Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Nothing Official About It

An official tour to Mymensingh and Netrokona, Bangladesh
29 April - 02 May 2009

It was basically an official tour to Netrokona. But somehow Mymensingh became part of the plan. Netrokona is a district town; yet, its not even close to what a big town in Bangladesh looks like. Netrokona is a small town if we compare with a town like Mymensingh. Not many businesses there at Netrokona and not a lot of people travel there on business purpose. This lack of commercial activities resulted in one thing - underdevelopment of infrastructure. Communication with Mymensingh is pretty good though. The 38km distance from Mymensingh usually takes 45-50 minutes on a "gate-lock" bus. And buses are available all throughout the day; one doesn't need to waste more than 15 minutes to get a bus. All these positives were overshadowed by the lack of staying facilities at Netrokona. There's hardly a residential hotel there for a decent night's stay. And one gets the real feel of the whole thing once he/she looks for a place to eat, as there aren't many there. This is actually a place where people go there either to stay or to come back within a day. Mymensingh, with its good hotel facilities, is less than an hour's ride from Netrokona, which partly contributed to this lack of development of the hospitality sector in Netrokona.

I went to Mymensingh on the night of the 28th. I was forced to stay at Mymensingh even though my work demanded me to stay at Netrokona. I traveled between Mymensingh and Netrokona everyday for three days in a row. My first day's work (on the 29th April) took me to the bus stand beside Shambhuganj Bridge by around 8:00AM. This is a pretty busy road hub. Buses go to Haluaghat or to Kishoreganj or to Netrokona from this point. It was a pleasant journey to Netrokona even though the weather was a bit warm. Still, it was cooler than Dhaka and tolerable considering that April is the hottest month of the year. The view from the bus window was a great one. This part is what I enjoy most on my journeys. Endless paddy fields were showing their ripe faces. Some of the crops were already reaped; while others were in process or waiting to be reaped in the coming days. The fields gave a golden-greenish colour, declaring their near-maturity. Rice processing in the road-side homes was common. People were pretty busy the new harvest. This is the time of the Boro crop and time of joy for the farmers and their families.

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Just another sunset...........
Satpai, Netrokona


Anyway, my work didn't give me any respite during the whole day. Was neck deep in it and only waited for the late afternoon to get a real glimpse of the smallish town. The sun was setting when I left my working area at Satpai, within the town. The rickshaw ride through the narrow roads was all that I could have. The road took me over the river named Nagra. The river was almost completely dry, but the strong embankments gave an idea about the river's ferocity in the rainy season. A lone krishnachura tree on the bank of the river was in full bloom and gave the whole area a different look. I targeted the area near Anandabazar Moor, where huge paddy-fields ended. I saw some farmers harvesting crop in the morning hours, but couldn't find anyone in the evening. I kept a plan to give that place a visit within the next couple of days.

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

The dried out Brahmaputra only had some dredgers floating....... navigability was at its minimum..........

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Preparing for the evening prayers............
The Brahmaputra River, Mymensingh


I came back to Mymensingh by around 6:30PM. I couldn't help take a glimpse of the Brahmaputra River from the Shambhuganj Bridge. There was no light at all; the sun had set more than 45 minutes back. The river was dry; literally. Water level was low enough to allow a person to easily cross the river on foot. I stayed there at the bridge until light conditions became impossible.

Day Two of my tour started in a similar way. The day's plans were a little different though. We planned to go to the Upazila town named Purbo Dhola. The place is around 45 minutes' tempo (a three wheeler two-stroke transport) ride from Netrokona. But this 45 minutes ride was extended by another half an hour because the tempo operators didn't want to start their vehicles until they were full (8 people rode on a vehicle). Getting 8 people in an odd time (around 9:15AM) was a bit more pain than what one can imagine. The ride was not the most pleasant, but we could take it. The road wasn't the most ideal, but it was paved in most cases.

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

The path you need to cross alone...........
Purbo Dhola, Netrokona


Purbo Dhola impressed me; honestly. It seemed like a pretty little place. Roads were simply beautiful with their tree canopy. Its a neat place and no area looked crammed. It also looked like a very planned town. The place had a pretty cool breeze going through those greenery. I instantly fell in love with the place. It was so unfortunate that I hardly had enough time to do some clicking there. How badly I missed the place.

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Lines..............
Purbo Dhola, Netrokona

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Going home..............
Tempo ride from Purbo Dhola to Netrokona


My work at Purbo Dhola ended by around 4:00PM. We rushed. The tempo ride once more. I brought out my camera, but clicked only a few. I liked the glowing afternoon sun on the surroundings. By around 5:00PM, we were back to Netrokona. I planned my next course of action.

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Following the harvest............
Anandabazar Moor, Netrokona

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Conflict of ideas.........
Netrokona Bus Stand


I went to Anandabazar Moor to get a glimpse of the paddy fields. I was disappointed once I reached there. The harvesting farmers were no longer there. And the light was fading under some threatening clouds. I moved. I reached Mymensingh by around 6:30PM.

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

A dormant Brahmaputra.........


The dried-out Brahmaputra again caught my attention. I stayed there on the bridge for a while and enjoyed the light breeze before coming back to my hotel room.

The third morning started with a problem. It was May Day and all the buses stopped playing. Thousands of labourers were on the street with red banners. It was a big occasion for them, but seemed like a nightmare for me. I waited until 2:00PM, before I could find the road network re-established. I went to Netrokona and hard to finish my work in a real hurry. I came back to Mymensingh by around 8:00PM.

I was planning to walk on the roads for a while with my camera, but had to abort that because of the threatening weather. It seemed almost certain to rain. And it did rain once I reached the hotel. The night saw some rocking storm (kaal baishakhi) and drenching rain. It rained well into the night.

My office work was over, and I planned to leave Mymensingh early in the morning. So, the fourth morning was a relaxed one. Yet, I wanted to make the most of the fourth morning. I woke up by around 5:30 and started for Shambhuganj Bridge. The sky was extremely gloomy; rain was in the air. I still took position at the bridge by around 5:45AM.

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Fisherman taking station on the Brahmaputra..........

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

The net-men.........

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Surfing with the net.........01

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Surfing with the net.........02

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Surfing with the net.........03

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Surfing with the net.........04

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

Surfing with the net.........05

From Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

A somewhat revamped Brahmaputra after night's downpour......... one could still cross the river on foot........

At least, there was more water in the river than two days before. The overnight rain gave at least something back to the river, though not too much. Before long, I could see fishermen starting their work in those shallow waters. They were throwing their nets at short intervals and gradually moving upstream. I went on shooting until about 6:35PM, when raindrops started to hit my cameras. I rushed to my hotel room and prepared to leave.

I left my hotel room amid a drizzle, but made my rickshaw journey to Mashkanda Bus Stand through drenching rain. Roads went under water pretty soon. I was at least able to reach the bus stand. My bus started off by around 8:25AM. It took around two-and-a-half hours to reach Dhaka.