Enigmatic and beautiful 'sea of drums'

Jhenidah local Archana Rani was worried about her young son. He was experiencing nightmares every night and used to wake crying with fear. Archana decided to seek help from an historical tank, the nearby Dhol Samudra Dighi, a water body called “the sea of drums” which is said to have supernatural powers. She offered 'mannot', a promise to make an offering to the dighi should prayers for her son's sound sleep be answered. The Daily Star found her at the bank of the dighi ready to give the promised offerings. Her son no longer has bad dreams.

Construction of Jhenidah's largest dighi on 52 bighas of land, in Baribathan village four kilometres west of the district town, was organised centuries ago by Mukut Roy, the local king who held court in adjacent Bijoypur, and his general Raghupati Ghosh Roy from modern day Shailakupa upazila. The Jessore Government Gazetteer records that at the time many people were dying of thirst. The new reservoir's construction was aimed at alleviating their suffering.

Hardly could the builders have foreseen that in addition to a new water source, they were also bringing to life folk tales of strange occurrences and miracles that would endure.

Even the dighi's construction is shrouded in mystery. It is said that when it was first dug no water came from the earth to fill it, no matter how deep it became. Then, strangely, from the bottom of the dighi but not from its bank, could be heard the sound of drums, hence the water body's name. So goes the legend that the king dreamt that if the queen offered puja prayers inside the dighi, water would appear.

To this end the king's people went to the dighi one day to beat drums and play flute as part of the puja worship. The queen went down into the dighi to perform prayers. Sure enough water began to appear, and in all the din and bustle of the puja nobody noticed the queen sinking. Sad news of her disappearance reached the king and he began to mourn for his wife.  But the legend has an upbeat ending: after a frantic search the missing queen was found.

Surrounded by hundreds of trees, the picturesque dighi attracts many visitors, foremost among them Lalon devotees. “We come here to play baul songs on the bank,” says one devotee Siraj Hossain from Baribathan. “This dighi has curative powers. Local women bring offerings if prayers are answered for them or their relatives to recover from illness.”

Yet, according to caretaker Rahima Khatun, the dighi isn't only a site of mystery. “On public holidays people throng here for recreation,” she says. “In the winter months many groups from across the district choose the dighi for their picnics.” In addition, the dighi has an economic role, being leased for Tk 6 lakhs per annum as a fish project. “Advocate Chand Ali and his brothers, who inherited the dighi also visit regularly,” Rahima says.

For its enigmatic and historical qualities and as a place of natural beauty Dhol Samudra Dighi is renowned. “I heard so much about this big dighi,” says one visitor, Sumon Shikdar from Kotchandpur upazila. “I wanted to see it with my own eyes.”