In the middle of Boishakh, nature is holding a festival of colour. As part of it, the Muktamancha, the open-air stage at the heart of Kishoreganj district town, has become something like a living art gallery, with the red blossoms of krishnachura trees spread all around. People of all ages, young men and women and children among them, have been coming every morning to enjoy the sight. Some take photographs, others quietly take in the scene. Not only local residents but people from other upazilas of the district are coming to spend some time there.

The krishnachura trees around the Muktamancha are now laden with flowers, their green leaves almost lost beneath the blossoms. Fallen flowers have laid a red carpet along the roadside.

In 2012 the then government took up a Tk 106 crore project to dredge and beautify the Narsunda river. After many obstacles the work was completed in 2016 and named 'Narsunda Lake City'. As part of it, the stretch in front of Gurudayal Government College was named the Kishoreganj Muktamancha, and nature lovers planted several krishnachura trees around it.

Sharif Ahmed, a student of Gurudayal Government College, said: "Krishnachura bloomed before too, but this year there seem to be even more flowers. Many people crowd here from morning to evening to see the Muktamancha looking so lovely. But the Narsunda river around which this stage was built has itself died. People are dumping rubbish and spoiling the surroundings of the krishnachura trees."

Syeda Adiba, a student of Saraju Bala Government Girls' High School in the town, said she had come to the Muktamancha with her family in the afternoon and was enjoying it. The light breeze and the red of the krishnachura together made a beautiful setting, she said.

Rasel Ahmed said his home was in Brahmanbaria and he was visiting his in-laws in Kishoreganj. Having seen on social media that the krishnachura had bloomed, he came with his wife, children and sisters-in-law. He was enjoying it, he said, but it would have been nicer if the river water were clean.

The poet Meherun Nesa Bhuiyan said the krishnachura is not only a symbol of beauty but part of the culture; poets and writers have created countless poems and songs about it, and this creation of nature awakens love and sensitivity. That, she said, was why she had come with her husband and children to enjoy it.

Local photographer Nazmus Sakib said the red flowers and green leaves of the krishnachura come out well in the camera frame. He had photographed many of his friends since the start of Boishakh, and their Facebook pages were now red all over.

Mohammad Enamul Haque Hridoy, founder of the environmental group 'Rupantorer Tarunya', said the group had planted a number of krishnachura trees on its own initiative to beautify the Muktamancha. Many had grown tall and many had been destroyed by people, and it was the ones that grew that were now flowering. He said the group would continue such work.

Md Motiur Rahman, professor in the philosophy department of Gurudayal Government College, said many people visit the Muktamancha in front of the college every day, especially on holidays, and with the krishnachura in bloom even more were crowding there from morning to evening. But the environment of the Narsunda river and the Muktamancha had been degraded, and improving it was the responsibility of the local administration and of everyone else too.

Gazi Mohammad Ashraful Alam, associate professor in the college's botany department, said the krishnachura is an ornamental summer tree whose scientific name is Delonix regia. Its bright red or orange flowers bring a distinctive beauty amid the summer heat. It matters not only for beauty but for the environment: it gives shade, helps hold the soil and serves as a habitat for birds. Its leaves and flowers have also been used since ancient times in various Ayurvedic treatments, particularly for fever, pain and skin diseases.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.