He wrote to Mrinalini from Shelaidah in June 1901,"I have arrived here after quite a dangerous journey. There were whirlwinds during the first three days which made it impossible for the boat to move. When we finally but slowly started again we fell into a beel. As you know, a beel is like a sea, everywhere there is lot of water. All one could see was submerged grain peeping out above the water, or villages looking like small islands as they tried to stay afloat. The cows cannot graze, the people have no ground to walk on. They move from village to village by boat.You cannot imagine such a scene from Bolpur. Every where there is moss floating on the waters, the lotus, the blue flower, also black weed - all producing such a rotten smell. I see kites floating over our heads to catch fish. My mind turns wistful in the evenings on these endless still waters. Things are much more varied when one is on the sea. Also, the sea makes a noise- that is not so here. It is absolutely quite all around. Just the sound of the water from the passing ferry boat.
When the faint moonlight falls on the scene, I really wonder if I am in the world of the dead. I switch off my light, draw my armchair out near the window, and sit absolutely still in the moonlight.The peace of this massive water touches my heart fully. Day before yesterday, there was a storm over this beel from clouds gathering from the western sky.Luckily for us, our boat was floating on a rice field so that we could drop an anchor quickly and somehow manage to cling to the earth below. We started out as soon as the storm was over. But as our luck would have it there was another storm suddenly. This time, too, we found a safe place by God's grace. Or else there was no knowing where the storm would have taken us.
On arrival here I was informed that I shall have to appear in court this coming Monday. So I must set out tomorrow. I may not get the time to write to you while I am in Calcutta, given that there is always so much going on there. That is why I am writing from here. I feel better for having lived on the waters these few days in absolute quite and peace. if I want to recover my broken health , the only way for me is to surrender to these waters. Yet another storm has risen while I am writing to you. Topsi is dropping anchor . I hope to get news from you once I am in Calcutta."
This letter was written by Rabindranath from Kaligram in 1901.
