The Quintessential Escape

You are sitting in a chair with a soft and spongy cushion for comfort, and enjoying the splendid view right in front of your eyes. Green is all you see with streaks of concrete making its way through the lush green expanse like tributaries of rivers. The oak tree has stood there for years like a sentinel, expanding its reach for as far as its many broad branches allow it to. And there you are, sipping fresh papaya juice holding the glass, which has frosted with the few cubes of ice you have tossed in. The invigorating concoction soothes your body and mind as you savour the mesmerising grandeur that nature has put together for you. A short drive away from Dhaka, this is BRAC CDM Rajendrapur, an iteration of your dream. 

Originally built to host meetings and seminars for multinational companies, banks and organisations, this enormous compound allows people participating in the meetings for hours, to relax and take a break from work. And what better way to do so than with nature surrounding you in all its glory. Now, after realising people's demand of wanting to escape in to the wilderness, BRAC has decided to re-vamp it to a resort with all facilities and accessories to charm visitors.

A smart plan manages to connect every possible concrete structure to nature. Whether it's through the buildings meeting cool shades of the sheguns (teaks) and mahogany or walking out to be greeted by a gentle bracing breeze and the pleasant ripples of the ponds caressing the banks — the entire resort is mapped using the science of nature. It is a symbiosis between nature and modern architecture. The ambience is a therapy for frazzled minds and bodies.

Children will surely fall in love with BRAC CDM Gazipur the moment your car drives through the gates. With small parks and open areas everywhere, your child will in all guarantee forget the Play Station at home. You may even allow them to roam free in the greenery and get the chance to instil a passion for football i them, while you and your spouse reminisce the early days of your marriage, when you two went to Bali for the honeymoon.  

The place can easily serve as the perfect wedding venue; an al fresco wedding, closer to nature and far away from the claustrophobic halls of even the poshest venue in Dhaka. The best part, you can transform it according to your heart's desire. The entire setup for the ceremony will look magnificent gelling in with the beauty and exquisiteness of what is known as nature. You will also realise that the food cooked and the fruits served taste different to what you have in the city. Grown in their well-maintained gardens, the organic produces are free from any traces of chemicals that can alter its taste. 

The fact that the resort is built over such a large and sprawling area, with buildings constructed away from one another with considerable distance in between, there is complete seclusion from man, noise and stress.

But Gazipur may seem too far to you. BRAC has a solution for that too. They have reproduced the Rajendrapur's resort in Savar; just slightly smaller in size. The concept and purpose is the same — to bring you close to nature as the sore minds are freed and the body is unwound. 

The building is constructed around a large pond with an elevated field as you enter the premises. This field which is carpeted with turf serves multiple purposes. One, it can be used as a picnic spot while the other is that the children can play whatever they want until it satiates their heart or they lose their new found zeal for running around in free space. This place too can serve as an ideal wedding venue. 

So, the next time Dhaka life overwhelms you, crushing your mental strength as you want to crawl in to a cave, think of BRAC CDM at Rajendrapur, or Savar. There, the lovely people in charge will refuel and rejuvenate you. There you will sit under the shade of the mountain of an oak tree and sing, "Come hither come hither, come lie under the greenwood tree!"

By Ali Sakhi Khan

Photo courtesy: BRAC CDM