"Modern Brick Houses Across the Village Built with Earnings from Saree Sales".

The modern concrete houses across these villages were built with the earnings from saree sales.

On both sides of the Tangail–Delduar Road lie two villages—Pathrail and Chandi. These two villages are considered the commercial hubs of the Tangail saree industry. As soon as you enter these villages, you are greeted by rows of buildings, which serve as both saree shops and residences. It’s doubtful if any other village in the country boasts such an array of well-maintained, gleaming structures.

The Story Behind the "Rich House"

Subir Bosak, a co-owner of the Tangail saree business Sitaram–Ranjit Bosak, reminisced about his childhood: “We used to fly kites from the rooftop of this house and could see all of Pathrail from there.” The two-story building, now showing its age with overgrown banyan and pipal trees, was built by Akali Bosak in the 1940s. Initially a single-story structure, it later expanded into a two-story home and was famously known as the "Rich House" in its time—the first concrete house in the Pathrail area. Akali Bosak ran a saree business, and his descendants have kept it alive on a smaller scale.

The Evolution of Prosperity

While the "Rich House" has faded in grandeur, the prosperity of Pathrail and Chandi has flourished. Rows of concrete buildings now line the road, many of them serving as both residences and wholesale saree shops. The rise of these villages began in the 1980s when Tangail sarees gained popularity in Dhaka, thanks to initiatives by Munira Emdad. Over time, handloom weavers in the villages, traditionally living in tin-roofed homes, began earning enough to build modern concrete houses.

Modern Homes and Saree Businesses

A significant number of these buildings are two or three stories tall, with some even having elevators. Raghunath Bosak, a saree trader and the president of the Tangail Saree Traders Association, owns a three-story house in Chandi, complete with a showroom. “Most traders now have concrete homes, many with two or three floors,” he says. Some homes, like his brother Ratan Bosak’s four-story building, are architectural marvels, doubling as family residences and business hubs.

A Blend of Tradition and Modernity

The homes are built with a mix of traditional and modern features—tiles, steel grills, aluminum frames, and glass windows are common, though the designs are not always architect-led. For instance, Subir Bosak’s three-story house, built in 2010 and expanded in 2023, includes a state-of-the-art kitchen designed to make life easier for the women in the household. The adjoining kitchen even has air conditioning, a rarity in rural areas.

Guests and Customers

In many cases, upper floors of these homes are reserved for guests and saree buyers who travel from afar. For example, Radheshyam Neelkamal Bosak’s three-story house includes glass-enclosed showrooms on the ground floor, while the upper floors provide accommodations for visiting customers. Interestingly, Neelkamal’s family continues to reside in a nearly 100-year-old tin-roofed ancestral home nearby, preserving a piece of history.

A Shimmering Testimony

The villages of Pathrail and Chandi now house about 70–75 modern concrete buildings, including an eight-story commercial structure—the tallest in the area. These villages, once modest weaving hubs, now stand as shining testaments to the resurgence of the Tangail saree industry. The rows of sparkling concrete homes tell a story of progress, prosperity, and the enduring legacy of this iconic handloom tradition.