Desherchobi

Kuakata, July 2010

2010-07-18T19:52:00.009+06:00

Kuakata: An Ecological Disaster in the Making

16-17 July 2010
Kuakata, Patuakhali, Bangladesh

Kuakata has become my regular passion since 2006. And I was determined to make this tour this year as well. My original idea was to spend enough time there to be able to satisfy myself as well as my family. With this plan in mind, I took my yearly leave. But it seemed that luck was not on my side. Yet, I didn't give up, and ultimately did take the big step to go there during a regular weekend. It was challenging not because I had to travel within a weekend, I was taking my family with me, including my 19-month old daughter Lamisa. The journey usually takes a toll on anyone because of its duration and nature. But we eventually gathered enough strength to give it a go. And I'm glad now that we did; it was worth the effort! Previously I took my wife there once in 2007.

Sakura is the usual transport option during this time of the year. Other buses don't go up to Kuakata during this off-season. We boarded the bus from Gabtoli Bus Terminal on the night of the 15th. The journey started with a negative, as the bus was late by almost an hour! We couldn't leave Gabtoli before around 12:30AM. And we knew that the journey ahead just became tougher because of that. It was a Thursday and Thursday nights usually are busy, a lotta people leave the City on Thursday nights.

From Kuakata, July 2010

wake-up call!!.......
crossing the great River Padma at Paturia point is extremely tiresome and a real pain..... a night journey ends up in daylight and vice -versa, trying to cross the river on a ferry..... busy traffic took a toll on the limited infrastructure here..... and the authorities are struggling...... yet, the wake-up bell hasn't been rung loud enough it seems......
Taken on board the RO-RO ferry Beershrestha Jahangir in the mighty River Padma near Paturia, Manikganj, Bangladesh; 16 July 2010

We knew that we would have to negotiate as many as 6 ferries on the way, and traffic condition and elements usually play a big part at the ferries. The biggest of the six, the Paturia-Daulatdia is usually the problem child. And we ended up waiting for as long as 4 hours at Paturia before boarding the ferry by around 5:20AM. The night journey ended up in daylight even though we hadn't completed even one-third of our journey! Five-and-half-hours' toil just to cross the Padma! Usually during all my previous journeys to Kuakata, we met daylight at Khepupara ferry, the fourth ferry on the way to Kuakata.

The rest of the ferries all conspired to give us pain. All the ferries killed time this way or that and made our journey even more painful. Lamisa wasn't in trouble as she slept most of the way during the night and enjoyed the day ride. We adults actually suffered more. Anyway, I usually took some photos at the last three ferries. But this time round, we were crossing these last ferries under midday sun! So, I kept my camera packed. When we were checking in at hotel, it was 1:30PM; the journey took almost 13 hours!!

We were searching for some food and some rest; nothing else! At least, the positive thing was that the time was not good for anything, so, taking rest during those hours wasn't hard to do. We waited for the better times to enjoy the place.

When I woke up to get prepared for the walk, it was around 4:30PM. The sun was slowing moving towards the western sky, but not yet tamed nearly enough; summer sun usually sets after 6:30PM. Anyway, seeing my family still recovering from the journey, I came out and strolled the beach.

From Kuakata, July 2010

childhood instincts.........

From Kuakata, July 2010

Kuakata beach......

From Kuakata, July 2010

Dull day in business......

From Kuakata, July 2010

threatened by the waves......

From Kuakata, July 2010

family business......

From Kuakata, July 2010

a heavenly touch......

Things were changing the last time I went there, and wasn't exception this time around as well. Lifestyle of people haven't changed a lot though. Motorcycles still speed about the beach, though some restrictions had been applied on the space they could use on the beach. Children were playing on beach and fishermen just went about their duties. What changed were the supposedly fixed stuff -- trees, structures and others. The severe erosion that I had witnessed the previous times, continued. There were now even fewer coconut trees and they were all off to the east of the main beach. The other trees that were behind the main coconut orchard, were now under threat and some were already down. Some structures imprudently made near the beach were now being taken apart by the sea. The rest house that I had seen being battered by the sea, now goes under water during high tide. This would be a lesson for anyone wishing to construct anything near the beaches.

I stayed on the beach, not just waiting for the sun to go down, also wishing for the rain to stay away. I planned on bringing my child to the beach if the weather permitted so. And we were lucky. I brought Lamisa to the beach some time after 6:00PM. The huge sandy flatbed got her excited and she began to discover this new experience. I also took the opportunity to take some memories for her future.

From Kuakata, July 2010

reflections of passion......

The sunset of Kuakata during the monsoon usually doesn't disappoint, and that day wasn't an exception either. The colourful skies came down on the glossy wet beaches and made us happy. My family was more than happy to feature in some of those captures. We had great fun. We continued to shoot until around 7:00PM when the colours began to fade a bit. The first day at Kuakata, though tiring, had a nice ending. It seemed like worth the effort.

Night stay at Kuakata remained a pain as always because of the poor condition of electricity. Severe load-shedding was really irritating. I had seen bad load-shedding at Kuakata before, but with this particular year running, which we almost named after load-shedding, I wasn't surprised that Kuakata performed badly. Anyway, I had big plans for the next day, so, had to take some rest after dinner.

5:00AM, 17th July 2010. The second day began. I had informed a biker, Rahim, last evening, that I would like to go to Gangamati Canal area at dawn. He was dedicated and he didn't miss the timing. We set off by around 5:20AM for Gangamati and were there within 15 minutes. The speedy beach ride through the wet beach in low tide was easy. This was not 2008, when I saw many small canals which made smooth riding on the beach difficult. I experienced this new thing in 2009 also. The beach was reformed by the sea. Its now flatter than ever. And the kind of expertise once required to ride through this beach is no longer preventing someone to become a biker.

From Kuakata, July 2010

where has my happiness gone to??.........

From Kuakata, July 2010

fry-catchers at rest.......

From Kuakata, July 2010

combing the mangroves......

From Kuakata, July 2010

once mangroves.......01

From Kuakata, July 2010

once mangroves.......02

Anyway, it was a gloomy morning and the sun stayed back. There was no sunrise in the real sense. Gangamati looked as bleak as ever under those gloomy clouds. The washed-away stems of mangroves still litter the newly-created beach, which was once a forest. There were fry-catchers there at work. I talked to them and confirmed my observation that the Gangamati Canal was getting wider and shallower. The place where I stood to take pictures in 2008 were now under water even in ebb tide. I was standing on some muddy ground which freshly claimed by water. Which was why the ground was muddy, rather than sandy. It was not much more difficult for small boats to cross the canal, because water-depth had gone down drastically. I saw one boat struggling through the shallow canal to reach the other bank. According to the fry-catchers, there were other areas around Kuakata that were gathering all the silt taken off from this area; some islands were getting bigger. This reminded me of my Nijhum Dwip late last year, where I've seen a growing island.

From Kuakata, July 2010

anchored to an uncertain future.......

From Kuakata, July 2010

there would be a time when there would be no fries to catch!

The fry-catchers said that their business has become dull in recent times. I tried to find out the exact reasons for that, but they didn't have enough information to solve the puzzle. I spent some time walking along the canal; thinking. I knew that I saw almost too many fry-catchers there in 2009. So, there was a possibility of over-fishing. But I needed some more rationale. What about climate change? Could it have an impact?

From Kuakata, July 2010

Mohammad Ali explains the net.......01

From Kuakata, July 2010

Mohammad Ali explains the net.......02

Right when I was burying myself deep in the sad for answers, I found a young fry-catcher. Mohammad Ali was in Dhaka for seven years, working at a garments manufacturing concern. Her was smarter and he knew much more than what I found from others. He was filling up all the gaps in that puzzle. Its true that there were now a lot more people engaged in fry-catching. But the bigger problem lay deeper in the Bay of Bengal. There were more people investing in deep-sea fishing trawlers than ever. The reason? Extra profit from unseasonal operations. Usually the trawlers used to catch fish in the deeper waters only in winter times. Now, during the off-season (monsoon) they were catching shrimp (locally called Bagda Chingri) with their sophisticated nets. These trawlers are catching the shrimp that were supposed to produce the fries that were caught on the beaches. So, there were lesser number of fries coming to the shore and more and more people were lurking on the beaches to catch them. Did I use the word over-fishing? Kuakata is on the brink of an ecological disaster. Mohammad Ali showed me a stray piece of net that probably came with the waves. He showed me how that net would catch smaller fishes. Those nets are made in a way that fishes don't survive their encounter more than several minutes. They were keeping the shrimp, but throwing away other fishes that might've worth millions if they were allowed to live. Ali also told me that the fries caught from the sea usually have more possibility of survival than the ones grown in hatcheries. And the sea-born usually grow into bigger shrimps, he told me. I had some more food for thought, that was the key. Mohammad Ali gave me a new avenue to discover.

From Kuakata, July 2010

a gloomy reminder........01

From Kuakata, July 2010

a gloomy reminder........02

From Kuakata, July 2010

anchored to the beach.......01

From Kuakata, July 2010

anchored to the beach.......02

From Kuakata, July 2010

anchored to the beach.......03

From Kuakata, July 2010

pulling fortune......01

From Kuakata, July 2010

pulling fortune......02

Anyway, after leaving Mohammad Ali, I spent some more time with the other types of fishermen on the beach. They were the owners of the fixed nets anchored to the beach. It was time for them to pull the nets out of the water. Each net was being pulled by several people, creating bit of a pattern. These nets go a bit deeper than where the fry-catchers go. But they equally contribute to the overfishing situation that I thought I was witnessing. It was around 7:00AM and I thought it was time to end the morning venture. My biker got almost tired seeing me roaming. He wanted me to cross the canal and take a bike ride over there. He was obviously thinking from business perspective, but I knew what to get on the other bank of the canal. My 2008 visit there was enough to convince me that if I didn't want to chase the biggest of the red crabs, I could spend my time on this bank.

From Kuakata, July 2010

counting hours.......

I came back to hotel and thought it was a reminder of the shabby future of Gangamati. Things didn't look very promising, unfortunately. It did provide me with some opportunity to shoot pictures, but it didn't give me the pleasure I used to derive from many other photo ventures. Anyway, it was time for me be with my family. And the sun already began to shine too strongly to go on another tour of the beach with my child. We stayed at the hotel and waited until the the best opportunity came. Interesting thing was, there was no rain. That was a bit unusual for this time of the year.

From Kuakata, July 2010

once a beach......

From Kuakata, July 2010

the surviving idiots.........
it seems ironic but we do see the struggle for survival everywhere in Nature..... there are some who always prove the theory of 'survival of the fittest'.... but survival is actually relative to time..... you don't survive; you actually stand long enough to endure more hardship...... how idiotic is that??

I went out right after 4:00PM. Already told Rahim to wait for me with his bike around that time. My Kuakata tour would not be complete without a visit to Lebu Bagan, the western end of the Kuakata beach. We were barely 5-10 minutes into our journey and I began to realise how drastically the landscape has been changing. There were now places on the beach which simply could not be crossed on bike or even on foot. The sandy beach was no longer there in some places. Those consisted of no more than rough, but soft, muddy surface. We had to take a detour behind the back of the beach to cross it. These are the grounds claimed by the sea. There was original soil here and probably trees or even someone's house. They are now part of the flood plain; they go under water when the tide is high.

From Kuakata, July 2010

last line of defense........
the threat from that massive concentration of water is changing lives here at Kuakata....... concrete blocks had been placed to form something of an embankment..... but this is one shallow, vulnerable, and last line of defense that tries to separate the inhabitants from a rising aggressive sea level...... this is the front-line of the war against global warming......

From Kuakata, July 2010

witness to disaster.........01

From Kuakata, July 2010

witness to disaster.........02
senior Kuakata locals, mostly fishermen, like Mr. Hawlader, have witnessed the extent to which the sea has devoured their land...... they're also witness to the futile effort to stop the destructive waves..... concrete blocks such as these, which are already out of their original place, are not giving any confidence to them......

A bit further ahead, we found remnants of an embankment. Last year, I saw those embankments built around sand bags and bamboos. This time round, there was concrete blocks. Big tough concrete blocks. But was it any good? That was the question. I talked to some locals about that and they also didn't seem more optimistic than me. They said that the embankment was constructed only 3 months back. And I could see its weaknesses already. Some blocks were on the way down on their sandy base, while others around the edges were crumbling. Worst still, the concrete embankment is only around 100-200 yards long and rest of the beach is completely in the hands of Nature. What a pity! Not sure what kind of plan was responsible for that; it hardly made sense! I could already see that the sea was washing away the soil around the edges of that embankment. It looks like the concrete embankment would be creating something like a concrete island in time. All the other soil around it would simply be washed away.

From Kuakata, July 2010

the canal at Lebu Bagan.... some beauties are still hanging on...

From Kuakata, July 2010

remnants of Lebu Bagan mangroves......01

From Kuakata, July 2010

remnants of Lebu Bagan mangroves......02

From Kuakata, July 2010

remnants of Lebu Bagan mangroves......03

From Kuakata, July 2010

remnants of Lebu Bagan mangroves......04

We proceeded from the embankment towards the ultimate destination, Lebu Bagan. As we got closer, the threatened forest revealed itself. These mangroves were no better than what I had seen a year ago. In fact, there were now flatter grounds around the beach than ever before. These were all forest once, now they're just a flood plain with remnants of destroyed mangrove trees. We reached the edge of the Andharmanik River. There was no surf; I only got lucky in 2008 with those massive waves. The sea and the river both were calm now. Some fry-catchers were there crossing the last canal on their feet through waist-high water. The semi-destroyed Lebu Bagan is nothing new to these local fishermen, as it is to the outsiders like me. There was evidence of destruction everywhere. It gave me the exact bad feel that I had during the last two visits there.

From Kuakata, July 2010

the edge of the land.......

