WTD Yatra 2010:
Paharpur World Heritage Site, Bangladesh
WTD or World Tourism Day is observed globally on the 27th of September every year with several themes to be carried forward for responsible contribution of the tourism industry. This is an important day to launch tourism products, especially in the Eastern Indian subcontinent as this is the starting of the yearly season after the monsoons.
Yatra, is an old Indian word which is a part of the Tirtha-Yatra, meaning pilgrimage or journey for enlightment. Hence, the word ‘yatra’ to ‘WTD’, a journey to tourism enlightenment, started on the 27th of September, 2010 from Dhaka. This was followed by the workshop at Paharpur and the journey completed at Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
World-Tourism-Day-2010 Yatra: Delegates
About a 100 delegates from different works of life from Joypurhat, Naogaon, Bogora, Dhaka and India, of which about 87 of them had registered attended the workshop and contributed to the ‘Paharpur Declaration’, a continuation of the ‘Shantiniketan Declaration’, where tourism, peace and heritage conservation in cross-border initiatives were the priorities. The same priorities continued in the formation of the ‘Paharpur Declaration’. There were 60 recommendations in the ‘Paharpur Declaration’ which has been mentioned at the end of this report. Details about the Paharpur Circuit from Joypurhat will be available on the website www.livingbuddhism.in. During the occasion of the WTD Yatra 2010, DMSS opened its guest house on the outskirts of the Joypurhat town on the way to Paharpur. The 10 double bedded (attach toilet cum bath) rooms were used for the delegates and a plan for adding 04 family rooms are in process. The bookings of all these rooms, along with sightseeing and village visits will be available with Help Tourism’s Bangla Initiative. Special interest combined itineraries for Bangladesh will be available with Jouney Plus at Dhaka. For details please check www.journeyplus.com.
Dhaka delegation leader Mr.Pijush Banerjee
The Indian delegates was led by Mr.Goutam Ghose and the Dhaka delegates by Mr.Pijush Banerjee. The moderator for the Paharpur workshop was Mr.Shekhar Das and the Chief Guest was Mr.Safiqul Islam, DG-Archaeology. Dr.Nazmanara Khanum, the DC of Naogaon District was the Special Guest of the occasion. The workshop was opened by the film ‘Beyond Barriers’, a film by Ajoy Roy. The welcome address was made by Taufiq Rahman and the ground for the workshop was presented through a guideline explained by Raj Basu. The organizing part of the workshop and the Joypurhat hospitality was made successful by Shah Fakir Md. Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury Prince and Apurba Sarkar. Almost all delegates participated in the workshop and their inputs were noted as a part of the ‘Paharpur Declaration’.
Indian delegation leader Mr.Goutam Ghose
Ground Work
Help Tourism during its last decade of serious work on Buddhism in the East Himalaya mainly with the scope of establishing Cross-Border tourism for peace and its connectivity with the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda deemed University) wanted to explore the positioning of Paharpur as a World Heritage Site to attract visitors and connect it to development of Community Based Tourism (CBT) locally. Sascha Prinz, a masters degree ecotourism intern from University of Applied Science – Eberswalde, Germany, who had come to work on the Help Tourism sites, was sent to make a preliminary survey in February 2009. As per his report, the region offers great potential but was lacking infastructure. There was no infrastructure to attract special interest tourists in Buddhism who would spent a few days at Paharpur, but the people in general were hospitable.
World-Tourism-Day-2010: Nagaon DC
A two members team led by Raj Basu and joined by Biplab Saha took a YATRA (journey) to Paharpur between 9th to 11th September, 2009 as a part of Help Tourism’s Bangla Initiative (an initiative which was taken by Help Tourism in 2001 to explore the World Heritage Sites of Bangladesh) and talked to several possible stakeholder groups during this period. During this trip the interest and advantage of Joypurhat District town and its people were realized and the initiative to make it a base for Heritage Tourism in North Bengal of Bangladesh, mainly for Paharpur and Mahasthangarh was begun. Again on the World Tourism Day 2009, 27th September a group of tourists from Kolkata (Calcutta), led by Biplab Saha was taken to Joypurhat. They were taken around the several sightseeing places in the area, followed by a cultural evening by the people of Joypurhat and it was confirmed through their satisfaction, that this can easily be developed as the ‘Joypurhat circuit’. Since then several community meetings, local infrastructure development initiatives and circuit development programs were organized. The most active organizations of the area in this initiative have been the Joypurhat Municipality, Phulki, Sishu Udyan and DMSS.
