RAJSHAHI During COVID-19 (Part one) | MysticPosting

As a current student of Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology(RUET), traveling to Rajshahi has become a regular thing. But 2020 is not a regular year. A lot has happened already so when I fixed my plan to pay Rajshahi a visit, I knew it would be a good experience. 

I booked my train ticket for 4th August. The ticket was booked online using Esheba. The ticket was mailed to me. I downloaded it and kept it in my phone. Currently, I am living near Airport, Dhaka. There is a Train station nearby and all the domestic trains used to stop there. But as COVID-19 struck, the station was shut down and was under maintenance. I never saw any passenger train to not stop here but 2020 is a surprising year altogether. To clarify the matter, I went there at 3rd August and found out it was closed and now, no train breaks hear. So, it was clear to me that I have to go to Kamalapur Train Station. I packed my bags that night and was set to leave soon after I wake up. 

I woke up in the morning and called my travel partner to wake him up too. It is probably the time to introduce Ahnaf Arnob (ETE'16) . He lives in Mirpur and is my immediate senior. During last 5 months I hardly went out. Going to Kamalapur from Airport would be a tough journey I assumed. I tried to be as conscious as I could and called an Uber. It was raining when my Uber came in front of my door. I said goodbye to my mother and she looked at me with her eyes full of loneliness. I got into the car and started my journey. Highways with all it chaos and rain was looking beautiful to my eyes as I went on road after 150 days. The ride was about 45 mins but it felt like 10 mins. When I arrived Kamalapur, the rain has already stopped.

 I contacted Arnob bhai and waited for him to arrive. As he came, we were going to the platform. I have traveled from kamalapur a hand full of time but I never saw a checkpoint in the station hallway. So I realized, it was about our safety. There were marks in the ground to keep a safe distance. Although not everyone kept that distance but was a good initiative from the authority. A thermal camera was set to check everyone's body temperature before they can enter the platform and tickets were also checked at that checkpost. I didn't have a hard copy so I showed my ticket  from my Mobile. To verify, they also asked for NID card. I showed that too and we were good to go. We went to the platform and found our train. We got in and sat at our seats. At the exact time, the train started moving. The journey has officially began.

Traveling in train was a delight. There was no conjunction or gathering. One seat was left free between two people to constantly maintain social distance. There was no extra people standing. It was quiet and relaxing. Luckily, in my 3 seated row had only me. I enjoyed all those 3 seats by myself. The train crossed Airport Rail Station without loosing any speed and kept going as in it would never stop. But soon after it started to stuck in signals. After a couple of signals, we reached Tangail's main station where it's a must to stop. The wight and the tire pressure is measured here to ensure the safety of the passengers and the Jomuna Bridge itself. After about 5 mins, train started to roll again. Crossed the bridge and kept going. During the whole journey, our train stopped in just one stoppage but waited in a few signals.

We reached Rajshahi at 7 PM. Rajshahi Railway Station was not as concern about CORONA as Kamalapur was. People were pushing one another while leaving the platform! No temperature reading or no sanitation option. We got out late just to avoid chaos and took a rickshaw to Shaheb Bajar to grab lunch. After having lunch we took another rickshaw and started roaming around the city as two free birds. While we were roaming, we notice a few things. First one was, there was a lot of people in the street. The amount of people was similar to the amount when everything was normal. Argue me as much as you want, but even in Dhaka, people tend to roam around less and avoid crowded area if possible. If not, they at least wear mask while walking in the street. But in Rajshahi, masks are like luxury. At most, 25% people properly wore mask and the rest didn't had a mask or wore it wrong. We didn't take our chance and kept our masks. After roaming a bit in rickshaw, we went to our home to get refreshed. 

Our Rajshahi's home was a 2nd floor apartment and the building was 3 floored one. As many of us know about the weather of Rajshahi, it was extremely hot. The apartment went through a few maintenance so it was messy as well. We called our maid and she cleaned it up. It took her more than an hour to make it livable. Then we took shower and ordered our food from FoodPanda. FoodPanda has become a popular online food ordering app in Rajshahi but we noticed, they have increased their prices. It was still worth ordering as it is the only convenient option for us to get food as bachelors. After our dinner, we went out to visit our regular places. Before we left, we saw the main road of rajshahi was under development. The progress was remarkable. Development would be finish before new year, I guess. We went to Talaimari and met the shopkeepers. They gave us a warm welcome and told some changes in Rajshahi during COVID-19. Notable one was, all shop closes at 10 PM and police ensures that nobody is outside after 10:30. After gossiping a bit we went to our campus. As we went through the RUET GATE, couple of guards stopped us, asked our identity and the purpose of visit. They requested to register our name in a log book and sanitized us. They had a thermal gun to measure temperature but they did not use it (typical Bangladesh). We walked through the empty road of RUET and felt nostalgic. We saw a lot of construction taking place. We went to one of our boy's Hall. The Hall gate was closed so we called the security and got inside. A fully empty hall is like a horror movie set. As Arnob bhai went to his room to check his stuffs, I roamed around and it was a experience unlike anything. Every time I walked through those corridor, there was people and noises but that day, it was pin point silent. After 15 min, we left Hall and walked our way back. As it was almost 10 PM, we returned to our home.

March 17 is the day I left Rajshahi. After almost 4.5 month, I came back and roamed around like a prisoner just got out of jail. Even though, there was no squad of people to chill with or do crazy stuffs, it was one of the best night for me. Every place from RUET Gate to my home consists a story. Walking through them made me nostalgic. University life is not just about University. It's about the experiences you have during that time. These experiences are priceless. Many people prioritize Public Universities over Private just because of this hall life. And I totally get their point. Also during this pandamic, people say that they miss their university.  Actually they miss their university life and yes, if you do not miss your university life then get a life, bro! 

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