From Kuakata, July 2010

shell collectors........

I stayed there up to around 5:15PM and then turned back. My family was already there at the main beach and I had to join them for a short relaxing time. Our bus for Dhaka would leave Kuakata exactly at 7:00PM; so, we would have to pack up and leave our hotel in time. We had just enough time on the beach before we began to pack. We began to realise how short the visit was. A large amount of time was taken away by the journey. This time round, we spent the least amount of time on the beach. My child was still not that matured. The warm weather kept them inside for most of the day. Kuakata is usually famous for its high tide. We mainly kept away from the beach during the high tide. Bathing in the sea wasn't an aim for us; may be next time. I was particularly surprised with the weather. There was absolutely no rain during our stay there. But of course, its the rain clouds that create the beautiful sunsets on the beaches. We missed the second day sunset as we had to move on. We could see the blood red colours of the skies during our departure.

The return journey wasn't as taxing on us as the journey in. We reached Dhaka by around 5:30AM. The deadlock at Paturia-Daulatdia ferry wasn't as bad as the previous time. Yet, it took around 2 hours to board the ferry there. A 10.5 hours' journey is something normal for Kuakata. Its tough for most to make it easily. But for me, it has always been rewarding. Its true that visiting Kuakata no longer gives me the pleasure I used to have 2-3 years back. But the time-lapse documentation is precious to me. I have the desire to continue this venture of mine well into the future.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

2010-06-09T00:27:00.004+06:00

Right under those cloudy hills.....
27-28 May 2010
Sylhet, Bangladesh

For me, it was special. Had not been able to attend tours for quite a while. Even a half-day tour is not always manageable. This tour comes after a while, and I just couldn’t resist. A three-day holiday was more than enough to inspire me. And moreover, being able to write on the story of a tour is another something. Anyway, the moment Shudipto planned this, I was with it. I only needed that last-minute confirmation. So far, that last-minute luck had been with me. Anyway, I had been at Sylhet many times before, but the opportunity to visit Bholaganj, where I had never been, and to stay at Jaintapur, right under the waterfalls of Meghalayan hills were difficult to ignore. Visiting Jaflong after four years was another motivation.
Wednesday night was the planned start of the tour. After a hectic day at office, a night journey by bus was not desired, but when you are travelling with 36 more energetic photographers, you’ll tend to forget when you needed sleep. Our bus started right after 11:00PM. It took some time for us to break through the traffic of the mega-city. But once we crossed the Shitalakkhya, it was a smooth ride. We hardly slept for most of the journey. But after the pause at Habiganj in the early hours of the day, most of us couldn’t stand.

We arrived at Sylhet town by about dawn. It was around 5:00AM and it was drizzling. We had a pretty dry spell going on at Dhaka, and heard that people at Sylhet were going through a contrasting weather. We got the proof of that right after arrival. Some of us wondered whether the rain could ruin the tour or not. Others were a bit more optimistic though. We boarded four brand new Toyota Hiace buses within no time. Shudipto had everything arranged. Everywhere we went with TTL, Shudipto managed to surpass our expectations.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

Distant dreams........

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

another dream-house.......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

the green shepherd......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

a view made in the heavens.......01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

a view made in the heavens.......02

Our destination was Jaintapur, which lies at the base of the Meghalaya hills; on the border between India and Bangladesh. We were supposed to stay at Jainta Hill Resort, a privately owned resort owned by local businessman. Shudipto developed a good relationship with him and got a big part of the resort booked for one day and one night. We reached the resort by around 6:00AM. The pinkish building created a great contrast against those stunning green hills. The high waterfalls on the hills provided those special ornaments. Occasional low clouds partly covered the hills; the hills then looked like shy beauties under veils. It was dreamy! Having a view like that from the window there can make anyone lazy. It was wet. It seems like that the place is supposed to be wet most of the times. The hills are there to stop the moisture traveling from the Bay of Bengal. They are designed to receive.

After the allotment of rooms, we hardly wasted any time and went on shooting the surrounding landscape. We continued shooting until sitting for breakfast by around 8:00AM. After a grand breakfast, which was by no means unnecessary, we began to prepare for our next journey. After a half-an hour’s journey, we reached the banks of the Jaflong River. This is another border with India. The place lost a bit of its picturesque quality over the years, I guess. I had seen a spectacular place in the past. During my last visit in 2006, I couldn’t find the stones that were so prominent once. Its now a flat shallow river, which doesn’t look too different from other rivers. Commercial extraction of stone from this river has brought a massive change to the river’s natural existence. The river is still a quarry, but not for stones, rather more for gravel and sand. Large stones are a bit rare now. And there is no stone visible from the surface of the water, which once was the specialty of this place.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

this is no bazaar.......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

sailing into the rocks.......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

river life......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

of dreams and imagination.......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

cutting through the mirror.......

Anyway, by around 9:30AM, we were on board three tourist boats and heading straight for the border post. That post gives some of the best views available at Jaflong. We got cooperation, as well as warning from the BDR personnel present there. While making our way through the river, we noticed the great concentration of people in the middle of the river. At first, we thought it was some kind of bazaar in the middle of the river! But we quickly realised that it was none other than the main quarry. Because of the difficulty of finding stones at the most convenient places, points like these became crowded with people. This is the easiest place to extract stones, thats what created that great mess here! We could see people diving at the bottom to help pick up stones from down below. Some locals said that this extraction process left the river deeper than normal and now, stones can be found way at the bottom.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

Jamshed and his boat.......

Many in our group forded most of the river to get a closer look at that chaotic place in the middle of the river. Some others went there by boat. Yet others spent the time photographing landscape. We left the other bank of the river around 10:45AM. Our next program got divided a bit. The biggest group opted to cross the river to get a glimpse of the Khasia village. So, right after 11:00AM, our team got divided. Some of us opted to stay at this bank of the river and to shoot the things that we usually ignore. This bank contains most of the activities related to stone quarry. I saw some boats under repair. I spent some time talking to one of the boat owners, Jamshed. Here was doing some emergency repairs to his boat with the help of another young relative. His 5-year old boy Shipon was playing with gravel around the boat. His boat is used for the most important activity here, stone transportation. The boat got damaged after it accidentally took a lot of water and sank. He mentioned that the boats are all made in the surrounding areas, especially in the Khasia village that my other fellows went to visit. The special trees for the boats also come from the same village area, where they are grown. A good boat lasts for several years, he said. He’s been a boatman for the last 20 years. He had seen the river full of stones and also seen many more people engaged. Stone business is on the decline here, according to him. Another interesting thing was that his family originated from Narsingdi, not from Sylhet area. There are many people like him who are also not from Sylhet area.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone carvers.........01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone carvers.........02

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone carvers.........03

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone-boats.......01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone-boats.......02

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone-boats.......03

There was another stone-related business prominent there. Stones are carved to make pata, which is used as sort of a grinder, especially for spices. Different types of stones produce pata of different quality. This is another business that is run within the family for generations. After exploring the river banks, Shabbir Bhai came with the idea of climbing a watch-tower. The tower gave a pretty good view of the surrounding and we capitalised on that. The sun started to become warm gradually. Up till then, we found the sun in the same gloomy mood that we discovered since arriving at Sylhet. The shades of the tower provided a nice place to relax. We waited for the other team to cross the river.

We moved some time after 12:00 noon once the whole group began to reassemble. The weather was no longer as cool as it started. We all were a bit tired and looked for refreshments. We filled up our transports and drove off for resort. Jaflong was sort of an incomplete tour for me. Something told me that more time was needed to get a real glimpse of life over there. There were too many things happening. Several hours were not enough to get a representative idea about the place.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

simple pleasures of life......

We had a big lunch! We were all hungry and ate life elephants!! There wasn’t enough time for us to take some rest. The moment we started to feel tired, we ended up back in the vehicles! We were off once again! The sun was shining now. It was a totally different weather. We reached the banks of Sari River in no time. We planned on a boat ride through this tranquil and picturesque waterway. But there was no boat there. So what? We had Shudipto! There were a couple of boats within minutes! We all crammed into these boats; just made it actually. The boats seemed a bit too small for a big group like ours. Anyway, we started off by around 5:00PM. The sun was already well on its way down, spreading golden lights everywhere. The river was tranquil to say the least. The Sari slowly turned into Lala Khal, a canal; but we didn’t really notice when the river turned into a canal; it looked all the same to us. Then the sun came up with all its glamour! Sparse clouds began to hide the sun and the rays came out like heavenly spotlights! It was spectacular! The boats began to list on the port side, not being able to stand the weight of overenthusiastic clickers unwilling to leave a chance to shoot such a rare event! And you couldn’t blame anyone. It really looked like a rare moment. We all jumped out of the boats once Shudipto decided to go for the shores. The distant blue hills remained distant; we decided to spend the rest of the day at this place until the sun called it a day. It was around 5:40PM.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

heavenly show........

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

a relaxing afternoon......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

the clickers in paradise......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

sunset at Lala Khal.......01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

sunset at Lala Khal.......02

The sun had so many tricks for us on that day! There were so many colours to see and so many rays to count. We watched the spectacular sunset through our lenses. It was superb! We filled our memory cards with loads of sunlight! The clicking continued until around 6:20PM, when the sun was almost kissing the horizon. We sailed off. It was dark when we reached the place where our vehicles were waiting for us. It was a long day, but truly enjoyable. It started off with the dreamy clouds hovering over the Meghalaya hills, and ended with the golden sun playing hide and seek. A complete day.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

the bio-scope.......

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

Jainta Hill Resort.......01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

Jainta Hill Resort.......02

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

Jainta Hill Resort.......03

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

Jainta Hill Resort.......04

After an eventful night, we still started off the day quite early! We had a tremendous adda well into the night with renowned photojournalist Andrew Biraj, who accompanied us during the whole tour and gave us excellent opportunity to learn from him. Only tiredness and the drive to wake up early pushed us to bed. Anyway, early wasn’t too early for most actually. But still, a lot of us tried not to waste the morning hours. Light wasn’t too great, as it was drizzling once again. But that didn’t prevent any of us from our work. Before we went to breakfast by around 8:30AM, we continued to shoot the surroundings. The surroundings of Jaintapur can never cease to surprise one. White plumes constantly touching the top of those hills gives a dreamy feel and always gives the photographer with opportunity to capture a unique moment. We could care little about the bad light.

By around 9:15AM, we were once again on our way, giving bye to the picturesque Jainta Hill Resort. It was a short, but enjoyable experience. The views of the resort can be enjoyed all day. A relaxing time there is more appropriate than spending a very busy couple of hours. Its a place that soothes.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

a procession of nets.........01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

a procession of nets.........02

We were on our way to Bholaganj, via Sylhet. We were supposed to pick up couple of our old friends from Sylhet. On the way, we found several fishermen fishing in shallow waters with their specialised nets. We couldn’t resist. We knew that three other cars in our group were way ahead of us. But we had to spend several minutes to get a glimpse of this unique stuff. Within 10 minutes, we were off once again. We picked up Fakhrul Bhai and Akhlas Bhai from Sylhet city. They gave us bad news about the road to Bholaganj. Judging by the distance, we were with the impression that Bholaganj would not be beyond 45 minutes’ journey from Sylhet. But we had no idea what was in store for us!

Bholaganj is now the busiest stone quarry. The whole road to Bholaganj is pock-marked by heavy-wheels. Hundreds of stone-carrying trucks and tractor-trailers ply through this road all day. All the bridges on this road are under repair and require detours; and the bridges are many. This is a road that goes through a massive haor area (wetlands). Water level is on the rise here; its the end of the month of May. Coming June-August may see the road communication with Bholaganj severed unless some really important measures are taken.

While we were facing this problem with the road, our drivers showed an arrogance that put the whole plan in jeopardy! While we were driving through the stone crushing fields, the drivers refused to go forward through this poor road condition. We tried to convince them that there were minimal chance of bellying on this road, but their lack of understanding of motor vehicles made us mad. We had no other option but to ride on a couple of empty tractor-trailers going towards Bholaganj. This ride was one of roughest for worst rides for a lot of us. It was hard keeping balance on a vehicle that didn’t have a shock absorber. But they surely took us there much faster! It was almost 1:00PM and we had our bus scheduled at 5:00PM. The tour became very tight indeed. We just thought that if we could ride something like that at the start of the bad road, we could have been there at least half an hour earlier!

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

guarding the gates of heaven........

The first glimpse of Bholaganj got us mad! Its brilliant! The Meghalaya hills here are more attractive than that of Jaflong. The place stole our hearts in the first go! The distant hills are so dominating here that whatever we looked at, the blue hills were always part of it. The weather was superb! The skies were brilliant blue above the hills with darkish clouds. But fortunately for us, they were not directly above us. The best part was, there was no rain and we hoped it would stay like that as long as we stayed there.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stonescape........01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stonescape........02

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

a stony kind of future.........01

It was a busy place; very busy place. There were thousands of people working there along the whole river bank. And gain, this was right on the border between India and Bangladesh. BDR men were guarding the pillars and constantly reminding us what we needed to do to keep the BSF from accidentally firing upon us! The whole river was full of boats; boats that carried stones from upstream. These stones were, in general, much bigger than the ones we saw at Jaflong. And there were a lot more activity than what we saw at Jaflong. Large stones were carried over and were broken down into several pieces using a manual hammer. Smaller stones are carried by tractor-trailers to crushing units in the back. The whole process requires a lot of manual labour. People of both gender and all ages are engaged in this process.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

lord of the stones.........01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

lord of the stones.........02

I talked to a stone-breaker, Khurshed Alam and tried to find out something about this place. According to him, stone extraction here started to rise there since 1988. There were lesser activity before that time He’s been breaking stones for more than 10 years and said that there are others there who are more experienced. Around 50 stone-breakers work there, according to him. His work seemed more like a skill than just hard work, which he acknowledged with a wise smile. A stone can require from 1 second to several minutes to break into pieces. I saw his breaking a big stone with three hits only! He acknowledges the hard work he’s doing, but he doesn’t want his two children to go through the same process.

