Dedication

To all German supporters across the world in the FIFA World Cup.

।। The German House of Natore ।।

।। Siddiquer Rahman Nirjhor।।

Kalikapur Mahalla, Bonpara Municipality, Baraigram Upazila, Natore District.

From the very beginning of the World Cup football season, a house in this locality has been drawing crowds from morning till night. People arrive from distant places—some with their families, others with groups of school students. Some stand in silence, watching.

Because this is no ordinary house anymore, in the eyes of the people, it has become the “German House.”

The owner of the house is Sagar Kulentunu, 36. He currently works in Dortmund, Germany, as a nursing instructor at a hospital. Yet his roots remain in this soil, in Kalikapur itself.

Once, this was a simple rural homestead—an earthen courtyard, green trees, and a tin-roofed life. Today, that courtyard has transformed into something entirely different.

A passerby suddenly stops and asks,
“Is this a house—or a football stadium?”

The man standing nearby smiles and replies,
“No. This is a story of love.”

In the soft afternoon light, the house glows.

Across nearly one acre of land, the space has been designed like a football field. At the center stands a replica of the World Cup trophy. Around it are portraits of German national team players. There are even goalposts, as if a real match is underway—except there are no spectators here, only memories.

Walls, tin roofs, and even more than two hundred trees have been painted in the black, red, and yellow of the German flag.

Forty German flags sway in the wind.

A little higher up, ten Bangladeshi flags stand separately. Locals say they were raised one foot higher as a sign of respect for the homeland.

A young man taking photographs remarks,
“This is not just decoration. It is a declaration.”

Just then, Sagar’s mother, Kanon Gomez, speaks softly:
“My son lives abroad. But his heart remains here. He arranged everything through video calls.”

She pauses, then adds,
“People are coming, seeing it, feeling happy. That makes me happy, too.”

Sagar’s life was never easy.

He studied at Notre Dame College in Dhaka, later completed a pathology diploma in Chakaria, and then graduated. His father once worked at the American Club in Dhaka. After his father died in 2014, life changed drastically. His elder brother went to Bahrain, and from there began a new chapter of migration—Bahrain first, then Germany. Nursing studies, language learning, hospital work—all part of a long journey.

Today, he is an instructor at a hospital in Dortmund.

Yet his mind seems to remain here in Kalikapur.

As soon as the World Cup begins, he instructs again that the house be decorated. From the walls and tin roofs to more than two hundred trees of different species—all are painted in the black, red, and yellow of Germany’s flag.

On video call, he gives instructions:
“Paint that tree red and yellow. Hang flags on that wall.”

His mother smiles and says,
“He sees everything, even from afar.”

Even during his wedding in December 2023, the house took on a new appearance. When his bride, Emelina Sarkar from Jessore, arrived, the entire courtyard was already painted in German colors. The guests were astonished.

That same sense of wonder seems to have returned today.

A student named Orlin De Costa says,
“I support Argentina. But I couldn’t leave without taking a photo here.”

Another adds,
“This is not a team. This is art.”

Mahmudul Hasan Memon, a mayoral candidate, looks on from a distance and says,
“This has become the identity of the area. People come, they see, they talk about it.”

Evening slowly arrives.

The flags sway gently in the darkening air.

From afar, someone asks,
“Who is this house for?”

No one answers.

Only the wind seems to reply—

Is it for Germany? Or is it an attempt to hold on to one’s lost roots?

And slowly, that question spreads across the courtyard. The German House feels like—

like a bird’s longing gaze at its familiar sky,

like the certainty that a human loves only his homeland,

that there is no land more beloved than one’s own,

no soil more generous as shelter,

and on the shore of this delta,

at the harbor of the soul,

It has cast its eternal anchor…

London, 13 June 2026