can be seen at the top of Chandranath. According to the locals, Chandranath hill was built for this temple. No one has a clear idea about the founder of the temple or the time of its establishment. However, the locals believe that once a priest meditated here and established this temple. The farther and farther you look from the top of Chandranath, the more you will be fascinated and understood, “The best view comes after the hardest climb.”