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone-faces........01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone-faces........02

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone-faces........03

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

a stony kind of future.........02

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

close your eyes to find Him.......01

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

close your eyes to find Him.......02

From Jaflong to Bholaganj, May 2010

stone-faces........04

Some of us boarded some boats and went forward. Others waited for them to come back. We were in a bit of hurry by the time we started to board our vehicles. Our vehicles, by this time, came to the shore in search of us. They somehow realised their duty. It was around 3:15PM and we were under pressure to make it to Sylhet on time to catch the bus. The most fortunate part of the whole thing was that our bus was exclusively reserved for us. So, it was not expected to leave without us. We also didn’t have our lunch and no time to do that on the way to Sylhet either! But Shudipto made sure that we wouldn’t reach Dhaka starving. We collected our packet lunches from Sylhet, sometime after 5:00PM and ultimately started off for Dhaka half-an-hour behind schedule, by around 5:30PM.

Our lunch or whatever you call it, was on board the bus! But the tour was such a success for the clickers and there was no complain from anyone! Everyone was happy to spend one extra hour at Bholaganj than spending one hour at a restaurant! The journey was hectic; so what? It was more than worth the effort. Getting a glimpse of such exclusive places within such a short time was not a matter of joke. It was possible because of Shudipto’s management and the clickers’ wholehearted support!
Another brilliantly successful TTL safari came to a close as we reached Dhaka. We knew it would be difficult to live a typical life for the next couple of days. But this would be enough fodder for at least one hectic week!

Shimulia, Savar, Janaury 2010

2010-02-02T21:47:00.005+06:00

An Earthen Experience

30 January 2010
Shimulia, Savar,
Dhaka,Bangladesh

Its always difficult to manage a team of more than 20 people during a tour somewhere. But when you have Shudipto with you, you know that things will be OK. It was yet another nice photowalk with the great group of adventurers from TTL (Through the Lens: Bangladesh). A tour with TTL anywhere is a great experience. Not just for clicking purpose, to have some great moments with some great friends too! I could hardly say no when the plan was unleashed to visit Shimulia. This was TTL's second visit there actually. I missed the earlier one and had an empty feeling ever since. I was determined this time not to miss this event!

Winter was standing on the door, on its way out. But just a little of that chilly breeze remained and convinced some of us to take a wee bit of warmth with us. Anyway, my idea was that as we would start early in the morning, it was wiser to take a sweater; well, just in case! As it turned out, we boarded the bus for Savar by around 8:40AM, when the sun was well up; though not shining with that much ferocity (lucky me!!).

We knew that the journey would take around one hour. Our destination was Shimulia, some way from Dhamrai. So, it wasn't a straight journey to any bus stand. We got dropped at Dhamrai after a one-and-a-quarter-hour journey. That only introduced us to a small tempo (three-wheeler human hauler) stand. These three-wheelers carry around 10-12 people. Our 22-people group was enough for two vehicles. This part of the journey took us through some nice rural settings. Most of the land near Dhaka lost their rural flavour some time back. A bit of rural touch still remains with the crop lands. It was harvesting time; and most of the homes were in a festive mood with rice processing. I started to miss that while we left those golden fields. Our aim was to visit a potter village; so, the harvesting fields took a back seat. We had to be satisfied with the lovely views.

After around half-an-hour's journey, we reached a school. An annual sports event was well on its way there with a lot of students, teachers, and guests gathering. With all our clownish bags and photo-gears, we were easily spotted by them from a distance. Anyway, we could swallow that and we did around half-a-dozen songs of terrible taste, which were on air through some mindless broadcasts with mikes! Races were not yet ready to start when we crossed the tracks.

At the end of the school field there was that huge banyan tree. Its ancient and experienced look would make anyone stall. We also got stuck in front of it. Had to take a few snaps there before we could move again. The tree is at the entrance of the potter village, almost reminding us of our glorious past.

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

roots.........
Nature teaches us not to forget our past; never to unlearn our learning; never to get detached from our roots....... because we're just children in a very large world; always learning.........

We entered the village and straightaway knew that the villagers were very much used to seeing photographers. This village is one of those where one could find some traditional stuff. Being one of the last remaining potters, they do attract a lot of photojournalists. Their attitude towards cameras was built by these photojournalists. Anyway, we were not facing too much of a problem shooting in and around the village. We go pretty much easy access to their homes. We made our aims clear and got full co-operation from them. We stayed at the village for more than two hours and didn't face any trouble clicking.

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

tradition......
every bend in that village reminded us of the traditions that survived changes of many generations....... yet, there are signs of change; signs of threat to that long-protected culture........

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

craftsmen........
these people are not just potters........ they're experts of a craft; protectors of a tradition; curators of an almost forgotten art......

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

patterns of earth.......01
there are patterns of God's earth...... and there are patterns made by humans..... they both come from earth and ultimately end up there...... we humans are just the breaks in those patterns.......

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

patterns of earth.......02

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

a work of faith.......
the potters of Shimulia have kept the traditions alive with a lot of devotion...... and faith...... its almost as if their faith in their God guided their faith in their work....

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

Gods......
they're not just potters...... they're makers of Gods as well...... their work is not just for material benefits; spiritual as well.....

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

an artist's hands.......
those hands have considerable experience and expertise in creating useful shapes..... but its not just expertise, its the attention to detail and concentration in creating something artistic that shines on the mud around the fingers......

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

where time stood still........
I spent some time at a place where I could see her, but asked myself why is she sitting there?....... I came to that same place after more than an hour...... she was still there..... she didn't move from there....... what was her story?....... what makes time stand still around her?.......

From Shimulia, Savar, Dhaka, January 2010

light of the future.......
the baby was basking in that beautiful morning sun..... her forefathers may be in a sort of gloom, thinking of the inevitable....... but she provides them with a hope that makes them smile and keeps them going.....

Our stay at the village ended some time around 1:00PM and we began to search ways to go back quickly. As it turned out, going back quickly became something of a challenge. Those three-wheelers made our life difficult by keeping their own timeline. A couple of replacement vehicles saved the day for us. We reached Savar bus stand on those two vehicles; much quicker than we thought we could. It was almost 2:40PM when we were boarding the bus for Dhaka. But the rest of the journey was even quieter. A day's toil made everyone quiet. We entered Dhaka by around 3:30PM and found our own ways to reach home.

It was a short but interesting tour. My previous disappointment regarding not being able to attend the previous photowalk there was no longer there. And the pleasant company of the photomates made the short tour really enjoyable.

Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

2010-01-29T21:27:00.005+06:00

A Cool Morning at the Beach

20 January 2010

It was an official tour. Not a lot of latitude was there to hang about, though opportunities did present themselves. After a long night journey by bus, our bodies were tired, seeking bed. But I was to stay there for a very short while, not totally aligned with the plans of others. Others were supposed to stay at Cox for longer; still others had plans to go to St Martin's Island. I was one of only two to return within the night.

This was my second tour to Cox's Bazaar in more than 3 years. Last time was a trip with friends in July 2006. And we had some time to relax. This time, it was more of busy our, with only some hours to spend on the beach. This time, it was the tourist season, but the weather kept things in check! Thick winter fog kept everything under wraps. It was more like an unusual tour to a usual place. From that point of view, I got lucky! It usually very difficult to get anything unique out of Cox's Bazaar with so much activity around. I spent around 3 hours in and around the beach to catch some glimpses, at the end of which the sun shined with all its glory!

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

Real estate.....
There's huge real estate boom going on at Cox's Bazaar.... A lot of hotels and apartments are springing up, realising the potential of the place to generate a huge revenue...... but concerns about rules and regulations are keeping a lot of people worried......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

changing room.......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

corporate branding.......
some of the big corporates are putting money behind CSR activities and helping to keep the beach clean......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

Lifeguards.......
with the increase in the number of tourists each year, Cox's Bazaar beach is now more in need of lifeguards than ever before..... after numerous silly deaths, this profession is finally getting some value here, though it still has some way to go in terms of professionalism.....

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

horseman.......
one of the businesses on the beaches of Cox's Bazaar is horse-riding...... a short ride on the beach is a bit of an entertainment for many....

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

Beach buggy.....
this is one of the new professions on the beach...... they don't ride as fast as racing buggies, but enough for a lot of tourists....

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

trade.........

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

some light moments......
absence of customers on a cold morning........ what else do they have to do?

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

sharing.......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

cold wind from the north......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

a lesson in safety........

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

a cold day for business.......01
benches on the beach are for rent on an hourly basis........ on a cold morning like that, most benches remained empty......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

a cold day for business.......02

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

a cold day for business.......03

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

boats........01
one of the popular entertainments on the beaches of Cox's Bazaar is riding on speed boats....... idle boats were seen on abundance in that cold morning.......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

boats........02

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

a cold day for business.......04

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

a cold day for business.......05

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

welcome to Cox's Bazaar......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

sun-glasses.....

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

dried fishes........
one of the important business at Cox's Bazaar is dried fishes..... these are considered a delicacy among the typical Bangladeshis...... a good number of tourists go back with packs of such trades.......

From Cox's Bazaar, January 2010

oyster smile.......
one of the most common shops in and around Cox's Bazaar beaches is oyster/snail shops.... they sell many types of ornaments and souvenirs made of natural elements.....

Ashura Processions, Dhaka, December 2009

2009-12-29T20:09:00.006+07:00

The Holy Ashura Processions

08 January 2009
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Its been 11 days short of one year; Ashura processions are back! It was 08 January of this year that thousands came out on the streets celebrating holy Ashura. That time I went to the main procession of the city, starting from the old part of Dhaka. The year before I was at Mohammadpur, where the processions usually carry a completely different mood. So, during the last couple of years, I was able to observe the diversity of celebrations. It really is worth exploring this variety.

With this thought in mind, I planned to be at Mohammadpur this year. This is usually one of the two most important processions of the day. The effort put in by the participants into these processions has to be noted. From the design of Tazia to designing costumes, to the practice of performances, their devotion to the cause is something to see.

Usually it starts in the late afternoon. The usual starting places are the Bihari camps of Mohammadpur. Being very near these starting places, I was looking to go out late, to be with the crowd for a couple of hour or so, and ultimately to come back with some experience to remember. I went out with my camera right after 4:00PM (Daylight Saving). I was there on the streets around Mohammadpur and Mirpur Road until around 7:00PM, when the procession came to Tajmahal Road and got split in different sections. It was dark when I finally separated from the crowd.

Here are some of the glimpses from the event.

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Heir.......01

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Flags.......

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Mobile camera......

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

The Procession.....01

Johuri Mahalla in Mohammadpur is most favourite in terms of attractiveness during the Tajia processions. The confined spaces of the area makes the procession vibrant and colourful. The Tajia seems at home in this place. The moment the procession moves to larger roads, it becomes a bit unnatural; something like an export! At Johuri Mahalla, the large concentration of Biharis makes it so special. This really looks like their own procession there!

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Startled.......01

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Startled.......02

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

The Procession.....02

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Startled.......03

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

The noisiest bed.....

This year round, I was really surprised to see the small size of the Mohammadpur procession. And when I say small, I mean really small. I haven't seen such a small procession before. It was almost as if there are lesser number of people participating!! I've tried to find the reason behind it, but haven't found any authenticated sources. One source told me that it might because of lack of finding resulting from political changes. Well, its difficult to guess though.

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Heart of the Tazia.......01

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Heart of the Tazia.......02

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Heart of the Tazia.......03

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Running repairs.......

Apart from the difference in size of the procession and number of Tajia, there weren't too many things that have changed during the last couple of years. Have seen some innovative ways of designing Tajia. One of the main Tajias originating from Johuri Mahalla had a miniature 3D map of the then Karbala under it. And as usual, the Tajias were designed by people who were more driven by emotions, rather than practicality. The Tajias got tangled with wires at many places on the road due to their height. At one point, the main Tajia had to lose it top spires to make any process!!

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

The collections department......

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Children power.....01

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Private video.....

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Animated faces.......

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Drums.....

This time, the procession moved to Mirpur Road, a move that I haven't seen before. Usually the procession moves through Mohammadpur alone and doesn't spill out in Mirpur Road. Anyway, it seems that they got permission for that this year. But the procession was so small that they could hardly dominate the road!! Once they reached Asad Avenue and combined with the other procession, the overall crowd size became a bit bigger. But still, the size remained pretty small.

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Children power.....02

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Children power.....03

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

The holy horse......01

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

The holy horse......02

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Heir.......02

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Children power.....04

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Spectators.......

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Startled.......04

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

The leader......

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

"Say cheese!!"

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

A fashion statement......

From Ashura Celebrations, Mohammadpur, Dhaka, December 2009

Heated personality......

This year's small prcession was full of frame-throwing stunts!! These stunts are usually there all the time. But this year seemed like a particularly big concentration of these people. These young chaps were taking a lotta risks to display their valour! And in doing so, putting themselves as well as others in grave danger of personaly injury. And in fact, we've witnessed one of the performers getting burns over his upper body after one of his friends failed to control the flame!!

Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

2009-12-20T20:57:00.005+07:00

Two Hard!
TTL Safari to Sitakunda, Chittagong
17-18 December 2009

A great opportunity was presented in front of me to visit the ship-breaking yards of Sitakunda. I simply couldn’t think about missing it. And how many times Shudipto gets the credit? His initiative to get access to the sensitive ship-breaking yards had to be appreciated. This was yet another tour organised by “Through the Lens: Bangladesh” (TTL) group of Flickr. Even though the main attraction of the tour was Chandranath Hill of Sitakunda, to me it was the ship-breaking yard that provided the kick! But I was extremely concerned about my busy office schedules. There was every chance that I might miss the tour. Yet, I thought I shouldn’t cancel my participation in it too early. I kept my chances alive until the last moment. I finally confirmed Thursday night, barely 10 hours before the journey began!