World Tourism Day 2010: Heritage Tourism and Cross-Border Opportunities
The most important part to make everything happen is ‘Motivating Dhaka’. If the intellectual community, administration and travel industry of Dhaka is not a part of this initiative, then it would be half done. Hence, a strong partner from Dhaka became a must for this initiative. We could not think of a better partner than Mr.Taufiq Rahman of Journey Plus at Dhaka, who has been with this initiative from day one with all moral support. During his visit to Kolkata TTF 2010, he was taken for familiarization to Help Tourism’s Community Based Tourism Project at Bali in Sunderbans. This was the starting of a greater initiative connecting Bangladesh all along its borders with Northeast India and West Bengal known as ‘Heritage Tourism and Cross-Border Opportunities’. It was decided that the last one and a half years of ground work at Paharpur would be launched as Part 01 of this greater initiative during the World Tourism Day 2010 through the WTD Yatra 2010 ‘Dhaka to Darjeeling via Paharpur, connecting 02 North Bengals’. This was in continuation with the ‘Shantiniketan Declaration’, a workshop held at Visva Bharati, Shantiniketan on the 29th and 30th of March, 2010 being organized by Help Tourism in collaboration with Visva Bharati University, India Tourism, ACT, Travel to Care, IIPT, ICRT-India and West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation. Accordingly, Taufiq with his network developed a Dhaka Team for the WTD Yatra 2010 for which the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh confirmed their collaboration.
About Paharpur
Atish Dipankar as Professor and Chancellor of Sompura Mahavihara translated Madhyamaka Ratna Pradipa into Tibetan language. It is believed that during his stay at Sompura Mahavihara, war broke out between King Nayapala, son of King Mahipala and Laxmilarna, King of Kalachuri. It was Atish Dipankar’s meditation that helped to terminate hostilities and establish peace. Though he was invited to visit Tibet and preach Buddhism by the then King Lah Lama Yioshi Hod, yet he could only make his YATRA (journey) in 1040AD during the reign of King Chang Chub Jnanaprabha. Tibetan Buddhists refer to him as Jabo Chhenpo (a great God), one of the greatest masters of Buddhism.
Tibetan works (Tibetan translations of Dharmakayavidhi and Madhyamika Ratna Pradipa, Taranatha’s history and Pag-Sam-Jon-Zang) reveals the glory of Sompura Mahavihara. Ratnakara Shanti was the stavira of the Mahavihara, Mahapanditacharya Bodhibhadra was a monk of this Mahavihara, Kalamahapada, Viryendra and Karunashrimitra spent time as scholars of this Mahavihara. Taranatha and other Tibetan sources mention that King Devapala built the Sompura Mahavihara after the conquest of the Varendra Bhumi.
Paharpur World Heritage Site
The excavated ruins at Paharpur in the Nagaon District and 10 kms from the district town of Joypurhat, Bangladesh establishes the fact that Sompura Mahavihara was built by the 2nd Pala king, Dharmapala between 781 to 821 AD. Clay seals from the ruins bear the inscription ‘Shri-Somapure-Shri-Dharmapaladeva-Mahavihariyarya-Bhikhshu-Sanghashya’. King Devapala and his son King Mahendrapala continued their patronage to the Mahavihara. During the reign of King Mahipala (995 to 1043 AD) the Mahavihara was repaired and renovated. It is recorded in the Nalanda inscription of Vipulashrimitra, that his ancestor Karunashrimitra lost his life in the fire as he refused to leave the Mahavihara. This was probably from the attack of the Varman rulers of Vanga. About a century later, Vipulashrimitra restored the former glory of the Mahavihara and built a Temple of Tara. The expression then used for the temple was ‘Jagatang Netraika Vishrama Bhuh’ (a singular feast to the eyes of the world).
If you did not travel, you wouldn’t have understood this land or brought benefits for the people here. We all from the Help Tourism family want to thank you for this important support. We have thought of dedicating this decade 2011 to 2021 to Swami Vivekananda, the wandering monk, who through his travels understood this land and connected it to the world. He often said that it is because of his travels, he has found the meaning of his life and accordingly dedicated himself for mankind. He has left ‘responsible footprints’.
Help Tourism’s 
