“How can you forgo events of the good old days, dear?
The glimpse of each other, spirited chatting, are unforgettable.
Come once more, my friend, come into my heart.
We’ll talk about the joy and sorrows to soothe the heart.”
-Rabindranath Tagore
The magic carpet ride isn’t something you get to explore in reality. But what we can have is a lane full of magical memories. Kamalapur Railway Station is one of those places which brings back memories of the long lost past. You may have already realized why we are relating the magic carpet to Kamalapur Rail Station…
The incumbent feeling of being in a railway station leads immediately to several memories down the lane. Most generally it represents, as it does for many people, a temporary escape from the intolerable world of court or affairs. The mind romanticizes the railway platforms attributing to its happiest days of escape from the wearisome materialistic world.
Against this romantic background, people place the quest for and of the meaning of life and transmigrating into the flabbergasted past. Another general way of phrasing all this is that the platforms, as well as the overlapping railway lines, metaphorically present the wisdom of the heart.
We are accustomed to the truer conditions of the modern world, but the heart is drawn to the simpler, more unified life in our imagination. Just like starting the story from “the Medias res” and entailing it to something unprecedented. This is how many stories of many Rupas don’t have a happy ending, like the ending we anticipated. In this episode of Oligoli, we will commemorate the tragic story of a lost Rupa. The story is an unparalleled one to our present reality unlike our recollection of powerful emotions in tranquility.
The city of Dhaka in the past offered many places to pass leisure time. But then again, the lovebirds used to spend their quality time in this very station. Whatever memories are lost and forgotten, the story of their solace in interconnectedness is etched in the hearts forevermore. In between their chit chats, they planned to get lost to an unknown destination. But with the considerations of reality, they didn’t go. Such stories of doubt in forms of thousands of letters are found on this platform. We will be talking about one of those letters in this vlog of Oligoli.
The age of this station isn’t a small thing. It has witnessed numerous stories of love and heartbreak. Established in 1960, the station started its full-fledged activities in the year of 1969. The Biroti restaurant on the second floor of this station is very much familiar to the people who used to visit this place every now and then. In this restaurant, after lunch, many people used to catch the train, again some used to come here to spend their free time.
Just like the Rupa of our letter, many also came here to spend quality time with their loved ones at Kamalapur Rail Station. They had connected so much to the souls of the 8 platforms, that they even know the names of each and every hawker and newspaper sellers. With the passage of time, the familiar faces stopped appearing. But still, nostalgia hits, and you remember their presence in the crowd of thousands of people.
In this city, thousands and thousands of people come here with lots of dreams and aspirations. Some achieve, some fail, life goes on. This Kamalapur Rail Station is the witness of thousands of stories of such people. This place is a safe house for some of those people. When this magical city of Dhaka sometimes becomes very gruesome to some, this platform gives them a space to seek shelter.
The man that Rupa loved didn’t have a job or a house to live in. Her parents moved to a place unbeknownst to him, so that he doesn’t find Rupa anymore. To this day, he comes back to Rupa’s old house so that he can find back his long lost love. But with the passage of time, Rupa went away, but the love hasn’t.
“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”
– Kahlil Gibran
Just like the way Rupa faded away, the glorious days of Kamalapur Rail Station are no more. Nowadays, people book train tickets from home. With the advent of technology, many things have become easier and more convenient. People have become more materialistic and can hardly relate to the long-gone days of romanticism. We hope that the letter we found at Kamalapur Railway Station can find its true receiver. With such aspirations, let’s move on with the journey of our life.
“We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.
Machinery that gives us abundance has left us in want.
We think too much and feel too little.
More than machinery, we need humanity.
More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities, life will be violent, and all will be lost.”– Charlie Chaplin
