"Boats in the rains, feet in late autumn." In winter the green village is a safe, peaceful home for birds; in the rains water lilies spread their charm. Such is Antehari, the beautiful "water village". The saying means that in the monsoon boats are the main way to get around Antehari, while in the dry season people go on foot. In name and in looks, the village is an ideal place of peace.

Kawadighi haor lies in Rajnagar upazila of Moulvibazar district. At its western edge is Antehari, a secluded village in Fatehpur union. Forests of hijal, koroch and tamal trees make the village uniquely beautiful. You enter it along a dusty dirt track, and its varied beauty touches the heart as soon as you arrive.

In the rains the houses seem to float on the water; in winter it is the reverse, and each house looks as if it were built on a hillock. Homes on the haor are easily flooded, so they have to be built very high. Around every house are trees of various kinds, chief among them hijal, tamal and koroch, which protect the houses from the haor's waves in the monsoon and are a safe home for native birds all year round. In winter many kinds of native and migratory birds live here together. No one in the village hunts birds, and villagers stop anyone who comes from outside to do so.

Most people in this haor-side village are farmers. The haor usually yields one crop, Boro, and they depend on it for the whole year: food, education, healthcare and all basic needs are paid for from its income. They also take whatever work they can find, and some catch fish in the haor in the monsoon to sell at market.

In 2018 the village was officially declared a tourist centre and named "Joler Gram Antehari" (water village Antehari). Various initiatives are under way to let tourists visit smoothly all year round. Some development has been done by the government, and further infrastructure development is being planned with government and private initiatives.

Declaring the village a tourist centre will give work to many of its poor people who depend on the Boro crop, and raise their standard of living. In the rains the haor brims with water, with patches of green on its surface, and water lilies and colourful nameless flowers seem to say: welcome, guests, to the water village.

The biggest attraction here is "hijal and koroch trees playing hide-and-seek in the water", an ordinary sight for people of the lowlands but a curiosity to city dwellers. The whole village seems to float on the water, and each house looks like a floating cottage.

The haor is dry at present, and the tender green grass in the fields looks like a green carpet spread as far as the eye can see. Thousands of white egrets fly over the green fields in search of food. As the sun leans into the western sky, thousands of egrets and many other kinds of birds come to roost in the village trees at nightfall. Visitors are most charmed by the sight of the birds returning home.

Antehari is a village in Fatehpur union of Rajnagar, a settlement that grew up around Kawadighi haor. The village takes on its most varied look when the haor is full of water, and that is the best time to visit. Going around by boat reveals the beauty of this water village.

As the sun heads home, the afternoon light fades in moments. In the half-light of dusk the village's nature becomes generous, and as the sun sets in the west, the flight of birds returning home makes the scene even more attractive.

From a floating road or high ground you can watch the fading sun sink. Flocks of white egrets then fly across Antehari's sky, as if it were a paradise for birds too, and nature takes on another grace. For travellers, Antehari is one of the most peaceful places to visit.

Antehari is 14 kilometres from Moulvibazar town and home to about 6,000 people. Until four or five years ago the village was cut off from the town by road, especially in the monsoon. Roads have improved a lot, so you can now get to Antehari easily by car. Come to the haor to taste nature's generosity and a lively way of life.

From the Jagatpur bus stand next to the Chandnighat bridge in Moulvibazar town, you can take a CNG-run auto-rickshaw for a fare of Tk 30, or hire a car and go straight to Antehari Bazar.

Source: RTV Online. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.