8AM bus was almost too much for me, as I was barely able to reach Sayedabad Bus Terminal. It was a small team; almost too small compared to the previous safari tours that we had from TTL. Only four of us were on board the bus. Another member was supposed to join us from Chittagong. The number of members meant that this tour was going to be somewhat different from the others. The journey lacked the chaos of other times! We missed a big gang badly. But considering the sensitivity of the tour subjects, somehow a smaller group helped us a lot.

After a hair-raising 5 hours’ bus journey, we finally reached Sitakunda. This is the first time we didn’t have a hotel booked. Our plan was originally to stay at Chittagong, because we were supposed to have a much larger group. But a small group changed everything. We searched for a decent hotel, but failed. Then Shudipto came up with his fantastic connections, and in no time we were in a lavish bunglow! What a change of fortune within such a short time. Anyway, with our lodgings confirmed, we went to Sitakunda bazaar and finished a goodish lunch. We met our other friend from Chittagong there.

We quickly finished our lunch and grabbed a three-wheeler by around 3:20PM. Our destination was Bhatiary, the main hub of ship-breaking business in Bangladesh. We reached there after half-an-hour’s journey. After getting the proper authorisations, we were given a free hand in the open. But the condition was, we could not go inside the ships.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Shadow keepers.......01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Shadow keepers.......02

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Skeleton......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Shadow keepers.......03

The first glance at those ships inspired awe in us! Honestly, this was a amazing feeling seeing those massive structures towering above the ground. I had been to these yards before, but didn’t manage to get a glimpse of that many ships. Yes, there were quite a few ships there. Some were almost intact, while others were cut into pieces. Our movement was somewhat impeded by the soft mud. After all, this was a sea beach, so, mud was not supposed to be a strange phenomenon.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

In the land of the giants.......01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Eaten.......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

A devoted watchman........

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

A metallic landscape!!

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

In the land of the giants.......02

It was a Friday, and Fridays are usually half-day working time. Work went on until around 2PM, a couple of hours before we actually arrived there. There was hardly anyone there. Only some watchmen were roaming about and above the ships. We roamed about in the mud and explored different opportunities to get different shots in the same place. Actually, the subjects were so big that a lot of walking needed to be done before a different composition could be tried.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

In the land of the giants.......03

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

In the land of the giants.......04

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Angles of steel......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

In the land of the giants.......05

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Stairway to ruin........

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Some moments are idle.....

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Through the muddy highway!!

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

In the land of the giants.......06

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Phenomenon........

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Nature's gift to the un-naturals......

Although we had little opportunity to manoeuvre ourselves in the mud, shooting continued without mercy. We didn’t rest our cameras until the red ball of the sun set right between two beached ships. It was an awesome moment. It was a fit tribute to the day’s efforts. Amazing day we had! We came back to Sitakunda right after sunset. We were tired. A day of journey from the early morning, followed by a visit to the yard. A busy, but a very productive day.

Second day’s plan was to start early. We finished our breakfast by around 8:30AM and boarded a three-wheeler. Ultimate destination Chadranath Hill and Temple. This temple stands at the top of a hill, which can be accessed via a 1200-step stair. But before that hill can be reached, we needed to go through the Sankar Math, the main place of Hindu worshipers. The Math lies right next to the Sitakunda town. Chandranath Hill is usually famous for its once-in-a-year festival. Thousands gather there during that time, but during the rest of the year, it is usually not occupied. This day is due on the last day of Bengali month of Magh; or 12th of February 2010. We thought of getting a glimpse of that temple in its usual self.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

The entrance to the Chandranath.......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

A patch of religion......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Call of Shambhunath.....

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Domes of Shambhunath.....

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

A call to prayers......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Guardian of God's house......01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Guardian of God's house......02

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Rays of hope......

At the Sankar Math, Shudipto introduced us to his uncle, who was one of the highest priests there. His hospitality delighted us. He gave us enough advice and direction to us, which helped us to plan our day. But most disappointingly, he advised us not to go to Chandranath, or even to go to a much nearer waterfall. His concern was a security issue. We took his advice and the guide he gave us. Rubel took us to the nearest temple that lies on the way to Chandranath. This temple is called the Shambhunath Temple. Its not too far from Sankar Math. Just a bit of uphill walk took us there.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Twin peaks..... the peak of Chandranath Hill seen from Shambhunath

We received even more advice there regarding a walk to Chandranath. Priests and all others advised against such an idea. Our heart sank! We had so much plan around it; and now this. The groups of miscreants there are very well-organised and regularly intercept visitors and take their belongings. They even intercept large groups of tourists. They have informers all throughout the place and organise and execute their missions flawlessly. What people told us was that the police was having a hard time wiping this group off. This is a very remote place with a lot of hiding places; so, getting rid of these vandals wasn’t easy at all.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Stairway to down-under.....

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Signs........01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Milestone........

We decided to abandon our plan for the moment. We would rather visit the place again coming February, when such risks usually don’t exist. Festival time brings thousands of people, and a lot of security with it. It would be much safer to visit the place then. We only awed at the peak of Chandranath. The high hill presented a pretty imposing personality. There were two temples at the top of Chandranath, one built recently and the other one built several hundred years ago. We were content with snapping the temples from our position way below.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Squirrel play........01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Squirrel play........02

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Squirrel play........03

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Entrance to another world......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Peace-keeper......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Home of the dead......01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Voices of devotion......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Gift?

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Death spares none......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Call of the dead......

The time released by this change of plan gave us opportunity to stay longer at Shambhunath. We developed bit of a relationship with the priest there and snapped quite a few pics. We enjoyed the short time out there. We also got some glimpses of some squirrels just outside the temple. Their activities made us captive for a while. On the way down, we stopped at a ‘shashan’ or cremation place, where the dead receive their last rites. The mood of the place held us up for a while.

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Prayers......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Window.......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

A young vendor.....

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Entrance with a warning......

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Warnings.......01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Holy men........01

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Holy men........02

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Holy men........03

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Holy men........04

From Sitakunda, Chittagong, December 2009

Gods within, Gods without......

Once back at Sankar Math, we climbed the small height of around 100 steps. There we spent some time at the places of worship. We had unprecedented access to the insides of the temples thanks to Shudipto’s uncle. This was the best times for us during the day. We tried to forget the loss of Chandranath and concentrated on the subjects in front of us. We also relaxed there under the shadows and received nice entertainments by the students there. Rubel also proved his worth by singing. It had to be appreciated.

Lunch time was another great time for us. We received Prasad at the temple. The meal was both delicious and really filled our stomach. After relaxing for a while, we bade goodbye to the priests, especially the generous high priest, Shudipto’s uncle. By around 2:00PM we were back at Sitakunda. We had enough time to rest before boarding our bus at 4:30PM.

Though the tour had a lot of disappointments, it certainly acted as a key to further explorations. We had unusual access to ship-breaking yard and Sankar Math. We developed good enough relationship with key people to help us come back. We brought this key for others, yet, we were able to capture some truly amazing moments. In my view, it was a great success! Thanks Shudipto; thanks TTL!

Panamnagar, November 2009

2009-12-03T12:01:00.005+07:00

Yet another Peek
29 November 2009

Panamnagar is now one of my most regularly visited places. I've visited Panam several times during the last few years. My last visit was in January 2009. Each of my visit revealed something new for me. This place is under a so-called restoration process, which has been debated quite a few times in many quarters. This renovation work has given Panam its curse, and given me the reason to record change.

It was Eid-ul Azha. A day out on the second day morning of Eid was a bit too much for many. Had to manage family members at home. It was yet another effort by the TTL buddies ("Through the Lens: Bangladesh" group of Flickr). A short photowalk organised on short notice. Anyway, it ultimately came down to mental strength to get up that early in the morning. I almost goofed up; but Gazi Bhai saved me by giving me a timely phone-call. We all met at Gulistan for the start by around 7:40AM. We, three of us, broke off and took our own vehicle. Others came by bus.

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Where time stands.........

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Beauty behind bars........

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Bricks; old and new.....

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Time window......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Passing history......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Marks of existence.......

Holiday traffic took us to Sonargaon very quickly. It was barely 8:30AM when we knocked on the doors to Panamnagar. Morning light was still trying to peep through. We decided to go off the main Panam street and go the old houses behind Panam before the sun went too high and too bright.

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Panam lake.......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Marks of stupidity......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Morning worship.....

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Morning works......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Over-growth......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Crystal balls.......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Morning surprise!!

This part of Panamnagar is always my most favourite. Environment plays a big part here. Lights and fog mix here at times to create extraordinary settings. It wasn't quite like that on that day, but we enjoyed the warm light from the east. We spent quite a bit of time here exploring the opportuntiy to get some snaps. A considerable amount of time went behind shooting a small butterfly that got completely covered with dew drops.

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

A journey through time.......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Windows........

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

A walk through the past.......

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Living among history........

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Marks of authority?

We switched to Panamnamar main street soon enough. We met with our other buddies there. Panam's old buildings are changing their profiles on short notice. Most of the buildigs are now empty. I've seen a similar state during my last visit, but this time round, the buildings looked emptier. Yet, some of the buildings were still occupied and we saw people in there. Another building had government papers slapped on the doors with orders to evacuate within a week!

Some of the most beautiful of Panam's buildings are still off limits. Some of them have slight openings, through which its possible to get a slight peek, but most of them are completely sealed-off. We saw children playing around these old buildings, giving a feel of timelessness of this place.

From Panamnagar, Sonargaon, November 2009

Mindless graffiti........

We took group photos at one of the most beautiful buildings of Panam, which I had only visited once, during my last visit. I promied my family that I would be home right after 11:00AM. Dhaka was still in Eid mood; so, I couldn't waste any more time. Visitors were still trickling in. There weren't too many, but enough to make us feel good about the timing. I always prefer early morning visits to Panam.

We left Panam by around 11:00AM and reached Dhaka in an hour. It was a very short tour of the place, but gave me enough reason and thoughts. The next visit would probably be in the same line.

Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

2009-11-22T13:02:00.003+07:00

The Fields of Harvest
21 November 2009

This has been my second visit to this place within a year. Its been almost a year since my last visit to this place. We had been planning to do something during the weekend. There was a team of photographers from TTL ("Through the Lens: Bangladesh" group of Flickr) having a great time in the tea gardens of Srimangal; so, we also wanted to have our own sessions somewhere near Dhaka. A day-long session was what we had been looking for. Saturday seemed the most convenient time for most; and there we go. The aim was to go out and do some clicking. Getting a suitable place for that was thus the main question. Tora came up as the most accepted place.

We planned to click some activity of harvesting. The season of Hemanta (Late Autumn) was in full swing, and harvesting was going on in the most parts of the country. Tora is a place where a variety of rural activities can be found; we just need to select the season for it. Last year we clicked he golden fields of mustard. This year, we were a bit too early for it, but not too late for the harvesting though.

We gathered for the journey at Gabtoli Bus Terminal. Although the official timing was at 8:00AM, it took us up to 8:45AM to board the bus. We boarded a bus that went beyond Manikganj, because Tora is somewhat west of Manikganj, under Ghior Upazila. We were a team of seven, after numerous drop-outs at the last minute. The day was a bit chilly; winter really began to knock from that day. But the sun was out; so, the chilly weather couldn't make us shiver.

The two-hour jurney wasn't boring at all, though the weekend early-morning wake-up did have some pressure of most. Some others actually missed the journey not waking up on time. Anyway, we were looking for some harvesting scenes from our windows; though we didn't get to see too many. We only hoped that we would get that once we reach Tora.

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Fishing........

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Follow the leader......

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

The death of a mother......
its late November....... the River Kaliganga is almost dead........ the river is hardly of any substance as an important waterway for the local community...... it can easily be crossed on foot in many places..... huge shoals have choked the river....... its the death of a river....... the death of a mother........

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

The Kaliganga water-scape.....

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Boat and shoals......

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Sand-work..........

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Shadow of light.......

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Once a river.......01
its a way alright...... but it was supposed to be a waterway, because it is the middle of the River Kaliganga........ there's hardly enough water in the river during the dry season to wet someone's feet...... trucks carrying sand make their own roads on sand..... the big boat resting on sand reminds us that this was once a river........

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Once a river.......02

Tora came up soon enough. By around 10:45AM we were out of the bus. Tora bus stand is now a familiar place for a lot of photographers; and the Tora people also are familiar with photographers! So, it wasn't a problem making us at home there. We decided to enjoy the view from above the Tora Bridge first. The bridge gave a unique view of the surrounding river-scape. The Kaliganga River was as dry as you could imagine. This was a similar view that I experienced a year back. Huge shoals covered the largest part of the river. Some boats were trying hard to ply through the narrow waterways. Depth of water was so low in most places that people were actully crossing the river on foot! Some boats got stuck in the narrows and were being pushed by the crews in shallow water. This was a typical face of the Kaliganga during this time of the year. Trucks loaded with sand were criss-crossing the river-bank, creating their own roads. But there were some birds still flying around the place declaring the presence of Nature's beauty.

We came down from the bridge and spent some time at the tea stall to plan for the next move. We had several options at our hand. Some locals mentioned that the we were not supposed to get a glimpse of harvesting there. So, we began to plan accordingly. Someone suggested that there was an old palace nearby where we could go to shoot something of archaelogical importance. But nobody could give authenticated information about the old palace. Right at that time, some people on the road told us that we could easily get a glimpse of harvesting if we walked or taken a rickshaw. Several people actually authenticated this. So, we dropped the idea of the old palace. In fact, much later, we got information about the palace that it was no more than an old house; hardly 50 year old!

