Ulipur Munshibari Kurigram

Location of Ulipur Munshi Bari in Dharanibari Union of Ulipur Upazila of Kurigram . Just 2 km away from Ulipur Bazar, the huge buildings of Munsibari stand on a 39 acres of land as a witness of time. In the 18th century, under the supervision of Shri Brajendra Lal Munsi, the foster son of Binodi Lal, this Munsibari of fine architecture was built. The main building has bedrooms, dining hall, kitchen, drawing room, rest room and guesthouse. At the rear of the main building there is a Shiva temple, open swing stage, Tulsi Bedi, Nath temple, Durga temple and baths with wells. Apart from this, beside the main gate, there are jackfruit trees and pond ghats.

According to history, after the death of Krishnanath Nandi, the 7th zamindar of Kashim Bazar, a Munsef or Munshi named Binodi Lal was working as an accountant under his wife Maharani Swarnamoyi Devi. It is said that one day, while hunting, Binodi Lal Munshi saw a frog caught and eaten by a snake. In the olden days, people believed that if you build a house in a place where frogs catch and eat snakes, you can become the owner of a lot of wealth. So Binodi Lal built a house at this place with permission from Maharani Swarnamoyi.

Then in 1971, during the Liberation War, when Munsilal's descendants moved to Kolkata, the ownership of the house changed several times. At present, Ulipur Munsibari is registered as a preserved antiquities under the supervision of the Directorate of Archeology of Bangladesh. And two rooms of the main building are being used as Dharnipur Union land office. Apart from this, puja is performed daily at Govinda Mandir in Munsibari.

By road, Kurigram can be reached by Nabil, Haque Special, Hanif, Tanjila and Ena buses from Dhaka's Asadgate, Kalyanpur or Gabtali. AC/Non-AC buses will cost Tk 950-1400 per person. Again you can go to Kurigram directly from Kamalapur railway station by Kurigram Express or Rangpur Express train. The ticket price of these trains is Tk 640-2197 depending on the class. After reaching Kurigram city, you can take local easybike or CNG to reach Munsibari via Ulipur Bazar of Dharanibari Union of Ulipur Upazila.

There are several residential hotels of different quality near Ghoshpara and Central Bus Terminal in Kurigram city. Among the residential hotels are Hotel Arnab Palace, Hotel DK, Hotel Smriti, Hotel Nivedika and Hotel Mehdi.

The food at Nanna Biryani or Asia Hotel at Shapla Mor in Kurigram is quite good. Sidal Bharta and Bairati fish from the Teesta River are very popular dishes of Kurigram.

Feature Image: yarborou