Khulna & Bagerhat (June 2007)

Khulna & Bagerhat, Bangladesh
25-27 June 2007

That lovely smile.........

one smile can erase your sorrows; one smile can take your breath away; one smile can give you hope......... and when they are children, its something special............ street children on the Khulna-Bagerhat road, near the Khan Jahan Ali Bridge, Khulna........ taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

sunset over the Rupsha............

Khan Jahan Ali Bridge over the River Rupsha, Khulna, Bangladesh Taken from the Laban Chora end (east end) of the bridge Taken with Nikon 24mm f2.8D on Nikon F65 Construction started on 30 May 2001; inaugurated on the 21st May 2005…………. Cost of the total project (including 8.68km approach road on each side) an estimated US$103 million. Length: 1,360m, Width: 16.65m……….. financed with soft loan from JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation)………….. Consultant for the bridge was Pacific Consultants International, sister concerns were JOC, CES and DDC The main bridge is constructed on 7 spans supported by 8 piers. Each span is 70m long having 88RCC bored piles. The diameter of the bored piles each 2500m, length 55m to 75m. There is 22 piers on either side of the main bridge and 24 spans. There is 208RCC bored piles. Diameter of each bored pile is 900mm, length is 25m to 57m including 2 abartments. There is special security measures in the 8 piers of the bridge. According to the Project manager, the piers are well fortified to prevent any errant watercraft to hit the piers. This is the first protection system installation in any bridge in the country. Seismic prevention has also been set in the bridge which is 80m above the sea level. The vast infrastructure of the bridge is built on the concrete beneath 70m to 72m in the 50ft. deep Rupsha river. An NGO in the name of Rural Development Movement (RDM) is working for the people who are affected for the construction of Rupsha Bridge. Some ecological changes have already been seen due to the construction of Rupsha bridge. Water flow gets impeded in the piers of the bridge and the stream lessens. Consequently silt covers the river basin and navigability reduces geometrically.
Taken with Nikkor AF 24mm f2.8D on Nikon F65

portrait.............05

Taken on the Khulna-Bagerhat road, Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

ghora dighi...............01

yet another work of Khan Jahan Ali...... right beside the legendary Shat Gombuj Mosque.... excavated in the 15th century AD, this water-tank has been helping the local people for the last 550 years...... Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AFS 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G ED DX on Nikon D50

time travel............

Just like crossing more than 500 years of history to walk through these pillars, still standing tall just to remind us of those days......... Shat Gombuj Mosque (meaning Mosque with sixty domes) at Bagerhat, Bangladesh............ built by Ulugh Khan Jahan (more popularly known as Khan Jahan Ali) just before his death in 1459 AD...... it, along with some other mosques built by Khan Jahan Ali are part of UNESCO World Heritage Site......... the mosque actually has 81 domes and 60 pillars......... the pillars are made of stone, but after renovation between 1998 and 2002 the pillars were given a coating of cement and paint to save them from gradual ruin....... the mosque is 160ft x 108ft Khan Jahan Ali built around 100 mosques and dug 260 water tanks (some are more than 700 metres long) in this part of the country during his quest for Islam in the early 15th century.........
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

religion and life.............01

Taken at Rupsha Ferry Ghat, Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

seeking salvation.............01

Taken at Khan Jahan Ali Mausoleum, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

shelter.............

Taken on the Khulna-Bagerhat Road, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

seeking salvation.............02

Taken at Khan Jahan Ali Mausoleum, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

river life..............01

Bangladesh is land of rivers......... geographically a small country, but crisscrossed with hundreds of rivers....... life is very much intertwined with these waterbodies.........boat on the Rupsha River, Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

river life..............02

Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

river life..............06

ishing trawler and fishermen on the Rupsha River, Khulna, Bangladesh; crossing the sunset.....
Taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

seeking salvation.............03

the outer gate of the Mausoleum of Khan Jahan Ali, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

river life..............04

Taken at Rupsha Ferry Ghat, Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

portrait.............08

Taken on the Khulna-Bagerhat road, Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

portrait.............09

Taken on the Khulna-Bagerhat road, Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

the mazaar............01

the Mausoleum of Ulugh Khan Jahan (more popularly known as Khan Jahan Ali)....... Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

bibi begoni mosque...............

just several hundred yards away from Shat Gombuj Mosque, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

shat gombuj.................01

the gate of Shat Gombuj Mosque, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

shat gombuj.................02

Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

shat gombuj.................03

Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

shat gombuj.................04

Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

the domes of Shat Gombuj Mosque

Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

shat gombuj.................08

Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

singra mosque...........01

just beside Shat Gombuj Mosque, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

khanjeli dighi..............02

one of the biggest man made water-tanks in Bangladesh, the Khanjeli Dighi was excavated by Khan Jahan Ali in the 15th century AD..... it is around 950m x 700m Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

rupsha bridge...............04

sunset over the Rupsha River seen from the Khan Jahan Ali Bridge....... Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AF 24mm f2.8D on Nikon F65

portrait.............10

Taken on the Khulna-Bagerhat Highway, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

journey by bus..............02

crossing the Khan Jahan Ali Bridge across the Rupsha River, Khulna, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50

portrait.............04

Taken just away from the Ghora Dighi near Shat Bombuj Mosque, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 ED on Nikon D50

green path...............02

on the way to Bibi Begoni Mosque near Shat Gombuj Mosque, Bagerhat, Bangladesh
Taken with AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G DX ED on Nikon D50