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Harvest.........01

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Harvest.........02

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

A well-earned rest........01

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

A well-earned rest........02

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

A well-earned rest........03

We took three rickshaws and quickly reached the field where harvesting was well on its way. It wasn't a field miles in length, but there was enough crop to help us take some reasonably good shots. The farmers and the owner of the farmland, all were very much appreciative and we didn't have any problem clicking. The harvesting farmers found our work interesting. They posed in front of our cameras and didn't seem to be offended.

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Hard-working hands.........01

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Hard-working hands.........02

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Harvest.........03

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Harvest.........04

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Harvest.........05

From Tora, Manikganj, November 2009

Harvest.........06

The golden paddy was a sight to see. Many birds, mainly mynas and black drongos, were flying around the harvesting farmers on the lookout for food. Part of the paddy had lied down on their own weight. The patterns created on the field with the harvested paddy were nice too. The farmers took some time to rest their hands, which gave us an opportunity to get them in a relaxed mood. We spent up to around 1:00PM shooting the harvests. The next decision was to reach the Tora Bridge and plan the next course of action.

Once at the bridge, we got more confused about the next course. The authentication of the palace seemed quite weak. So, we decided to leave Tora, either for Dhaka or any other place. Right at that time, we met a woman who told us that we could go to the snake-charmer village at Savar! She took interest herself and persuaded us to think about it carefully. She even gave us her home phone number to get authentication. She told us that we could see some sort of fair at the village. And using her recommendation, we could do photography there. We phoned her children over there and decided to give it a go. It was already well into the afternoon; so, we decided to complete our lunch as soon as possible.

We boarded a bus quickly and headed for Savar. By arounnd 3:30PM we were at Savar Bazar and had lunch there. We phoned that woman's family and got direction about finding their place. The place isn't too far from Savar Bazar actually. We took rickshaws and reached there within 15 minutes. We received pretty much a cold reception there. Everyone there was looking at us. We talked to the community leader and made our intentions clear. We instantly realised that this is one place for photojournalists. A unique place with unique subjects; but this is not a place to hop in and start clicking. We spent some time with the husband of the woman who invited us there. There was no fair at that time, and we simply couldn't bring our cameras out. The whole stay was a bit uncomfortable for us. We made sure that we kept the good relations offered to us. The man was extremely gentle and very much friendly. He wanted us to stay, but our sudden arrival didn't give us the mood that was needed to do some work there. After around half-an-hour's stay there we gave a cordial goodbye and left the place.

At Savar Bazar, we were just too tired to look around, and the light was also fading. We decided to call it a day. But we continued to talk about the village, and thought of another trip there some time later with proper preparation. That would be one unique experience.

It was a nice day's outing. We boarded the bus with a smiling face, contented heart, and a very tired body.

Hajiganj, Chandpur, September 2009

2009-10-16T14:55:00.000+07:00

A Rural Durga Dashami

Hajiganj, Chandpur, Bangladesh
28-29 September 2009

Being my Nana-bari (my mother’s ancestral home), Hajiganj always had a special place in my heart. And being at a relatively short distance from Dhaka, it was one of the nice getaway places for our family. The last time I went to Hajiganj in February 2008, it was for an occasion. But this time, it was more like spending a holiday, rather than attending an occasion. It was more a family outing than anything else. Yet, I managed to squeeze enough time to shoot a few photographs.

The opportunity came in the form of Durga Puja, the largest festival for the Hindu community in this part of the world. The last day of Durga Puja, Bijoya Dashami, is usually a holiday. That gave us the chance to look for a quick breather. I had been to Bijoya Dashami celebrations a year ago. But that was in Dhaka. The celebration at Hajiganj is usually very very different. And getting the privilege to experience that diversity was really something.

We left Dhaka in the afternoon of Sunday (27th September). The idea was to reach Hajiganj within the night, which would allow us to get a glimpse of the morning lights Monday. Monday was Bijoya Dashami; making the evening very important. We reached Hajiganj after a 4 and a half hours’ hectic road journey. Heavy traffic at Dhaka and its outskirts killed a lot of time. We were really tired once we reached Hajiganj.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The "Dhuup" warriors........01

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The "Dhuup" warriors........02

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The "Dhuup" warriors........03

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

A "modern" Durga Puja........

Yet, there was enough spirit within us to make a visit at the Puja Mandap nearby by around midnight! There were two Mandaps; we visited both of them in turn. The smaller one was having an event with “Dhuup” dancers. Dancers were performing in the front of Durga with “Dhuup” in their hands. It was full of action and mystery. Next, we moved to the larger Mandap, where the biggest crowd gathered. There was a huge cultural show being held in front of the deity. The show looked more modern than anything related to tradition or even religion. But the amount of interest was more towards this “modern” show than the traditional “Dhuup” dancing. Anyway, we didn’t stay there too long, as the temperature of the place wasn’t really conducive to enjoyment. I had to appreciate the patience of the locals who simply ignored the unbearable temperature to get a glimpse of the event. We left the place by around 1:00AM to earn a badly needed rest.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Another morning under the curse of modernity.......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Morning catch......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Morning water-scape......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Those little things in life.........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

When do we realise that we've lost our green?

Even though I had the desire to get a glimpse of early morning, I couldn’t make it. I was late to wake up. But simply didn’t want to waste the morning light before it became too harsh. I went out to have a look at the surrounding village-scape. The village is named Balakhal. The place is dominated by the River Dakatia. The swirling Dakatia surrounds the village like a snake. And there are quite a few water bodies too in the vicinity that get fed by the river in some ways; at least in the rainy season. We went there in the Autumn (Sarath), but the water level was still pretty high at a lot of places. We had quite a bit of rain this Autumn and there was less distinguishable period between Autumn and the Rainy Season.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Street fun........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Gods within......01

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Gods within......02

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Edge of Dakatia..........01

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Gods within......03

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Edge of Dakatia..........02

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Gods within......04

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Morning green........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Generations.......

I roamed about the village, snapping some river-scape and some village moments. There was the added importance of Puja. And there was evidence of Puja in every village corner. And there was another Puja coming after Durga Puka in a few days, which made the place even more interesting. Laxmi Puja was already having its presence felt in the community, which had a substantial number of Hindu followers. It’s a very developed village I would have to say. Because of its proximity to the highway and availability of electricity, most of the modern-life facilities are available here, including cable TV. So, influence of those stuff have to be taken into account. Last night’s “modern” celebration was part of that changing culture.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

With a touch of "modernity".......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

After a night of celebrations..........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

At the foot of the Durga.......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

When all the others left........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Out of focus.......

Anyway, I went to the Mandap once again, expecting to see an empty audience after a nigh-long celebration. I could have a clear view of the deities before they would be sacrificed ceremonially. The stage was being cleared of the chairs and other instruments of modern celebration. It was a different mood altogether. I was glad that I went there that morning. Another bonus I had was that I was taken deep inside the village homes to show the other deity that occupied the place of the current Durga. They told me that they were to sacrifice that deity in around a week to replace it with another one. I even started thinking of joining that occasion as well. I came back from my morning stroll by around 10AM. The sun was already beating down. This Autumn the weather had been pretty much like summer!

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Had to stop the car on the way.........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The bend of the Dakatia.........

Our plan was to give a visit to Chandpur in the afternoon to get a glimpse of the mighty Meghna River. With that thing in mind, we started off by around 5:30PM. Less than an hour’s ride took us past the crowded Chandpur town, straight to the town-protection embankment on the Meghna. This is the edge of the land. There was water on three sides. The head of the embankment had the confluence of the Dakatia on the left and the mighty Meghna in front. The strongly-built embankment gave an idea about the ferocity of the rivers during the rainy season.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Preparing for the day-end.....

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Tourist boats.......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

David and Goliath.........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Autumn clouds.......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Last lights........

It was a place for recreation. Almost too many people were there to spend the afternoon hours in an open space. Boats were waiting to take people on a ride in the river. It was business time for them. The sun was on a setting mood. But the Autumn skies had too much cloud to let the sun kiss the water’s edge. It went dark pretty quickly, leaving behind a dull sunset. Yet, the open air of the river made us feel fresh. We could go back with a fresh mind. We left the river bank by around 7:00PM.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The spark of devotion..........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The "Dhuup" warriors........04

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The "Dhuup" warriors........05

After going back to Hajiganj, I had to go through some family duties, which prevented me from going to the Puja Mandap to experience the special “Dhuup” event of Durga Dashami. I knew that it was supposed to start by around 8:00PM. But I couldn’t reach the Mandap before 9:15PM. The event was on in full swing. And I started to click through the thick cloud of mystery. But my enjoyment was short-lived, as I was called back from home to perform yet more family duties. I was there for less than half-an-hour. My heart almost broke. I decided not to go back again. But my wife persuaded me to make another trip to the Mandap. She could feel the agony that I was going through.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The last moments..........01

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The last moments..........02

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The last moments..........03

I once again reached the Mandap by around 10:45PM. It was a huge occasion. Both the Mandaps were getting ready to sacrifice Durga. The smaller one took the lead. The number of people participating in the event was also smaller. There was some kind of a short quarrel as well, regarding some silly issue that I could hardly understand. But it was clear that it was between the two groups of the two deities. Anyway, I watched the sacrifice the smaller deity through thick crowds. The Durga was sacrificed into the huge water-tank just beside the stage. The whole event came to a close within a very short time. And it all went quiet within a moment. All the people then rushed to the other deity, which was to be sacrificed within a few minutes. Again, a huge rush ensued. And it was much bigger than the one around the smaller deity. But the quickness of the event was almost the same. The highly emotional event was finished even before I could feel their emotions. The deity was sacrificed very similarly in another huge watertank. The splash was followed by a bit of a water-play. A bunch of young chaps jumped into the tank and started to spray water on the onlookers. We quickly jumped back.

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The run.........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The start........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The slip........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The escalation.........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The ecstasy........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The dance.......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The clay........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The faces........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The stage........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The spontaneity......

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

Ancient pleasure......

It was just after 11:00PM. And this is when it all started to unfold. The young devotees started to run towards the stage where the deity was; they laid flat on the stage. It was the prelude to the most unexpected event of the night. A big bunch of 30-40 young chaps began to dance; a dance without boundaries; a dance of freedom. The participants of this event aged as low as 8-10 years. And they were joined by adults as well; some being over 40. It became the event of the night within a few moments. It did rain in the evening, and there was some mud about the place. But the place under the curtain was mostly dry. I have no idea how that mud was introduced. Before I could realize, the whole stage became as muddy as anyone could imagine. It was a struggle for balance; a struggle that everyone enjoyed like anything. It took no time to turn everyone into human clay. Their colorful clothes diminished into the universal colour of soil. They all became one! And this fun went on, as if they had gathered all the energy in the world to impress the gods! Whether it was sacrifice or not, their joyous emotions made the festival memorable; at least for me.

I left the celebrations just before 11:30PM. My family was calling me once again. But this time I had no hard feelings going back. It was a night that I would remember with all the joy and excitement!

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The dawn.........

From Hajiganj & Chandpur, September 2009

The way home..........

It was almost the end of the tour for us. After a hasty sleep, we woke up early and packed for the return even before the sun could show itself properly. We had to cut through the weekday traffic at Dhaka in the morning. The return journey took around 3 and a half hours. It was hectic; but the pleasant results of the tour flew us through.

Chawk Bazar "Iftar-walk", August 2009

2009-08-30T00:36:00.004+07:00

29 August 2009

TTL did it again. Thanks again to Shudipto for organising this, and also thanks to so many participants for making this a success.

Tt was such a warm day; and should I mention the massive traffic on the road? Yet, many of us did manage to reach Chawak Bazar in time to catch the busiest hours. The gathering place was at BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology); not too far from the old part of the city. Our aim was Chawk Bazar, the place known for its Iftar Market during the month of Ramadan. Iftar is what conclusion of day-long fasting ritual.

Iftar is a religious thing. But Iftar market? And Chawk Bazar? Its more like a tradition than anything else. The name of this Iftar market is known to most. Known because of its traditional items; items that make this market unique. Top of the list is the item called "Boro Baper Polay Khay" or literally translated "Eaten by Big Daddy's Son". However weird the name sounds, it is the top-most attraction of this market.

I spent around an hour on the street, while others spent a bit more or less time depending on arrival. Reuters photographer Andrew Biraj was also there; though he wasn't really part of our mostly amateur group.

The Iftar market is on a small piece of road clearing among the densely populated areas of Old Dhaka; adjacent to the southern boundary of Central Jail. Even though this is a small piece land, its important is always prime; and its regularly under the media coverage. We saw cameras and reporters from Ekushey TV there when we were about to return.

It was a nice short photowalk there; covering one of the cultural pieces of Ramadan. We bought some items from the market and left for BUET campus once again. We had a pretty grand Iftar there together. It wasn't just a hunt for photos. It was a warm day and most of us were fasting. Being able to meet a lot of friends, and to share some light moments was worth the effort.

Here are some of the moments captured during the "Iftar-walk".

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

Transactions........01
Hygiene has always been an issue here..... monetary transactions take priority over cleanliness!!

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

Transactions........02

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

Transactions........03

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

The calling.......01
Whats in a market without some hustle-bustle?..... the old man at the helm of the main attraction "Boro Baper Polay Khay" tries his best to make enough noise...... he has to make sure that his' is the central attraction of the market.....

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

The display..........
Displays play a big role in the overall marketing...... making the items look succulent is a constant effort......

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

The grab..........01
Iftar is never complete without the inclusion of dates...... this mainly Middle-eastern fruit has been traditionally associated with Islamic food, especially Iftar

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

The grab..........02
Sweets were in high demand.......

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

The scales.........
Keeping to the promise of right measurement has always been under debate...... this issue had appeared in a lot of verses to motivate Muslims to be fair.....

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

The calling.......02
"Shuti Kabab" is another traditional item being one of the centre-pieces of the Iftar market.........

From Chawk Bazar Iftar Market, Dhaka, August 2009

The grab..........03
Of the sweets that are sold locally, perhaps the most popular is "Jilapi"..... Old Dhaka boasts with some of the most unique "Jilapi" items, including the really big ones on display here........

Kuakata, July 2009

2009-07-30T14:33:00.005+07:00

A Crying Landscape..........
On a Safari with TTL

24-25 July 2009

Four years in a row. I had been looking for this tour since my last visit. I've witnessed a lot of change during those three visits to keep me interested for yet another tour. Most of the changes are not producing positive results though. But they do give an extra incentive to go there.

"Through the Lens: Bangladesh" (TTL) group of Flickr decided to go for a safari once more during the rainy season. And this time, it was no other than my ever-familiar Kuakata. I had little doubt that I wanted to be a part of this; though, being part of the final team was in doubt until the last moment. My work kept me wondering until the last evening; and the final twist was provided by silly misunderstanding!

23rd July was the day. An office day; and we wanted to leave Dhaka after finishing office. I confirmed my availability in the late afternoon; rushed home and started to get prepared. But then came the news; by around 8:20PM, when Kamal called and told me that they were waiting at the bus stand for me!! Now, I wonder how I assumed the departure to be at 10PM, instead of 8:30PM!! And that too, from Malibagh, instead of the usual Gabtoli! I almost gave up, until Shudipto came up with the last hope. He advised me to catch them at Uttara; until they were caught up in some Thursday night traffic. And thats exactly what I did. I boarded the bus at Khilkhet by around 10PM!! Ah, thats 10PM!!

From Kuakata, July 2009

Sleeping with the fishes........... On board Paturia Ferry

The long journey thus started. We were damn tired; so, most of us were feeling drowsy until the first ferry at Paturia came up some time around 12:15AM. Everyone sprang up and went into action. Tushar Bhai and Akhlas Bhai were busy filling up their stomach; knowing very well that there's no other point on the way where we could get replenished. Others started exercising their photography a bit even though it was within the bare limitations of night light. By around 1AM, were were on the other side of the Padma, at Daulatdia Ghat. It was once again time to go into hibernation.

From Kuakata, July 2009

Preparing late night meal?....... Lebukhali Ferry Ghat

From Kuakata, July 2009

In the warmth of peace.........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Colour of dreams...........

From Kuakata, July 2009

On the job........

From Kuakata, July 2009

20 Taka per kg........ On board Lebukhali Ferry

A three-hour road journey later, we once again sprang up; well, some of us, at least. It was the Lebukhali ferry near Barisal and it was around 4:00AM. Some of our hungry fellas couldn't help jumping into one of the street-side restaurants to fill up. I, along with a few others, on the other hand, went about filling parts of our camera disks. The delay at Lebukhali gave us this opportunity to observe the late night life at this far-away ferry ghat. We were on the other side of this short ferry journey by around 5AM. And we went into further hibernation. We did not do a lot during the next ferry at Dopdopia, at Barisal; just slept.

But I did wake up before the next ferry at Khepupara. I remember this road from my previous journeys. At this time of the day and year, this road is usually quiet, rain-soaked and needless to say, beautiful. As was at the first rows of seats, I couldn't sleep after 6:00AM; just watched the road with a flicker of smile. Khepupara came up by around 6:30AM.

From Kuakata, July 2009

A goat morning........01..... Khepurara, early morning

From Kuakata, July 2009

A goat morning........02

From Kuakata, July 2009

On request flypast........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Peaceful dreams........

Shudipto planned it in a way that we would be leaving our bus at Khepupara and board another one, which was to be reserved only for us. A group of 24 surely deserved a separate set of wheels! This time of the year most bus services don't want to go directly to Kuakata; Sakura being the exception. Some others are also there, but haven't tried them. Most buses go up to Khepupara and would force one to change bus. This usually costs time after a long journey of around seven hours! Anyway, a bit of delay ensued until we could board the bus once again and approach the ferry. The ferry was sleeping on the other bank and required no less than a lot of alarms of various kinds to hear us. We finally boarded the ferry by around 7:30AM, losing an hour in the process. This one hour, of course, gave us opportunity to document early morning life at Khepupara.

From Kuakata, July 2009

On the bend.......... Hajipur

From Kuakata, July 2009

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

From Kuakata, July 2009

The Armada......

From Kuakata, July 2009

Colours of the fleet.........

From Kuakata, July 2009

The admirals......

This last leg of the journey was the toughest one. This part of the road was a minefield, as I saw it during the last three years! This time, the road was bad too, but somehow, the sting seemed a little less than what I felt previously. Anyway, we crossed the Hajipur Ferry by around 8:20AM and Alipur Ferry by around 8:45AM. Bustling Alipur was the place of interest for everyone. This is the place all the fishing trawlers of Kuakata call home. This is fishing hub.

We reached Kuakata by around 9:00AM. Golden Palace was the hotel for us. This is the first time I was staying at a place other than the Parjatan Motel. We had a nice view from our balcony, though you cannot call it a "sea-view". There was a fair amount of distance between the hotel and the beach. And there was the embankment, which protects the land during high tides.

We freshened up and had our breakfast. It was a pretty nice with "khichuri"; damn hungry we were! We didn't take any time before deciding to go to the beach. The weather was less than ideal. We had a news of cautionary signal over the Bay of Bengal and the sky was indicating towards that. It was gloomy from the start and it didn't clear out at all by the time we went to the beach by after 10:00AM.

From Kuakata, July 2009

Building their dream-house...... the houses near Kuakata beaches are being washed away by the sea on a regular basis..... their fate would be similar to that of these sand-houses......

From Kuakata, July 2009

These battered structures were once the boundary walls of a rest house..... and now they are slowly giving up to the wills of Nature......

Our big group split up and roamed around the beach with their cameras. I began to calculate what were the things that changed since my last visit. I actually got scared seeing the amount of erosion! It was high tide at that time, but I could feel the amount of land the sea has devoured. This land only goes under water during high tide and just sits there under shallow water, causing problems for coastal vessels. Low tide reveals the vast stretches of flat land that once contained coconut orchards and fishing villages. A rest house was losing its boundary walls to the sea; waiting for the next high tide to devour the building proper. Another small cottage was also counting days on the sand.

From Kuakata, July 2009

Women are coming out in larger numbers........ they're now engaged in the easiest profession of Kuakata, catching shrimp fries......

From Kuakata, July 2009

A procession of fry-catchers....... I've never seen that many fry-catchers together....

From Kuakata, July 2009

Young face of hardship........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Shaheen studies in grade two..... his father left the family and now the family of three children is run by his mother, who works at a nearby construction site...... Shaheen is the oldest of the three children and already feels the burden of the family......

Another change that caught my attention was the vast number of people engaged in catching shrimp fries along the coast. The number of people engaged in this work definitely increased several fold during the last several years. I have never seen that many people on the beach catching fries. And there were a lot of women involved in this work as well. This is also something new. These people could be the victims of climate change. They've engaged themselves in the easiest profession and potentially endangering the long-term natural balance of this fragile ecosystem.

From Kuakata, July 2009

A dreamer in the making.........

Anyway, we couldn't do much before the heavens started to give warnings by around noon. We packed our bags, but waited on the beach for a possible clearing of the weather. Photographers shed their equipments and jumped into the sea. A lot of fun ensued. I did bring out the camera after the rain stayed out for a while. We stayed at the beach until around 1:00PM, when the rain really began to threaten everything.

Really enjoyed the lunch with "rupchanda" (pomfret). After lunch, most people didn't want to be tied down by toil. They all went out so see the land. I was on the other hand, facing some trouble with my eyes for the last couple of days, which is why I decided to take a bit of rest. I had seen Kuakata three times in three years, which gave me the confidence to take rest during the time when the sun was supposed to be high, and photography conditions poor.

From Kuakata, July 2009

Tools of the trade....... Fry-catcher's tools

From Kuakata, July 2009

Wheels to drive the present; wheels to drive the future......

From Kuakata, July 2009

Looking for a better day.......
Fishermen fishing in the shallow waters of Kuakata face stiff competition from other fishermen resorting to different methods of fishing...... Its tough reality......

From Kuakata, July 2009

Crossing the colours......

From Kuakata, July 2009

Race.......

From Kuakata, July 2009

Colours of struggle.....

From Kuakata, July 2009

Last light..........

I went out in the late afternoon, around 6:30PM. The sky had cleared up and there was the prospect of a wonderful sunset. I roamed around the beach and met others there. The sunset was really spectacular, producing some truly wonderful natural colours. We stayed at the beach until around 8:00PM. We watched the typical beach activities and documented them. Things have not changed much as far as fishing at Kuakata was concerned though. Boats of wheels approaching the water's edge and then boats jumping over the waves, leaving the empty wheels on the beach. We also watched the boats come back in their usual way.

Evening brought everyone to reality. We began to feel the toil of a night journey. I felt it less, since I had taken a well-earned rest in the afternoon. But the dinner was again a treat. A hard day somehow always provide a nice dinner. Electricity was a bit of trouble at Kuakata, which was expected, considering that the whole country was facing electricity shortage during the whole of summer. Dark evening produced a stunning sky, full of stars. Arif put up his tripod to capture a glimpse of the skies. We called it a day after 10PM, planning for an early morning ride to Gangamati, east of the main beach.

We woke up by around 5:00AM, aiming to be at Gangamati before sunrise. Summer sunrises can only be seen from the eastern areas of Kuakata. Winter times provide the opportunity to see both sunrise and sunset from the same beach, if the weather is favourable. Anyway, we were on our bikes, speeding through the wet beaches. It was low tide. Only low tide allows bike ride across the beach. Fishermen going for early morning work stared at us; startled. We had quite a few bikes, which surprised the locals.

It was a gloomy morning. Thick cloud cover kept the chances of seeing a good sunrise to the minimum. Yet, we were hopeful; hopeful of something good; at least, desperately hoping for no rain. We reached Gangamati in turn. But almost all of us made it there by around 6:15AM. The last time I went to Gangamati, I had to go between trees in the last part of the journey. But now, we sped through a flat empty beach. The beach has really transformed. Previously, it was a skill to ride a motorcycle here, because you had to drive over sand. Now, most of the beach is actually land claimed by the sea. This is soil, with a coating on sand. And this flat beach doesn't have that many channels that the beach used to have even a year back! So, its basically a cakewalk over the beach. We hardly had to reduce speed, whereas, during the previous visit to Gangamati, I had to demount from the motorcycle numerous times to be able to cross the channels.

From Kuakata, July 2009

A gloomy welcome...... Gangamati Canal in early morning

From Kuakata, July 2009

A shell-shocked landscape.......01

From Kuakata, July 2009

A shell-shocked landscape.......02

From Kuakata, July 2009

On the borderline of struggle with Nature.......

I could hardly believe what I was seeing. At first, it was difficult for me to realise that we've actually reached Gangamati! There was a huge cavity in the forest at Gangamati. The mouth of the canal extended way into the sea. Actually the head of the canal was now completely devoid of forest cover. Just a year back, I've seen this canal surrounded by mangrove trees. Now this is barren land, full of stems of dead trees. It looked like a war zone, ravaged by thousands of heavy artillery shells. It was a pitiful sight!

From Kuakata, July 2009

Fry-catchers in the early morning.......01

From Kuakata, July 2009

Fry-catchers in the early morning.......02

From Kuakata, July 2009

Fry-catchers in the early morning.......03

From Kuakata, July 2009

Fry-catchers in the early morning.......04

From Kuakata, July 2009

Fry-catchers in the early morning.......05
Sea-water is mixed with rain-water and salinity is reduced...... thats why, fry-catchers dig the sand to extract saline water, which would be used to store the fries until they are sold at Alipur........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Counting the last hours.......

From Kuakata, July 2009

A damage beyond repair......

Cattle were grazing there and fry-catchers were at work at the canal. We spent some time documenting this destroyed landscape. I talked to some of the locals to find out how this all happened. After talking to the locals, I found out that this destruction was the result of systematic sea erosion. Cyclone Aila destroyed a lot of trees alright, but the regular high tide of the sea is not felt by people living in other parts of the country. This is a place, which lies hardly at sea level. A slight increase of tide devours a significant portion of the coastline. This is a the effect of sea level rise. The sea is eating up a land that was once populated by trees that were more than 40 year old. This means, the sea didn't touch this place for at least 40 years. This is a change of epic proportions. And this surely would leave a significant mark over this land in the coming days, and make the people realise only after they lose it all.

We came back from Gangamati by around 8:00AM. The tide was still low. We came back to hotel and freshened up. After breakfast, most of us went out for yet another venture. I stayed back at the hotel with some others, waiting for a more appropriate time to shoot. For those who came to Kuakata for the first time, wasting time was not an option. I really appreciated the fact that they had all the energy in the world to discover a new place.

We all had lunch together and planned to start the next venture when the sun began to lean towards the west. This time, not everyone was ready. A day-long venture had its mark on some faces. Others were as energetic for another outing.

From Kuakata, July 2009

Marks of cruelty of Nature.........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Lord of the Fries??........
Mohammad Sobuj has been engaged in catching shrimp fries for the last three years....... but never before has he faced such stiff competing from so many people who have now engaged themselves in this trade......... Tk30 per 100 fries is sometimes good when he can catch 1000-5000 fries..... but there are days when he even gets nothing....... westerly wind brings in fries, on the other hand, easterly drives them away...... a day-long easterly wind may mean no income for the next day....

From Kuakata, July 2009

Last men standing..........
"we stand together on an empty beach, mourning the demise of our colleagues and counting the last hours of our lives"------- the last coconut trees of the sea-erosion-hit beaches of Kuakata

We went out by around 4:10PM. This time, we wanted to explore the eastern part of the main beach. A lot of coconut trees were counting their last days here. The beach was littered by the remains of some freshly-downed coconut trees. I talked to a fry-catcher on the beach getting to know a bit more about the business.

From Kuakata, July 2009

In celebration of survival........

From Kuakata, July 2009

A futile attempt to stop Nature........01

From Kuakata, July 2009

A futile attempt to stop Nature........02

We boarded the motorcycles once again, and proceeded towards the western end of Kuakata. This place is right on the edge of the River Andharmanik, and called Lebu Bagan. The ride to Lebu Bagan was something that I was really looking forward to. Again wanted to see how much change has happened. On the way, there was a part of the embankment that was directly on the beach and was under direct threat from the waves. Last time I saw sand bags were being used to protect the embankment. Now there were concrete blocks being used. But nothing seemed strong enough against the indomitable force of Nature.

From Kuakata, July 2009

Once a forest.......... Lebu Bagan

From Kuakata, July 2009

Mouth of the Andharmanik......

From Kuakata, July 2009

Battered patches of green........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Witness to the once beauty.........

By around 5:15PM, we were at the end of our short journey. This was again a shock to me. The mangroves of Lebu Bagan had been mauled by the sea. Last time I couldn't reach the Andharmanik because of forests. Now, the beach was clear of the trees protecting the land. We reached land's end and stared at the eastern end of the Sundarbans on the other side of the river.

From Kuakata, July 2009

Sparkling..........01

From Kuakata, July 2009

Sparkling..........02

From Kuakata, July 2009

Fry-catcher of Lebu Bagan..........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Resident of Lebu Bagan........ Mud-skipper

We found fry-catchers here too. Fishing boats and trawlers were crossing the mouth of the Andharmanik for the sea. Sparkling waters were flowing under puffy white clouds. It was a beautiful environ, but the trees didn't have the flair to complete the scene. Such a pity!

From Kuakata, July 2009

When life burns under the sun........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Artist's canvas.........

We went backwards from Lebu Bagan by around 6:00PM. We had a tight schedule. Had to finish dinner by around 7:15 to start for Dhaka by around 8:00. In between, there was just enough time to shoot the sunset. We did maintain our time, but the sunset was a bit pale. We had a superb sunset the earlier evening, but that was to remain as the only nice sunset for the tour.

From Kuakata, July 2009

First love.........
Zahir is one of two children of his father, who was left out of the fishing community for some reason...... a fifth grade student, Zahir loves to play around the wheels even though his father no longer deals with them.....

From Kuakata, July 2009

Anxious wait........
Faruque and Saif play on the wheels of Kuakata....... Faruque's father went to the sea on a boat a few hours back...... they're expected to make it back within a short while..... the weather seems good..... but you can never be certain about the weather in the sea in the rainy season........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Beach-house under threat.........

From Kuakata, July 2009

Goodbye to Kuakata until..........

We packed up and boarded the bus by 8:00PM. Sakura bus was the only genuine option for our return journey. Although we couldn't manage Sakura tickets on the outward journey, for inward journey there was no surprises. Although the journey was a really long one. A long queue at Daulatdia Ferry Ghat delayed our return. We couldn't reach Gabtoli before 7:15AM.

Shudipto organised the tour very efficiently, even though this was his first at Kuakata. The tour members made the tour a very entertaining one. For most, it was the first tour there. I was one of the more experienced, with four visits. Tushar Bhai had six and Kamal had five visits there. But the tour was enjoyed by everyone, regardless of the number of visits. We had a great time and had been able to capture some precious moments.

After seeing the pathetic scene at Gangamati, I thought this should be my last visit to Kuakata. But somehow, the visit to Lebu Bagan changed my view. I missed the surf of the Andharmanik this time. Even though I came prepared. Last time I wasn't prepared, but was able to see those huge waves. My be I would have to go for yet another visit there to catch that great phenomenon. Only time can tell.

Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

2009-06-07T19:05:00.007+06:00

The Name of the River is Meghna
A BP Photowalk to Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, Bangladesh
06 June 2009

Its still summer. Right in the middle of it, in fact. The heat is tough; almost unbearable at times. There had been rain every now and then. But that rain doesn't cool off the environment for more than half a day. I can still remember my last tour to Mymensingh, where I could hardly extricate myself from the stove!

Still, when there was an offer for a photowalk from Monir, I couldn't resist. It was a tough week for me and needed an outlet. The photowalk was actually quite late. It was supposed to be held a week earlier, being posted in the Bangladeshi Photographers (BP) group of Flickr, but somehow ended up postponed until the 6th. The distination was chosen as Baidyer Bazar (or Boidder Bazar) in Sonargaon Upazilla of Narayanganj District. The place in right on the River Meghna.

Start time for the journey was chosen at 8:00AM from near Gulistan in Dhaka. But somehow, we ended up boarding the bus by around 8:55AM. The 13 member team couldn't reach Sonargaon intersection before 9:45AM. This is the place where one needs to get off in order to go to Sonargaon Museum and Panamnagar. We didn't do that though. We boarded several three-wheelers and proceeded towards Baidyer Bazar. The narrow road was paved and didn't really look all that rural. This part of the country is very densely populated and has most of the urban facilities, though they would be classified as rural in most definitions. This is something that can be termed as developed rural areas; not really semi-urban in real sense.

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Milestone.........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Silent noise..........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Under those puffy clouds..........

Anyway, we reached Baidyer Bazar by around 10:10AM. Most of us couldn't manage a decent breakfast. So, we looked for food in the first place. We completed our breakfast at a local restaurant, with an open view of the River Meghna. White clouds rose over the big waterway, giving a great view. The restaurant was actually on the big embankment that protects the place from erosion in the rainy season. This high position was a great place to enjoy the river. Anyway, we completed our breakfast in a hurry and went out with our cameras.

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

The scorching star........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Building blocks of life........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

In a sea of clouds........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Expressions........01

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Expressions........02

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Expressions........03

It didn't take a minute to judge the harsh sunlight. Those clouds were fabulous for sure; but it was hardly possible to have a look at those. We had a hard time under the bare sun; but not for long. We moved into the village and got scattered. The village had shadows, yet it couldn't hide us from the severe humidity. It was sapping indeed. But we were received positively by everyone, especially children. They were more than willing to pose in front of our cameras.

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

At peace with machines.......

It was a pretty densely populated village. I haven't seen such dense population in rural areas in other parts of the country. Houses were very close together and moving space among the houses was limited. We almost found ourselves in a maze of residential blocks. Eventually, when we came out of the houses, we emerged into an open road with tough prospects under the scorching sun. Some of us broke off and decided to wait it out in the shadows. Others look their chances and began to explore the villages.

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

We rested, but the Kingfishers were busy.......

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

A window of hope.......

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

A sad face?

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Magpie Robin (Female).......

We took refuge at a rural grocery and enjoyed the time with the village children. Their enthusiasm was overwhelming. Watching their faces on a camera LCD was almost like watching movie to them; the difference being, they were the stars! A small pod had a little surprise for us, as a couple of kingfishers displayed their fishing skills for a while. The kingfishers were not alone in the area. There were many other birds visible or can be heard around the place. It was great to see so many birds around such a densely-populated place. The light was very hard for good photography; so, shooting in the shadows was the only way open in front of us. The afternoon might have some better prospects. That hope kept us interested. We relaxed and had refreshments there until around 1:00PM, when we decided to move once more towards the river. We were hungry and also, thirsty; naturally. The village had one thing at least; we could put our hands on some cold soft drinks, which felt like gift from the heavens!

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Of lights and shadows......

Once we reached the river, we sat at the same restaurant on the embankment where we had our breakfast. But we were disappointed to learn that the restaurant didn't serve all kinds of food. They dealt only with lighter food; for a heavy meal, you have to move to other places. We were channelled to the coastline, below the embankment. Here, there was a temporary market, which had different kinds of shops, including a portion dedicated to freshly caught fish.

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Its a playhouse..........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Rest and Peace........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Its tough life.........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Some people are truly dependent on the mercy of others..... even for the smoke!!

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

He used to be a fisherman once...... too old to be useful, he now spends time by the restaurants on the river....... he can't afford a meal, but somehow he can't forget smoking either.......

A temporary restaurant became our refuge for the time being. We had some food there and more cold drinks. We began to enjoy the line of boats under those puffy clouds. They were busy with their own day-to-day businesses. Some traded in fish; others were just ferrying people to and from the other bank. We could guess that their river ride under the scorching sun was definitely not the most pleasant. Those who were resting under the shades on top of the biggish boats, were in a better position. Some Brahminy Kites were circling overhead and regularly catching fish from the water; their wings spread against the white clouds added a more peaceful atmosphere to the resting boats.

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Rest........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Hidden........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Hoping against hope.......... the day was really hot.......

In the early afternoon, we rendezvoused with our other team-mates. Now it became a wholesale photo hunt at the edge of the water! The locals were surprised, but they enjoyed it. After a while of photo shoot, the bigger portion of our friends enjoyed a great lunch with freshly-caught Hilsha. After lunch, most of our team-mates were too tired to continue. The sapping weather had the most of it. Three of us decided to wait for the light to go down a bit more, while others decided to call it a day. Most of our team-mates decided to move by around 4:00PM. We bade them goodbye and waited for the afternoon lights.

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Personality........ a fish trader

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Its a tough journey across the river........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Ray of light.........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Heavenly play........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Gliding in freedom.......

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Cooling off.........

From Baidyer Bazar, Narayanganj, June 2009

Hoping for a catch......

The next one hour passed by without too much drama. But it was at least not as sapping as the morning and early afternoon hours. Clouds gathered in the western sky and hid the sun. Some dramatic clouds played their way around the western skies. Fishermen began to show up along the river bank. They threw their nets from the small boats, searching for the living cash! Children began to enjoy the waters after a scorching day. Some adults joined them too. Their splash beckoned us!

We moved off by around 5:15PM. We boarded a three-wheeler once more and proceeded towards Sonargaon intersection. From there, we boarded the bus for Dhaka. Though the journey to Dhaka wasn't that dramatic, we could realise the typical pain of traffic congestion when we reached the heart of the city. That reminded us of the things we left behind.

It was a very hard day indeed. But we enjoyed it in the end; meeting friends; sharing ideas; sharing moments. Baidyer Bazar is a place with an identity. It has its uniqueness; its own beauty. Catching the beauty in the eye or in the camera, depends on the viewer. To me, the uniqueness of the place alone can get me there once again. I would love to see how the place looks like in the rainy season. I hope I wouldn't have to wait for long. But it all depends of drive and opportunity. Keeping my fingers crossed!

The Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

2009-05-30T01:46:00.007+06:00

Last Cry of a Legend
29 May 2009
33, Paridas Road, Dhaka, Bangladesh

When my school friend Riel called me and proposed a photowalk, I couldn’t resist. It seemed too good an offer. Riel had access to this building through one of his friends, which gave us such a unique opportunity. All credit goes to Riel for arranging such a wonderful venture.

The building located at 33 Paridas Road in the old parts of Dhaka was over a century old. According to the dwellers, who happen to be relatives of the current owners of the house, the building was around 170 years old. A building of this age isn’t that common in a tropical area like Bangladesh, where stones are not available for building construction. The building was constructed by an individual named Peari Das, who happened to be an important government official working at the municipality. He constructed a narrow road up to his house, and according to the then municipality rules, the short road was named after the constructor. There are many other roads in Old Dhaka with similar history. People who constructed buildings like these were wealthy people, holding important places in the society. Peari Das was no exception. The residents couldn’t mention the exact dates of construction. The building also doesn’t have an inscription.

How did this building become so important to us? When Riel told me that the building was about to be demolished within a short time, I could realize the importance of it. We had to listed to the last cries of this legend. We organized the photowalk using “Through the Lens: Bangladesh” (TTL) group of Flickr. Shawon Da came from Sylhet along with a friend of his. Fakrul Bhai didn’t have to come from Sylhet, as he was already in Dhaka. Our TTL buddy Rezwan joined in, so did Saadi, a childhood friend of mine. Thanks goes to all of them to make this venture a successful one.

We rendezvoused at Gulistan Circle by around 6:30AM and took rickshaw from there to reach Paridas Road. By around 7:05AM, we were there outside the building and we didn’t waste any time there watching. We straightaway unleashed our cameras and began to shoot. Riel had arranged permission beforehand and had some tough time convincing the owners that this venture was not going to harm them in any way. Anyway, we were really lucky to get the go-ahead from the owners. The owners don’t live there.

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Its not a child's play anymore..........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

The fate is locked..........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

The western face...........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Windows.........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Old, but stylish.......

The building was a west-faced one. The morning sun was behind the building. The front face was thus a bit gloomy. The front of the building showed off the grand pillars that resembled the days of the Zamindars. The two stories visible at the front had big balconies decorated with pillars. There were some trees surrounding the house, making it very difficult for us to get a clear shot of the whole building.

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Morning shines..........01

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Morning shines..........02

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Morning shines..........03

We spent some time shooting at the front, and then moved to the middle of the building after getting permission from the dwellers. The house had a wonderful courtyard in the middle. Morning light was peeping in to hit the western part of the courtyard. The western part was three stories high. That’s the part of the building where Peari Das lived hundred years ago. Some other members of his family lived in the eastern part. There were two kitchens for two types of food habits. One was for the vegetarians and the other one for non-vegetarians. This was related to Hindu culture of those days.

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Top view.........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Morning shines..........04

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

In.........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Out.........

We moved to the first floor quickly. This part was not in use for years. We had to maintain caution while moving around the floor. The first floor wasn’t as big as the ground floor. There were some open balconies there along with some rooms. We didn’t go into each room, but would’ve well appreciated that. We got some great view of the ground floor from above.

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Closed.........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Of pillars and frames........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Of pillars and designs.......

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Point of contact.........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Metal designs........01

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Stairs and corridors...........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Metal designs........02

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Metal designs........03

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Metal designs........04

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Metal designs........05

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Stairs.........

Anyway, we moved around until we ended up on the western face of the house on the first floor. The grand pillars stood there like guardians. The floor wasn’t that strong in some parts of that big balcony, especially towards the stairs that led to the second floor. Riel repeatedly warned me not to spend time near those stairs. The stairs didn’t have any support below. The walls were also not giving full support. Some parts were being penetrated by overgrowth.

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

An untimely death..........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Spotlight on silence........

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Memories.........01

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Memories.........02

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Light still comes in.......01

We moved to the second floor and got stunned. This was the floor that contained most amount of mystery. The floor was in complete ruins. One room was full of destroyed books, newspapers, furniture, and what not. We even discovered some old family pictures in the ruins. The second room was virtually empty, which led us to the big roof. We could now get an idea where the building stood. There were high-rises going up everywhere. No wonder that the owners took the opportunity to hand over the building to developers. There was already a signboard outside the building, showing off the particulars of the developers. The building was counting days.

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

Light still comes in.......02

From Legend of Peari Das, Dhaka, May 2009

The last cry.......

We could feel the heat in the open roof, even though it was hardly 8:15 in the morning. We spend some more time on the second floor, getting to feel the environ and also to find some more ideas. We came down to the ground floor, but couldn’t leave. Our host was just too generous to entertain us with a bit of breakfast. We finally left the building by around 9:00AM.

We walked and tried to utilize the tour even more. We visited the legendary Beauty Boarding and was impressed by the old building beside it, which had an arch constructed under it, letting vehicles to travel under the building. The building was being used by the police. Anyway, we didn’t really spend much time over there. Shawon Da and Fakrul Bhai left the scene and they had some other engagement. The four of us hard breakfast at a local restaurant. After the meal, we found the weather a bit too harsh to continue the photowalk without any problem. It was hot and it was humid. We decided to call it a day. The adda was great, mind you.

To summarize the tour, we had a great experience there among those old bricks. The designs, the textures, the feel of those damped-out walls would be in our mind for some time. It was actually hard to swallow that something as valuable was not in the protected list. We had to accept the inevitable with a heavy heart. I told Riel to keep an eye on the demolishing date. That might be a melancholy experience.

Mymensingh, May 2009

2009-05-10T17:01:00.006+06:00

Following the Footsteps of the Shilpacharya

Mymensingh, Bangladesh
08-09 May 2009

I got wind of this from Mustafiz Bhai sometime in late April. He was planning to combine two efforts from two types of creative people in the same place. The place was no other than Mymensingh, the place of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. They would visit the places that inspired the timeless works of the Shilpacharya. Some renowned artists would break free, and some photographers would capture moments in their frames. The idea instantly caught my attention. I decided to give it a go! The time was the 7th of May 2009, Thurday, evening; when we start for Mymensingh. A busy Friday and Saturday later we would be at Dhaka once more. But all on a sudden my luck turned towards the dark. I got official duty on the 9th, which made my going incomplete. I lost interest and began to think of some activity that would at least keep me busy on Friday morning. While I was thinking of the cheap alternative, my luck turned again late on Thusday afternoon, this time towards the brighter side. My official work was canceled and I was free. I called and I booked my place. Although I couldn’t become part of the team that left Dhaka on the night of the 7th, I could still be part of a smaller team that was going for a single-day return journey. I got tagged with Mustafiz Bhai and his small team. The artists and other photographers were already there at Mymensingh on Thursday night.

We started off at around 6:30AM, after an odd, but severe transport problem forced Mustafiz Bhai to pick me from near my place. We lost half and hour because of this. My humble apologies were trying to hide my face in that sparsely-crowded vehicle; without any success though. Anyway, once we were on board Mustafiz Bhai’s 4x4, we needed no worry. He was flying through everything that come his way! Even before we could make it to Mymensingh, we could imagine that we would reach there before our expected time of arrival. And that’s what happened. We reached Mymensingh before 9:00AM; early enough to catch everyone at breakfast. We arrived at the Agricultural University campus in Mymensingh. We fetched the place where our other team members stayed the night. It was a nice dormitory. We found them at the breakfast table and didn’t think that we needed time before we could sit at the table; we were hungry like hell.

Anyway, even from the morning hours, we could imagine the weather awaiting us; it was hot and humid. But it couldn’t deter us from starting off. As soon as we had our “khichuri” breakfast, we moved. Three vehicles carried us through the university campus. We crossed the Shilpacharya Zaidul Abedin Auditorium and couldn’t help take some snaps of the great sculpture “Bijoy ‘71”. Light was bad, yet we clicked. But we had to board our vehicles quickly because we have several places to visit within the day. We would be coming back to the campus; so, we would get more opportunity shooting the sculpture. This is one of the most organised university campuses I’ve seen in Bangladesh. A very well-designed campus that provides a real joy to any visitor. It was planned/designed by a renowned architect Paul Rudolph. This was my second visit to this campus. Last time I visited this place was back in 2005.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Radha Shundori School......... still declaring its existence......

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Doors that are always open..........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

There's always hope at the end of the tunnel........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

They're now part of the structure.........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Peekaboo..........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

A hole that is big enough.........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Spreading wings........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Divide and rule..........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

A message...........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

You're part of Nature..........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Empty hallways..........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

A new hope emerges from the ruins..........

Out first target was Mrittunjoy School, the school where Zainul Abedin studied and developed his devotion to art. He studied here in the early 1920s and then moved to Kolkata to study art at the Government School of Art. His teachers at Mrittunjoy School encouraged him to go for further study in art. We arrived at the school just before 10:00AM. There was another school adjacent to Mrittunjoy School, which had some old ruins. We moved there and got perplexed by the state of the ruins. Established in 1927, Radha Shundori School’s original building was in absolute ruins and looked like shaky enough to come down with any kind of quake. We explored the ruined building in detail, amazed by the textures created by time. Our artist friends also went about their duty. Overgrowth of all kinds devoured all parts of the building and their roots created some natural pillars along the walls. There were cracks on the floors and holes in the walls. Graffiti adorned the ruinous walls in some places and carried the messages of some groups with specific aims.

The ruinous building wasn’t alone though. There were other newer buildings within the compound, which were active and classes were regular in those buildings. This particular building stood almost like a museum. We went there on a holiday; the school was closed. But there were cultural classes going on there. Music and dance schools for children were open. These cultural classes were run privately by Udichi. We watched the students sing the national anthem and then they went about their usual practices.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

An artist's impression.........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Some fields were waiting to be harvested..........

We left the school by around 11:00 for Zainul Gallery by the Old Brahmaputra River. Once there, we found that there was some kind of program going on inside the gallery. So, we went straight for the river. The Brahmaputra was low to say the least. By around 11:45AM, we were crossing the river on boats. In fact, the other bank was not actually the other bank of the river at all. It was a huge shoal in the middle of the river. The shoal looked like almost a permanent one. There were people living there on the shoal. Paddy fields were in abundance there. It was the time for harvest. Some of the fields were already harvested. Others were showing off their golden colours, waiting to be harvested.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

There's a poet in all of us.........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Playing at marbles..........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

A small dispute............

From Mymensingh, May 2009

"And here I go........"

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Guarding the gates..........
the marks on the earthen walls suggest that there's a newly-wed bride in this house...... these are her hand-prints, which are supposed to bring good luck........ a Hindu tradition..........

The weather was extremely challenging for us. It was hot and extremely humid; drenching to be exact. We were struggling to keep ourselves fit. There was hardly any cover there in the shoal. Some of us found some houses and trees and tried to utilize the shades. We also very much enjoyed the cool water from the tube-wells. It seemed like from the heavens in that severe heat. Some children were playing under the shade with glass marbles. They reminded us of the olden times. Our Roman Bhai joined them for a bit of childish fun. By around 1:15PM, we decided to move. We crossed the river once more and tried to get some rest.

We had a refreshing lime drink at the other bank. But we were surely exhausted. The exhaustion was on everyone’s face. We boarded our vehicles and started for the Udichi office, where we were supposed to have our lunch. The cool shade of the Udichi office was almost too much for us. As soon as we finished our lunch, we were down. We lay on the floor like dead. It took some effort to move us out.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Inside the huge Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium........

We thought a cooler place would be the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium inside the Agricultural University. So, we went there and sat inside the empty hall. It’s a pretty big auditorium as we discovered, and it was cool too. But it didn’t give us the comfort we were looking for. So, we moved off once more. We moved to the dormitory and found a comfortable place to relax there. We relaxed until the temperature became tolerable.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Colours of Summer..........01

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Colours of Summer..........02

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Colours of Summer..........03

We moved again by around 5:00PM. We walked and enjoyed the beauty of the nice campus. Big water-tanks were surrounded by lines of trees, leaving nice reflections on the water. We though we could come back there before sunset. Summer flowers adorned the roads and alleys everywhere. We proceeded towards the river.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Afternoon activities on the Old Brahmaputra.............

From Mymensingh, May 2009

A refreshing dip......... it was a hot day indeed......

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Sharmin.............01

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Sharmin.............02

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Sharmin.............03

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Sharmin and friends..........

The Old Brahmaputra seemed very calm and without a lot of activities. Only some boats were there in the river, mostly ferrying people to the other bank (the huge shoal) of the river. We found some children bathing in the water. They made us think like a child. It was hot and we were dreaming, if we could join them there in the water. But we cooled ourselves with some refreshing clicks. The children were more than happy to pose in front of our cameras. They showed us the smile that keeps them going. They aren’t the luckiest people on earth, but they sure know how to smile.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

"Bijoy '71"

From Mymensingh, May 2009

"Bijoy '71"

From Mymensingh, May 2009

"Bijoy '71"

From Mymensingh, May 2009

"Bijoy '71"

From Mymensingh, May 2009

"Bijoy '71"

We moved right after 6:00PM. The sun was down and the light began to fade. We went to the sculpture (Bijoy ’71) once again. We found the morning light too harsh, but this time, the evening light was just about perfect. We snapped a few until around 6:35PM.

It was now time to pack. A group of us already left for Birisiri in Netrokona. I have a plan to give a visit there too, but not in this season. I plan to make it in autumn (sarath). The other group was planning to go back to Dhaka. I had a different plan altogether. I kept an option from the start. I wanted to see how much I could manage during the day. I knew I had already missed the morning lights. So, I thought if the day’s efforts didn’t give me enough, I would try to stay back for another morning’s light. The day’s efforts were just too hectic for me; and the light conditions also didn’t suit me that much. I decided to stay back.

So, it was time to say goodbye. The team of artists took their way, while the photographers took theirs. It was a nice experience capturing the same frame in different canvas. This was a new experience for everyone. It was also the start of a new venture. People from different lines of creativity coming together to exercise their thoughts. Mustafiz Bhai gets a big thanks for bringing us on board. And he’s already started to think about the next venture. And I don’t want to miss that one too.

Anyway, I went to the town and stayed the night at a Station Road hotel. I went to Station Road instead of staying at the university dormitory. This suited my morning venture more. Once I reached the hotel, I could discover how tired I was. After a refreshing shower and an average dinner, I fell flat on bed. I had a plan to wake up early. My target was the Shambhuganj Bridge.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

A gloomy awakening...........

The morning broke off amid a cloudy sky. Within 6:00AM, I was at the bridge and found the sun quite high already, although the sun was basically behind the clouds. If I had any plans of shooting some landscape depicting sunrise, I had to dump that instantly. I could realize that I was late.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

The dried-out Brahmaputra could deceive you........ the embankment tells you what the river becomes in the rainy season.........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Morning silhouettes..........

Last time round I found some fishermen on the river. They were fishing with nets on the shallow waters of the Brahmaputra. But I couldn’t find a single fisherman this time. I couldn’t find the reason behind this difference. Anyway, this time the river contained a bit more water than last time, as I observed. I was attracted by the huge embankment being constructed on the western bank of the river. I wanted to have a feel of the structures being built to counter the force of Nature.

From Mymensingh, May 2009

"I've seen a lot of that"

From Mymensingh, May 2009

That beast climbs so well.........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Tag team.....

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Riding the beast...........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Eyewitness.........

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Hope............

From Mymensingh, May 2009

Hopes............

As soon as I arrived on the western bank, some heavy construction machinery moved in. These monsters made great noise and went about their duties. A bulldozer was flattening soil on the embankment and in the process, began to slowly move towards the edge of the embankment. I thought the vehicle might drop off the top of the embankment. But I was amazed by the traction power of the monster. It literally moved over the slope of the embankment like a giant lizard. This was my first experience watching the power of such machines. Another earth mover moved in and started to move soil on the embankment. There were onlookers near the machines, eagerly watching the activities that might just give them a better security in the rainy season. The river may die in the dry season, but it will surely come back hard in the rainy season. The massive embankment and the high watermarks on the pillars of the bridge are the evidence of the river’s two faces.

I stayed there on the embankment up to almost 7:00AM. I was planning to catch a morning bus; so that I could reach Dhaka before heavy traffic slower progress. I packed up and proceeded to Mashkanda bus stand. The return journey to Dhaka was of two-and-a-half hours. It wasn’t as tiring as it might have been if I was planning to return to Dhaka the night before. The other team reached Dhaka overnight on the wheels of Mustafiz Bhai. They said that he drove like a champion. I wonder how he could manage that after such a day.

The tour was a mixed bag for me. But there were some new things that came in front of me and new ideas that made me think. Another tour is always another lesson; and always an inspiration for more tours. Mymensingh is fast becoming one of my set touring areas. Only time will tell.

Mymensingh & Netrokona, April-May 2009

2009-05-03T20:13:00.004+06:00

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.